Trying to get a firm handle on my long-term feed costs

[Kiki]

I re-evaluated my ration which basically means I've upped it to $300 / year. My flock being at 10 weeks old today I think they are a little overfed, and I want to teach them to forage a little harder, so I have left them out all day (about 9 hrs) on the days that I am not gone for extended hours. I am knocking on wood, but I have only seen one hawk in the vicinity lately and the crows got him moving in short order.

$0.81 per day for 12 chickens = $0.0675 per bird per day. I'm totally just shooting in the dark at this point. Is this a totally crazy number? Attached is my feed bill, please don't sue me, Betty.

View attachment 1155928

Your Excel sheet...is this something you made from scratch or is it a template?

 

[Digby57]

Google Garden Betty. It's a blog site I found researching FF. I put in the correct values for the dry weight and nutritional analysis of the grains I'm using, the others are what Betty was already stating. I like the way it works and it's a neat list of grains you might feed chickens even if you don't use it to fashion-yo-ration.

 

[Kiki]

Google Garden Betty. It's a blog site I found researching FF. I put in the correct values for the dry weight and nutritional analysis of the grains I'm using, the others are what Betty was already stating. I like the way it works and it's a neat list of grains you might feed chickens even if you don't use it to fashion-yo-ration.

Thanks!

 

[spangledcornish]

So that would be about 0.2lbs per head per day, but are they free-ranged? I'm considering pasture as a major part of their diet.

you can never count pasture as a major part of the diet, at most 10% replacement, while the birds will eat grass and scavenge for bugs, the complete feeds are essential. I would agree that the .25-.5 pounds of feed are needed. The kicker on utilizing pasture as your predominate source of intake is the fiber content. just like for humans we can eat a lot of salad and it fills us up but if we just eat the leafy greens we will eventually lose weight, because we can not break down the fiber to produce usable energy like a ruminate can.

So with that being said if you are looking at cost estimations say you birds need .25 pound of feed per day a you replace 10% with pasture that is .225 pounds of feed per day, multiply that by 365 that is about 83 pound of feed per year. around here conventional poultry feed cost about $0.22 per pound. that would equate out to right around $18.25 per bird and if you have 12, that put you at the $220 per year mark.

 

[Digby57]

The poultry feed I'm using is NatureWise All Flock 18% and I'm paying 40 cents a pound for that. I was figuring 1/4 lb. of feed after the pasture and after whatever benefit I'm getting from fermented grains that I'm using as 25% of the RATION.

So its costing me less than a dollar-a-day and I can live with that for now. The only problem I have is the high fat content of my RATION. I've calculated it as 9.5% crude fat, but I think it may actually be a little less than that. This is mainly because of all the oil from the hemp seed and BOSS. They are only at 11 weeks now, so I'm not sure of the long term implications of a fatty ration like this.

I could always just make the FF portion of the ration that contains all the fatty stuff a smaller percentage of the overall ration while increasing the bagged feed component. That would also bring down the feed bill overall, but when I'm buying all this grain at 50lbs at a time its going to lose nutritional value if I try to extend it over longer time periods. The hemp seed is the expensive thing at exactly $1/lb. That's also the highest fat component.

 

[lazy gardener]

I am new at this and, contrary to my standard behavior, it seems I am underthinking the food issue. I do understand the need for cost projections with a production flock but a little backyard bunch of girls?
We have six chickens, twenty weeks old. They do not free range due to heavy predator presence.
I dump a few scoops of store bought feed into a feeder in the morning. Sometimes they eat more, sometimes less. They look forward to their small evening treat---a few tablespoons of mealworms and sunflower seed bits, fresh herbs, nasturtiums, etc.
I buy another bag of feed when I am close to running out. Fifty pounds for $16.
All these calculations seem so painful!!
Enjoyed reading this thread but all this agonizing is not for me!
I hope you are enjoying your birds.
To each his own, of course, and no disrespect meant.

Nancy, your approach is certainly appropriate, and that's what many BYC flocksters do. When they are almost out of food, they buy more. When the feeder is almost empty, they add more.

But, even with this casual management style, it's always a good idea to keep track of what your normal feed conversion rate is. That way, when things change, you can assess the situation, and have an idea if this is a trend for the better or for the worse. For example: If all of a sudden your birds appear to be eating a lot more, WHY? Do you have a rat family, or a busy squirrel, some birds that are helping themselves? If all of a sudden, your birds are not eating their feed, that needs to be assessed also. One year, I had a flock of birds who were literally starving to death, even though there was feed from a recently bought bag of feed, with a recent mill date in front of them. No signs of spoilage, feed looked and smelled fresh. I took the bag back to the store, it was replaced, and a disaster was averted.

FYI, to OP: I use fermented feed. 16% layer for a flock that includes pullets, older hens, and a couple of cockerels/roo. My feed conversion rate last time checked was .18 - .20#/bird/day.

I don't calculate my rate often, but have it figured out exactly how long a bag of feed should last, and almost invariably, I open a new bag exactly on schedule.

 

[igorsMistress]

I féd fermented, non gmo food made with organic ingredients. It's chick grower rather than layer ration. $43.00 for 80 lbs. One bag used to last 6 to 8 weeks for 6 nine month old birds. I calculated feed amount needed based on the weight of wet food. 1.5 lbs per day, once a day in the morning. There's always dry crumble available, but the wild birds eat most of that.
I supplement with scratch & peck and pigeon feed instead of scratch and they free range all day every day in my yard. They have access to the compost pile and I give mealworms and grubs, greens, fruits and veggies as snacks a few times a week. I buy 50 lbs pigeon feed and it lasts about 2 months. The scratch & peck lasted all summer, just finishing it now. I don't remember cost for the s&p but not buying it again so doesn't matter. Pigeon feed was about $20.

For 6 standard chickens I was spending maybe $25 to $30 per month for all feed and snacks. I did buy the birds their own melons and cukes, and a bag or two of frozen berries over the summer. There's a bag each of grit and oyster shell out there, but at the rate the piles diminish they'll be once per year purchases which adds $0.50 per month to cost for both.

 

[featherhead007]

Help, I'm being held captive in the coop by my polish rooster! He isn't normally this active, but I locked my ameraucana roo in the run and now i find myself at the mercy of this feather headed beasty.
I hope I don't run out of mealy worms! and no, i came to collect eggs, un-armed.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Help, I'm being held captive in the coop by my polish rooster! He isn't normally this active, but I locked my ameraucana roo in the run and now i find myself at the mercy of this feather headed beasty.
I hope I don't run out of mealy worms! and no, i came to collect eggs, un-armed.

@featherhead007 I would come and rescue you, but it is now October 24, 2017... I suspect either your feather headed beasty has ransomed you, or you have escaped!

 

[Coop de Grass]

the Feb 2017 is you join date... still
Send photos of your Polish... if I start now, I should be there in a few days