Digby57
Songster
- Jun 21, 2017
- 130
- 122
- 116
My best calculation to date is that I can easily keep my feed cost at $1.34 per head per month, or just under $200 per year for the 12 chickens I currently have. I'll break that down and then if anyone would be so kind as to give me their overall impression of my feed ration and methods and also give me an idea of how that cost compares to what you are doing (and what it is costing you), I would love to hear your feedback.
They are let out on open bahia grass with plenty of areas like hedges and such where bugs congregate. For now they are going out for 2 to 3 hours before sunset while I can keep an eye on them and the hawk situation, but when they are mature they will be out all day (I hope). They are now at 9 weeks old.
They are getting free-choice 18% NatureWise All Flock, having transitioned them from their starter crumbles over the course of about 7 days. They have easy access to plenty of grit in the coop and water both inside and outside of the coop. They will have crushed oyster shell available in the coop when the time comes.
Daily I give them 2 cups of drained fermented feed that is composed of: 1 part wheat bran, 1 part BOSS, 1/2 part whole hemp seed, 1/2 part hemp seed meal (pressed from oil extraction), 2 parts crimped oats (like is fed to horses). To this I have been adding 1/2 tsp of a lacto bacillus supplement designed for birds, but I will be changing to Fertrell Nutri-balancer (regular) when my local supplier gets it in (in the next couple weeks).
On an annual basis this comes out to 25 lbs each of 18% All-Flock ($16 for a 40 lb bag and a total of 7.5 bags per year) and about 10 lbs of the fermented grain concoction per head per year. That's 120 lbs (dry weight) of the grains which I have calculated to be 15.4% protein and 15.1% fat. When I average out the protein and fat content at 2/3rds pellet and 1/3rd fermented grain I get 17.2% protein and 9.1% fat. (Is that too rich in the fat department?)
I'm in Florida, so they will get bugs all year and I intend to supplement further with kitchen vegetable scraps during the winter as I add this to my compost pile during the spring and summer. I've also started a row of 12 comfrey plants near the coop, but that's a side note. They have also been getting freeze dried black soldier fly maggots daily (mixed into the fermented feed at the time of feeding), but I think I'll stop that or attempt to culture them in my compost pit (outdoors)? I don't know if that will work. I have a good stand of red wrigglers going in the compost pit now.
Just tell me if I can explain better or in a different way. First of all, does anyone think I am underfeeding? Or do you think I am overfeeding? I don't want to do either, but I would err on the side of overfeeding at this stage. As a matter of cost only, is $200 annually too much for a flock of 12 chickens? Seems high to me, but maybe not. I am intending to have a total of about 2 dozen chickens in my flock by about this time next year, so $400 is not looking right to me, but I have more experience feeding cattle and on a larger scale, so its hard for me to know by just looking at the figures without some advice. Thanks!
They are let out on open bahia grass with plenty of areas like hedges and such where bugs congregate. For now they are going out for 2 to 3 hours before sunset while I can keep an eye on them and the hawk situation, but when they are mature they will be out all day (I hope). They are now at 9 weeks old.
They are getting free-choice 18% NatureWise All Flock, having transitioned them from their starter crumbles over the course of about 7 days. They have easy access to plenty of grit in the coop and water both inside and outside of the coop. They will have crushed oyster shell available in the coop when the time comes.
Daily I give them 2 cups of drained fermented feed that is composed of: 1 part wheat bran, 1 part BOSS, 1/2 part whole hemp seed, 1/2 part hemp seed meal (pressed from oil extraction), 2 parts crimped oats (like is fed to horses). To this I have been adding 1/2 tsp of a lacto bacillus supplement designed for birds, but I will be changing to Fertrell Nutri-balancer (regular) when my local supplier gets it in (in the next couple weeks).
On an annual basis this comes out to 25 lbs each of 18% All-Flock ($16 for a 40 lb bag and a total of 7.5 bags per year) and about 10 lbs of the fermented grain concoction per head per year. That's 120 lbs (dry weight) of the grains which I have calculated to be 15.4% protein and 15.1% fat. When I average out the protein and fat content at 2/3rds pellet and 1/3rd fermented grain I get 17.2% protein and 9.1% fat. (Is that too rich in the fat department?)
I'm in Florida, so they will get bugs all year and I intend to supplement further with kitchen vegetable scraps during the winter as I add this to my compost pile during the spring and summer. I've also started a row of 12 comfrey plants near the coop, but that's a side note. They have also been getting freeze dried black soldier fly maggots daily (mixed into the fermented feed at the time of feeding), but I think I'll stop that or attempt to culture them in my compost pit (outdoors)? I don't know if that will work. I have a good stand of red wrigglers going in the compost pit now.
Just tell me if I can explain better or in a different way. First of all, does anyone think I am underfeeding? Or do you think I am overfeeding? I don't want to do either, but I would err on the side of overfeeding at this stage. As a matter of cost only, is $200 annually too much for a flock of 12 chickens? Seems high to me, but maybe not. I am intending to have a total of about 2 dozen chickens in my flock by about this time next year, so $400 is not looking right to me, but I have more experience feeding cattle and on a larger scale, so its hard for me to know by just looking at the figures without some advice. Thanks!
Last edited:
