Throwing feed in the ground?

[Joey and dolly]

I have 11 chickens. 5 14-week-olds and 6 6-week-olds and we give them the grass as soon as we cut it and they love perching the bugs out of it and just eating the grass. I also give them mealworms which they LOVE. But I throw the feed in the ground because with the feeder they were just wasting it. Is it okay to just throw the feed in the ground

 

[m0ther_g00se]

I throw my flock's feed on the ground and they like it just fine. Unless they're getting big mouthfuls of dirt with their meal or the little bits of feed left on the ground attract pests, I wouldn't worry.

 

[Kiki]

I would not be offering cut grass to the chicks. Keep a close eye on their crops. Grass can cause impacted crops.


Mealworms are high in fat and sould not be offered daily either.

The feed...could be fine on the ground as long as it's not getting wet and moldy.
Mold can kill.

 

[NatJ]

I throw the feed in the ground because with the feeder they were just wasting it. Is it okay to just throw the feed in the ground

That can work.

Chicks of that age should have feed available all the time, which might be hard to manage when you throw it on the ground: either they eat it all up (and then are out of food), or they do not eat it all (and some gets wasted by getting wet, or eaten by bugs or rodents, or something.)

If this is working for you and your chickens, then it is fine to keep doing it.

My own preference would be to find a feeder that doesn't let them waste so much, but my preference might not be right for you

 

[Joey and dolly]

That can work.

Chicks of that age should have feed available all the time, which might be hard to manage when you throw it on the ground: either they eat it all up (and then are out of food), or they do not eat it all (and some gets wasted by getting wet, or eaten by bugs or rodents, or something.)

If this is working for you and your chickens, then it is fine to keep doing it.

My own preference would be to find a feeder that doesn't let them waste so much, but my preference might not be right for you

I have been looking but the ones that I am willing to try are out of my price range I would invest but I don't know if they will work they are like $60+ dollars and I don't know if its going to work thanks tho.

 

[Joey and dolly]

I would not be offering cut grass to the chicks. Keep a close eye on their crops. Grass can cause impacted crops.


Mealworms are high in fat and sould not be offered daily either.

The feed...could be fine on the ground as long as it's not getting wet and moldy.
Mold can kill.

cool thanks

 

[NatJ]

I have been looking but the ones that I am willing to try are out of my price range I would invest but I don't know if they will work they are like $60+ dollars and I don't know if its going to work thanks tho.

Yes, that is a problem with buying feeders. Some of them are quite expensive.

You can make a simple one from a 1-gallon milk jug.
Here's an older thread with a photo of one person's version:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/milk-jug-feeders.448945/

When I do it, I usually end up with the hole higher than the one in the photo (depending on the size of the chickens), and I only put feed halfway up to the hole. That way when they toss the feed around with their beaks, a lot of it stays inside anyway. And I definitely attach the milk jug to the pen, so they cannot knock it over (it's easy to tie a string through the handle of the milk jug and around some part of the chicken pen.)

If you have already have a pair of scissors and a gallon milk jug, or something similar, you can test it without having to spend any money on it.

 

[NanaK]

Once my chicks are a few weeks old I sit a shallow pan under their feeder. It is about 1-2 inches bigger than the feeder and only an inch or so deep. It catches the feed they tend to spill out. As they get bigger I do the same with a larger one. Then I can just dump in back in the feeder as long as it's not wet/poopy. This helps me keep from wasting so much feed. No more moldy feed on the ground.

 

[Joey and dolly]

Yes, that is a problem with buying feeders. Some of them are quite expensive.

You can make a simple one from a 1-gallon milk jug.
Here's an older thread with a photo of one person's version:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/milk-jug-feeders.448945/

When I do it, I usually end up with the hole higher than the one in the photo (depending on the size of the chickens), and I only put feed halfway up to the hole. That way when they toss the feed around with their beaks, a lot of it stays inside anyway. And I definitely attach the milk jug to the pen, so they cannot knock it over (it's easy to tie a string through the handle of the milk jug and around some part of the chicken pen.)

If you have already have a pair of scissors and a gallon milk jug, or something similar, you can test it without having to spend any money on it.

omg thanks so much

 

[Joey and dolly]

Once my chicks are a few weeks old I sit a shallow pan under their feeder. It is about 1-2 inches bigger than the feeder and only an inch or so deep. It catches the feed they tend to spill out. As they get bigger I do the same with a larger one. Then I can just dump in back in the feeder as long as it's not wet/poopy. This helps me keep from wasting so much feed. No more moldy feed on the ground.View attachment 3197187View attachment 3197188

thanks