Hi there.
I fed NOTHING but fermented for 2 years... it did NOT save me MUCH if anything... and I think those who see the most saving is when it helps them to stop waste. Raising your feeders to the same height as the back of the chicken can help with this. In some instances even just wetting the feed will save on waste.
Some people see more waste feeding crumble... For me it is the opposite and my flock tosses pellets all over the ground. So feed form can impact individual flocks for sure! In this instance, putting the feeder up a little early so they can clean up what is left behind instead of leaving for free loaders might be a good solution.
I raise my own meal worms. It is more cost effective than buying them... but they are a treat and do NOT save money on feeding itself. Feeding an excess of anything no matter how much is might save you... if it isn't a balanced feed you will pay in the overall health of your birds... EVEN if you don't
notice it. And PLEASE let me express that my time is NOT free, and turn around can be quite slow on meal worms. They are temperature dependent.
Composting is great... but it attracts rats here.
I have considered a maggot bucket... and think it might be a good enrichment... but again not a way to actually save money, and certainly not without SOME risk.
Another thing I absolutely LOVE doing is sprouting and growing fodder. However.. once again people exaggerate the benefits just a bit... 1 pound of seed does in FACT grow into 7# of fodder in about 7 days... however a large portion of that is simply water weight and NOT an increase in calories... dry matter is what counts.
My actual maximum savings comes from free ranging!
But that is not always free either... sometime I pay with the loss of birds. Last spring after loosing 3 chicks at $9 each, I had to take action... which included lock down for a bit.
My TRUE best savings... comes from shopping around... I save $3 per bag on the SAME feed by going to a different store!
At 2-3 bags... per WEEK, that adds up quickly.
I sometimes feed my extra eggs back to my animals instead of giving them away. They are nutritional power houses... and when done not is excess (as they do contain 64% fat), can have great benefit to the flock health... healthy birds... save not only money but also keeper stress... and that goes a LONG way in my book!
Another thought on how to save some expenses... choose lighter breeds that lay more eggs.
If you want more bang for your buck... start at the root. Treat the cause not the symptom.
But wait there's more, lol... a KEY factor... keep out free loaders!
Close or collect your feeders nightly... and maintain you birds in good condition without internal and external parasites... who are taxing your feed THROUGH the birds.
But don't treat what you don't have as that's a waste of time and energy, maybe even money and product, or eggs if withholding is required.
Okay, I've got one more... taking out anything you plan free access to the whole day.. like FF, at ONE single time. The more times I show up, the more excited the birds are to consume what I hand brought them. Leaving access available all day... makes it feed and not perceived as special. I keep my treat feeding time to a routine... for ME that is about one hour before dark before the birds start heading up. I don;t take stuff out mid day as I don't want layers rushing out of or avoiding the boxes hoping I have something for their treat crazed little brains. In this way they also don't rush me every time I enter the yard, so continue about their standard foraging and stuff and only react when they know it's "snack" time.
Well, I guess I lied... cuz I got yet another suggestion... a piece of cardboard or really almost anything will work (but cardboard is a fave)... laid flat on the ground and watered so it is nice and wet, kept moist for several days... usually makes for some worms and sometimes other bugs. The chooks KNOW this once they catch on and will come running when they see you move it.. just move it to a new location every few days... if you don't want it to kill of the grass or vegetation in a certain location. Sometimes I use THIS as treat/enrichment time.
Anyways... sorry so long, I believe it's about an overall picture. And this is my current take.. prone to changing as new and valid information becomes available.
I realize my take and experience is not the same as everyone's. But I hope this gives some ideas for my fellow peeps to work with.
sometimes the brain quits working mid way through. 
