Trying to reduce chicken feed costs

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Thanks everybody for replying!

 

[debid]

Raising the feeders doesn't help as mice can jump quite well. Not leaving food out at night, though, will help. If that isn't feasible, either get a rodent-proof feeder or eliminate the rodents. I have a bunch of the metal box live traps that I bait with a little peanut butter on a milk cap. The mice will choose that over chicken feed and my kids will walk the boxes to the field where the hawks and owls hunt to release them (and they tell the mice, "May the odds be ever in your favor!"). To do it over again, I'd build the run with hardware cloth and keep the rodents out that way. Live and learn.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Raising the feeders doesn't help as mice can jump quite well. Not leaving food out at night, though, will help. If that isn't feasible, either get a rodent-proof feeder or eliminate the rodents. I have a bunch of the metal box live traps that I bait with a little peanut butter on a milk cap. The mice will choose that over chicken feed and my kids will walk the boxes to the field where the hawks and owls hunt to release them (and they tell the mice, "May the odds be ever in your favor!"). To do it over again, I'd build the run with hardware cloth and keep the rodents out that way. Live and learn.

I'm going to try not having feed out over night. Hope that helps.

 

[rjohns39]

I can't speak to bantams, but LF Heritage breeds who have fresh grass daily are thought to have optimum performance (min feed/max eggs) with 4.5oz per bird per day. That might be a good starting point. I feed about 1/2 in morning the rest in late afternoon. Many will feed 1/3 in morning to encourage foraging and remaining 2/3rds in the afternoon. I would adjust based upon your observations. You don't want to starve them, but you do want them to empty the bowl fairly quickly so they're not leaving anything behind for the rodents.

 

[rjohns39]

Additional thought. From my perspective, it's better to be a little wasteful at first and ease into the right measurements, rather than feed them too little. If you feed too little, they'll quit paying rent. It's easier with mature girls than with a growing mixed flock, but my approach is calculate what I think they need, then start with 60% (remember I'm targeting 50/50) and come back and check the feeders in an hour. Dump any left over food back into your measuring device, make your best guess as to what they ate in that hour and give them that much in the late afternoon or early evening. I like to feed a couple hours before they go to bed, but an hour is fine. Again, give them an hour and see what's left over. You're probably at the right measurements when there's food in the tray at 45 minutes and not in 1 hour. I have to do this every week during the summer as I'm growing the flock and adjusting the numbers every week.

 

[aart]

I use a DIY waste free feeder so they can't bill the feed out.
I don't have a rodent problem, but would stash the feeder in a metal garbage can at night if I did.

I put so much feed in every morning, if there's a lot left the next morning I put in a bit less. Doesn't take long to figure out how much they eat per day.
I do the same with water.

 

[imnukensc]

I only have a few barred rocks. They free range daily from about 9:30 AM until they put themselves to bed at night. They hardly eat any chicken feed at all. So far, no problems with mice/rats here.

 

[sweetater22]

Consider using fermented feed, feed only what they will clean up in 15-20 min. Try to eliminate the mouse problem by not leaving feed in the feeders. It will take some time to figure out the proper amount of feed that is needed. Using fermented feed will reduce waste and provide a healthy diet for your chickens. I feed about a 1/4 cup per bird and change when they leave feed or when they clean up feed too quickly. You can ferment the feed you use now and expect to show a feed savings of about half and provide a healthier diet for your birds.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

I can't speak to bantams, but LF Heritage breeds who have fresh grass daily are thought to have optimum performance (min feed/max eggs) with 4.5oz per bird per day. That might be a good starting point. I feed about 1/2 in morning the rest in late afternoon. Many will feed 1/3 in morning to encourage foraging and remaining 2/3rds in the afternoon. I would adjust based upon your observations. You don't want to starve them, but you do want them to empty the bowl fairly quickly so they're not leaving anything behind for the rodents.

Additional thought. From my perspective, it's better to be a little wasteful at first and ease into the right measurements, rather than feed them too little. If you feed too little, they'll quit paying rent. It's easier with mature girls than with a growing mixed flock, but my approach is calculate what I think they need, then start with 60% (remember I'm targeting 50/50) and come back and check the feeders in an hour. Dump any left over food back into your measuring device, make your best guess as to what they ate in that hour and give them that much in the late afternoon or early evening. I like to feed a couple hours before they go to bed, but an hour is fine. Again, give them an hour and see what's left over. You're probably at the right measurements when there's food in the tray at 45 minutes and not in 1 hour. I have to do this every week during the summer as I'm growing the flock and adjusting the numbers every week.

Thanks! The last few mornings I was experimenting with how much they would eat. Thanks for the post, that's exactly what I was wanting.

I use a DIY waste free feeder so they can't bill the feed out.
I don't have a rodent problem, but would stash the feeder in a metal garbage can at night if I did.

I put so much feed in every morning, if there's a lot left the next morning I put in a bit less. Doesn't take long to figure out how much they eat per day.
I do the same with water.

I haven't had problems with them billing it out. I'm working on figuring out how much to give them.

I only have a few barred rocks. They free range daily from about 9:30 AM until they put themselves to bed at night. They hardly eat any chicken feed at all. So far, no problems with mice/rats here.

Glad that's working out for you! Our chicken coop has tiny holes in the corners, where the mice come in. I've seen quite a few, so it's probably infested. No doubt the 'free food' is drawing them in. I think doing the feedings and not leaving food out overnight is going to help a LOT.

Consider using fermented feed, feed only what they will clean up in 15-20 min. Try to eliminate the mouse problem by not leaving feed in the feeders. It will take some time to figure out the proper amount of feed that is needed. Using fermented feed will reduce waste and provide a healthy diet for your chickens. I feed about a 1/4 cup per bird and change when they leave feed or when they clean up feed too quickly. You can ferment the feed you use now and expect to show a feed savings of about half and provide a healthier diet for your birds.

I was soaking their food overnight in milk (we have a milk cow) all summer. They didn't seem to clean it up so fast. I didn't have much leftover milk lately, so I started soaking it in water. That worked (though not quite as well) until it got below freezing, and the feed froze.

 

[Aji Dulce]

Hi everyone!
I was wanting to see how everybody feeds their chickens. It seems that our chickens kind of just eat for fun. We have eighteen chickens right now (we just got rid of old hens). There are a few big hens, but the rest are bantams. They all free range, all day, everyday. They are allowed to free range on their food. I usually just put it in there, put more in when it's gone. They have a metal feed trough that sits on the ground. Whenever I go in the coop at night, I often see mice. Do you think that mice could eat a good amount of food? There is a possibility we might have rats, but have never seen any. I was interested in the idea of feedings, morning and night. I've read a hen needs about a 1/4 of a pound a day. How much do bantams need? They get layer crumble and cracked corn mixed together. They have oyster shell as well. Open for input about what you do, and what seems to work best. Thanks![/QUOTE
I may be misunderstanding. Are you referring to free feeding the same as free ranging?
“ They are allowed to free range on their food. I usually just put it in there, put more in when it's gone.”
Free feeding means that you have food accessible at all times, free ranging means that they are out of their coop walking around, going where they please.
Chickens don’t eat or drink during the night in their natural setting, in their habitat, jungle fowl will stay up in their trees roosting until it’s morning again. So I try to mimic that and as soon as my chickens go up and put themselves to bed in their coop, I remove their feeder. Leaving food out will just make it available for rodents, nocturnal reptiles and roaches. Mice and rats are creatures of habit and they remember where the food is to come every night. At first I had the awareness to not have food and water in their coop but if they are not going to be in their run, it doesn’t help them to leave food out. The thing is, they need that food and water back in place every morning plenty early.