Stretching feed in safe, healthy way

[TeamAmerica]

Had chickens over a decade ago when feed was affordable. We bought 6 Rhode Island Red hatchlings about 2+ months ago. They’re doing great. Presently housed in a chicken trailer/coop but winter grass is minimal. We enjoy watching our chickens but mostly are looking forward to the eggs. We’d like them to free range but forests are being destroyed for folks trying to get out of cities. Coyotes have lost habitat and are creating havic in our area, so are dumped dogs gone feral. Eventually we’ll free range but for now we’d likely lose all six birds. Advice needed quickly.

 

[Blue Raptor]

Had chickens over a decade ago when feed was affordable. We bought 6 Rhode Island Red hatchlings about 2+ months ago. They’re doing great. Presently housed in a chicken trailer/coop but winter grass is minimal. We enjoy watching our chickens but mostly are looking forward to the eggs. We’d like them to free range but forests are being destroyed for folks trying to get out of cities. Coyotes have lost habitat and are creating havic in our area, so are dumped dogs gone feral. Eventually we’ll free range but for now we’d likely lose all six birds. Advice needed quickly.

Welcome to BYC!!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore.
Lot's of Hardware cloth. Buy a shed or build once as a coop.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Free ranging is always risky business and no matter where you live, you will lose some to predators. You might try electric fencing. I have a lot of predators too and do supervised free ranging only. Otherwise they stay inside a large run.

Good luck and welcome aboard!

 

[Isadora]

Hello, and welcome to the forum! Are you assuming that more free ranging will make it so your chickens don't need commercial feed? There's very few geographical locations that can support a chicken, as far as solely free ranging goes. Yes, feed prices are high, but it's what your chickens need to have a well balanced diet and to be healthy enough to provide you with eggs.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hello, and welcome to BYC! It's very nice to meet you! Please make yourself at home!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome!
Are you needing advice on how to feed or house your birds?

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and good luck in protecting your flock.

 

[NatJ]

If you are looking to reduce feed costs, I would first check how much they are wasting.

A rough rule of thumb is that adult hens need about 1/4 pound of feed per day. So 6 adult hens would need 1 1/2 pounds per day, meaning a 50 pound bag would last about a month. Young chicks eat less than adult hens, but their appetites grow quickly. If they are going through very much more than 50 pounds per month, at any age, I would start by looking for spilled feed or feed-eating rodents.

As regards spilled/wasted feed, sometimes a different feeder helps, or moving the feeder to a new spot every few days so they can more easily pick up the spilled bits.

As regards free ranging, it might let them find some of their own feed, but you are quite right that predators could be a problem. Fencing a large area for the chickens may cost more than any amount of feed savings.

Chickens can eat some amount of table scraps, and enjoy scratching through compost piles looking for bugs. If you already collect things for composting, you might consider putting them in the chicken run to compost there, which also lets the chickens eat any bits they find appetizing. Chickens are fairly good at recognizing what is good to eat and what is not (not perfect, but good enough to keep them safe most of the time.)

For any suggestion about "saving" money by feeding something else, do check how much it will cost. Many things are cheap in one area and expensive in another, so they only save money for people who live in certain areas. And of course chickens still need correct nutrition, so tricks like adding water to their feed does not change how many pounds of feed they need to eat. (Nothing wrong with seving wet feed, and the chickens often like it. It may even reduce spilling & wastage, which really would save money. But it does not have any more food value wet than it did when it was dry.)

 

[fluffycrow]

Unfortunately, whatever you do, some birds will get caught by predators. Hope you find the solution you're looking for, this is a great place to find said information