Too Much Food?

[MykeMc]

I have seven hens and they went through a 50# sack of feed in one week? I have a automatic feeder I built, as they eat more food comes down. I notice they are scratching it out of the feeder, but there isn't 50#s laying around. I've never gone through that much feed in such a short amount of time. It has been colder this week, are they just eating more, is something getting in and eating the food or are they just scratching it out and wasting it?
Myke

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

As it gets colder they will eat more, but they might be wasting some too. Is there a lot in the bedding?

 

[MykeMc]

ChickieBooBoo, the feeder is out in their yard so I don't think they are carrying it in to the coop itself. In the coop I have nesting boxes on one side, haven't noticed any feed in them and roosts on the other side with pine shavings on the ground. It would be hard to find feed in the shavings, but I will look. Do you think they may be bringing some in and stashing it?

 

[Fred's Hens]

If you truly went through 50# of feed in one week, for seven hens, there is awesome waste occurring. That could be coming from beaking/scratching it out onto the ground where the rodents or wild birds are enjoying a feast at your expense, or the rodents skip the middle man and go right to the source and feed themselves from feeder.

That equates to a full pound of feed per day, per hen. Or, 7 pounds of feed going through your feeder per day. That is easily 3 or 4 times the required amount of feed.
There is simply no way under the sun, moon and stars an average hen as a dietary need for a pound of feed per day.

 

[jeepguy982001]

defiantly sounds like your feeding more then just 7 chickens.Maybe try putting the feed up at night.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Something is going on and it's not them eating all of that food. A lot of waste.

 

[MykeMc]

That's what I was thinking. I haven't noticed any rodents or sign of them, but we do have a flock of blackbirds that just moved in to the neighborhood. I might need to make sure the pen is more birdproof. When I built it I was concerned with foxes. We do have a lot of squirrels, but I didn't think squirrels would go after chicken food? Thanks for the advice.
Myke

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

That cannot possibly be the chickens eating all that feed.

 

[abejita]

Quote:
Squirrels will definitely eat chicken food! Although, my chickens try to catch the squirrels, so the squirrels have quit coming into the chicken run!

 

[Emily1220]

I have caught my puppy eating the chicken food several times!