1. Be sure your feed is fresh. 6 weeks after mill date your feed is loosing nutritional value. Keep it stored in a rodent proof container, in a cool/dry place.
2. Don't leave feed out overnight. Rodents, as well as more invasive critters are more of a problem at night.
3. Fermented feed can save 10 - 30% of your feed bill. According to Blue Seal pamphlet, an adult LF hen will eat .20 - .25# of dry feed/day. By fermenting my feed, my LF flock ate .18 - .19# of dry feed/day. This feed conversion rate was during the winter when there was no free range option available. An other benefit of FF is that there is NO WASTE. No feed ever spilled to be lost or to attract rodents. Rodents do not carry FF off to their nests the way they will do so with dry feed.
4. Sprout grains: especially useful during the winter months.
5. Free range when you can. I have heavy hawk predation, so must limit my free range time. But, even a couple of hours/day add up to feed savings. Most recent predators that need to be dealt with are mink. Plant your yard to maximize free range potential. I've added: fruit trees, June berries, Siberian Pea shrub, Bocking #14 Comfrey, let the flock into the garden after harvest.
6. Deep litter in coop and run. By providing DL, your birds have lots of composting material to dig through. DL attracts lots of beneficial insects, worms. It also provides beneficial bacteria and fungi that improve gut flora for better digestion and immunity. And those beneficial micro-organisms keep things balanced to eliminate a lot of pathogens.
7. Keep your flock size appropriate to your needs. Sometimes easier said than done. But if you eliminate cockerels that won't be part of your breeding program. If you eliminate older birds that are not productive. If you eliminate the weaker birds, you will be improving the overall health of your flock as well as keeping your population at an appropriate level for your feeding program.
8. Supply grit. Just my opinion, but: birds do not have teeth. They were given a gizzard and need grit for it's effective function. While "they say" that birds who are on only chicken feed do not need grit, I am of the opinion that grit will improve digestion for the bird, no matter what her diet consists of.
2. Don't leave feed out overnight. Rodents, as well as more invasive critters are more of a problem at night.
3. Fermented feed can save 10 - 30% of your feed bill. According to Blue Seal pamphlet, an adult LF hen will eat .20 - .25# of dry feed/day. By fermenting my feed, my LF flock ate .18 - .19# of dry feed/day. This feed conversion rate was during the winter when there was no free range option available. An other benefit of FF is that there is NO WASTE. No feed ever spilled to be lost or to attract rodents. Rodents do not carry FF off to their nests the way they will do so with dry feed.
4. Sprout grains: especially useful during the winter months.
5. Free range when you can. I have heavy hawk predation, so must limit my free range time. But, even a couple of hours/day add up to feed savings. Most recent predators that need to be dealt with are mink. Plant your yard to maximize free range potential. I've added: fruit trees, June berries, Siberian Pea shrub, Bocking #14 Comfrey, let the flock into the garden after harvest.
6. Deep litter in coop and run. By providing DL, your birds have lots of composting material to dig through. DL attracts lots of beneficial insects, worms. It also provides beneficial bacteria and fungi that improve gut flora for better digestion and immunity. And those beneficial micro-organisms keep things balanced to eliminate a lot of pathogens.
7. Keep your flock size appropriate to your needs. Sometimes easier said than done. But if you eliminate cockerels that won't be part of your breeding program. If you eliminate older birds that are not productive. If you eliminate the weaker birds, you will be improving the overall health of your flock as well as keeping your population at an appropriate level for your feeding program.
8. Supply grit. Just my opinion, but: birds do not have teeth. They were given a gizzard and need grit for it's effective function. While "they say" that birds who are on only chicken feed do not need grit, I am of the opinion that grit will improve digestion for the bird, no matter what her diet consists of.
. Unfortunately the closest mill is 80 miles away, although I'm already driver 60 miles to get to 
