Topic of the Week - Saving Money, Feeding Chickens

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Allow hens to brood and sell the chicks / pullets to cover cost of feed! I only need to sell 7 or so to cover cost of feed for the entire year

 

[BlueHorse17]

One of the things that has helped us is getting an automatic feeder. It helps keep the pests out of the feed at night.

 

[Show Sebright]

Buying fresh feed and storing it properly are major issues as well. Moisture on feed ruins. Pests like insects, mice and raccoons can all consume feed and damage bags. Keep the feed out of high heat and direct sun as well. It takes more poor quality feed to realize a given level of performance and that can be a real problem when feed quality and feed price are not aligned.

That is my issue it takes us 5-6 months to go through the bag of scratch and most times the bug get in at 4 months

 

[Show Sebright]

Here is a picture of my feeder; note that it has slightly wet food in it and they are bars

My girls only eat out of a tiny dish. I am not forcing them to eat for it but they won’t eat firm a feeder. So I wet the food and fill it 3 times a day and it works.

 

[Show Sebright]

Dose the fermented feed actually cut back on costs? Like is it just wet food? I can’t ever figure out what it is. I will have 10 market hens and I am starting to think that I will need more then 50lbs of chicken feed.

 

[Show Sebright]

Mrs A, your birds should not be consuming more than 11# of feed/week. It's possible that some of your waste is occuring due to rodent, or possibly bird invasion. How are you storing your feed, and are you removing it at night? What are you using for feed, what are you serving it in, and are you adding anything to the feed? You might consider switching to fermented feed. They will derive better nutrition from it, it will enhance their gut health, and there will be NO waste. It can be fed in a large plastic dog feed bowl.

Yeh like how we have a squirrel that will stick his hand in the coop and eat the chicken feed from the outside

 

[GC-Raptor]

That is my issue it takes us 5-6 months to go through the bag of scratch and most times the bug get in at 4 months

Scratch lasts a long time here too. I buy a 25 lb bag and it lasts for months.
Feed I go through much quicker.
I store both in a spare room in my house.
I only keep a small amount of feed and Scratch in the storage area of my small coops in large coffee cans for feed and scratch and small coffee cans for Oyster Shells and Poultry Grit.

Storage space is a blocked nest. GC

 

[Show Sebright]

Scratch lasts a long time here too. I buy a 25 lb bag and it lasts for months.
Feed I go through much quicker.
I store both in a spare room in my house.
I only keep a small amount of feed in the storage area of my small coops in large coffee cans for feed and scratch and small coffee cans for Oyster Shells and Poultry Grit.View attachment 2791276
Storage space is a blocked nest. GC

I have claimed half of the garage for my chicken stuff lol

 

[GC-Raptor]

Dose the fermented feed actually cut back on costs? Like is it just wet food? I can’t ever figure out what it is. I will have 10 market hens and I am starting to think that I will need more then 50lbs of chicken feed

I've never fermented feed, but it is wet when you serve it.

I serve a wet mash made with feed and cold water as a treat on hot days.

GC

 

[Sammster]

I bought a Grandpa's Automatic Chicken Feeder, which my chicks are too small to operate, just now. They will be moved from brooder to coop, soon, so until they are heavy enough to operate the Grandpa's feeders I picked up a very inexpensive feeder that can be hung ~ which will keep them from scratching and excess spillage... I hope