No doubt this has been discussed many times, but I don't know what search terms to use to find the best threads.
Preface: I am not growing breeds that mature in 9 weeks and get slaughtered. I am growing chickens for meat, and others for eggs, but neither are such fast growing.
Do you just put lots of feed in front of your chickens, or do you provide some amount per day?
I have seen wonderful instructions on building feeders that provide a constant supply of food (e.g. pipe feeders), but my limited experience is that growing chickens will eat a lot. I don't know if they're eating more than they need, but I do know they're eating more than I want to pay for (when I give them a constant unlimited supply).
My flock of 30 (15 roosters and 15 hens) are just at 10 weeks and are going through a 25Kg bag in 5 days. If they go through more than that, I'm hard pressed to see a reasonably priced meat bird. So today I decided they'd get 5Kg of food, and we'll see what is left tomorrow. That's at least 1/3Kg per day per chicken (granted, guys are going to eat more than girls).
Not trying to restart old conversations, so just point me if you can.
Cheers,
Russ
Preface: I am not growing breeds that mature in 9 weeks and get slaughtered. I am growing chickens for meat, and others for eggs, but neither are such fast growing.
Do you just put lots of feed in front of your chickens, or do you provide some amount per day?
I have seen wonderful instructions on building feeders that provide a constant supply of food (e.g. pipe feeders), but my limited experience is that growing chickens will eat a lot. I don't know if they're eating more than they need, but I do know they're eating more than I want to pay for (when I give them a constant unlimited supply).
My flock of 30 (15 roosters and 15 hens) are just at 10 weeks and are going through a 25Kg bag in 5 days. If they go through more than that, I'm hard pressed to see a reasonably priced meat bird. So today I decided they'd get 5Kg of food, and we'll see what is left tomorrow. That's at least 1/3Kg per day per chicken (granted, guys are going to eat more than girls).
Not trying to restart old conversations, so just point me if you can.
Cheers,
Russ
