How much is enough?

[raine]

Hi, I've been weighing out the chooks food but would just like to know how you know if what you are giving them is enough? Ours always seem to be starving so just thought i would check in with you peeps.

[Eyren]

I just give them as much pelleted food as they will eat, and not too many treats - life's too short to weigh chicken food!

Besides, the amount they eat depends on so many other factors: whether they are in lay, how much they free range, how cold the weather is... And they are always hungry for snacks - a bit like children, really!

[Suechooks]

I agree with Eyren. I fill the feeder up when its nearly empty and they have access to that all day. They have a bowl of dampened meal in the morning with Poultry Spice and sometimes yoghurt plus a bit of limestone flour. Then corn at bedtime. Treats to get them back in the run might be pasta, soaked bread, greens, mealworms, cooked potato or any combination of those. I haven't a clue how much they eat but since I've had the ex-batts (over a year now) some if not all have laid every day so the balance would seem to be right!

[Snadger]

I have a big galvanised hanging feeder that will take a full 25Kg bag of feed. I tip the whole sack in it, let them get what they want, and have water available at all times.

A 25 Kilo sack of layers pellets lasts my 13 chooks about 2 weeks!

They do get a couple of handfulls of mixed corn each evening and usually half a loaf of bread between them. they also get greens from the allotment hung up for them to peck at!

[Hans Mum]

i put pellets out on a morning with their porridge, and then on an afternoon its usually nearly all gone they get treats, greens/pasta/corn/mealworms/grapes whatevers about really, then a handful of corn before bedtime. It works for my girls and i dont like to leave any food about overnight in case it attracts vermin

[Hilary B]

Snadger, that sounds rather a lot. I think either there is something else getting some of the pellets, or there is a fair bit of wastage going on (are they spilling food and then not bothering to eat it? That sort of thing can encourage rats......).

[MaureenHall]

Mine eat almost the same amount as Snadgers. I've also got 13 chooks and feed them from a trough which is filled every morning and removed at night. The trough doesn't spill over so there's nothing around for rats etc to get at. A 20kg sack of feed lasts 2 weeks or thereabouts. (I think Snadger uses the same feed as me, and it's in 20kg bags, not 25kg) They get a handful of mixed corn around 4pm plus greens, and sometimes pasta, rice, cooked veg or porridge, but they're treats not regular things and only in the late afternoon

[Hilary B]

Mine eat almost the same amount as Snadgers. I've also got 13 chooks and feed them from a trough which is filled every morning and removed at night. The trough doesn't spill over so there's nothing around for rats etc to get at. A 20kg sack of feed lasts 2 weeks or thereabouts. (I think Snadger uses the same feed as me, and it's in 20kg bags, not 25kg) They get a handful of mixed corn around 4pm plus greens, and sometimes pasta, rice, cooked veg or porridge, but they're treats not regular things and only in the late afternoon

That extra 5 kg makes all the difference........ 20kg works out around 4oz per bird per day (roughly). 25kg is closer to 5oz per bird per day, which is on the high side......

[Snadger]

That extra 5 kg makes all the difference........ 20kg works out around 4oz per bird per day (roughly). 25kg is closer to 5oz per bird per day, which is on the high side......

Couldn't get the 20Kg bags so got 25Kg bags this time! Works out the same price!
The bottom of the hopper is off the ground by about 5 inches and hung up in my chook house. No sign of any rat droppings or anything and my run is totally sealed including the top with extra chicken wire around the bottom 3 foot and 2" mesh above. The nestboxes always have eggs in them and the chook house is cleaned out and disinfected once a week.

I don't think anything is getting at there feed and the chooks seem happy enough.
I payed £6.25 for the 25 Kg size which works out at £3.12 per week to feed 13 chooks......which doesn't seem bad to me.

It works out that each chook is eating roughly one Kilo of pellets per week which is hardly excessive............is it?!

[frias]

I think how much they eat depends a lot on if they are in a run or free ranging. (I guess different breeds also eat different amounts too) I usually let my ex-batts out of the coop about 7am at the moment and they stay in the run until about 10am when they are let out to free range as long as one of us is about. The hopper has always got food in and girls can have as much as they want. Usually once free ranging they don't go back in for food very often. I use small holders pellets which cost £8.50 for 20kl and it lasts my 5about 6 weeks.

[lynda66]

mine currently get through about 3-4 kilos a week, but they also get porridge, bread, cat biccies and bits of other stuff mixed in ..... they always have pellets there if they are hungry, but prefer the pellets as a mash, i just add a handful or 2 of something else to the pellets, and they eat every scrap .... plus veggie offcuts from the bloke on the market, big handful twice a day..... and any leftovers ... that they ...*coff* steal from a plate i accidentally leave in their run .... and peanut butter on toast that they share usually while i'm eating it ..... oh and currently lots of slugs and worms ..... and mine are always starving too ..... but they are still rowing, so they get as much as they will eat.

[chicken slave]

OMG I think my girls must be feeding somewhere else through the day. I buy 1 25kg bag a month of layers and 1 25kg bag of growers every 2 months. There is always plenty available to them in the shed and water in the run. They are all healthy and of good weights for large fowl. They all enjoy the corn in the afternoons and freerange in the garden all day. I have noticed on rainy days they do eat more so maybe they are just getting plenty from the garden through the day!!

[MaureenHall]

Must be filling up on slugs and worms

[Glutton4...]

I buy a 20kg bag of pellets and it lasts between 2 and 3 weeks for my 16 'Laydees.' I keep it in a hopper now (got tired of getting up and making mash, coz I'm lazy ). A 20kg sack of corn (with peas, grit and other stuff included) lasts about a month. They do get mealworms or raisins as a treat sometimes too, but they seem quite happy to eat grass! It's saving my Dad the hassle of mowing his enormous lawn too!

[frias]

There's gonna be an awful lot of lawnmowers for sale this year. I don't think I'm ever going to have grass again.