Chickens how much to feed

Getting geared up and purchasing or building a coop can be a significant expenditure, for one. Excluding upfront costs, however, you still may be paying a little more for your eggs.

Many people more or less break even if they have eggs to sell. We have even heard it said that some people do make a little money, but that is probably rare. Even if you pay a little more, though, fresh eggs from hens raised on pasture are tremendously better tasting and even healthier! Beyond choosing high production breeds in order to save money, you'll also want to choose a breed that lays through the winter. Additionally, you'll want to take into account how much your breed eats to produce each eggsome breeds are "economical eaters," and generally don't eat a whole lot, or are able to forage well.

Other breeds lay well but eat a lotand some breeds are really not good layers at all, but are bought for pleasure: the Polish breeds, for example, are often kept for show due to their unusual appearance! The cost differential between keeping different breeds can be startling on a large scale or when viewed over the long term. Many of those breeds are known as flighty rather than friendly, though, and most are not known as good winter layers. Some are known to go broody, which means they will stop laying eggs occasionally because they will want to hatch some!

The best on this list for backyard pet purposes might be the Welsummer because it is described as friendly, it is a good layer of dark brown eggs, and it is also cold hardy enough to continue laying in cold weather.

You can use the free-feeding method for all types of chickens, with the exception of broiler chickens meatbirds. Then, after this period, they should be given unlimited feed for 12 hours and then go without feed for the next 12 hours.

I suggest that you only buy as much feed as you think your chickens will eat within a couple of weeks. Storing feed in a cool place and in a closed container, like a galvanized steel can with a locking lid Amazon , slows the rate at which it gets stale. But, years ago, I made my first big mistake as a chicken keeper…. Then I noticed that the cheaper food was actually costing me more money in the long run because my chickens needed to eat more low-quality feed just to get the nutrients they needed.

Chickens will eat more in the fall when they need extra protein to regrow feathers during the molting season. Most basic chicken waterers with a no-roost top Amazon will do just fine during the warmer seasons. No-roost top waterers are my favorite because it keeps my chickens from roosting and pooping in their water. For a beginner like me. How do you feel about feeding them scraps from the kitchen? I have heard that they will eat about anything? Thank you for reading the post Ed.

I do supplement our chickens diet with kitchen scraps. There are a few exceptions you may like this post I wrote about things chickens should not eat. How about ducks I have 10 0f them 5 white Peking and 5 Rouen? I feed them twice a day morning and PM also they have a large area to forage in, they are 12 weeks old and very big. Ellen from Georgia. My ducks do not consume as much commercial feed as the chickens do because, like you said, they can forage for a lot of their food.

A fifty pound bag of duck chow lasts at least twice as long as a bag of chicken feed, on a bird per bird comparison. Wish I could be more help. Janet, Is there a good reason not to just throw the feed on the ground?

Our chickens seem to eat it all when we do this. They also free range half the day in an area that includes pasture, woods and a creek. Some will waste more one way and some will waste more the other way. What you do need to be concerned about is if they are eating near poo droppings or if the ground is muddy. It adds up! I feed him 3x a day with four teaspoons per serving. Is this enough?

Jane,I feed our ducks free choice plus a few hours of free ranging time each day. Hope that helps you. Ducks need to eat almost continuously.

I know this is an older post, but could you include the links to the coops you mentioned to Allen? I want to have everything in place before I get them, so they will be right at home as soon as they get here! Thanks for the post! I like to raise chickens, though its been awile, but I can tell you ,I crossed a rode Island Red with a Domilenecker. I am sorry you had trouble with the links. I found a couple of outdated links but most seem to be working perfectly.

I corrected those that were not working any longer. Thank you. Finding nutritious food for chickens is not easy, we always have difficulties in raising chickens. Great post! I use the hanging feeders in all my coops and there is still a good amount of waste from those! They fling the food out and it lands all over the floor. Sharing is appreciated! Comments Great post!

Sharing …. What a great post! I was surprised and happy to see that. Linked up again this week. Great this pecking order thing. I have 4 chickens which I was given when they were small about 12 weeks old, They are now about 9 months old. I found your web site incredibly helpful in giving me advise on food and wellbeing. My chickens are now huge but as yet have not started laying. I was told this could be because they were growing during the winter months and therefore may not start to lay till spring, Could this be the reason or have I not done something I should have.

They are feed layers pellets twice a day mixed grit weekly and corn and scraps as a treat. They seem in good spirits and seem happy. Hi Mary, Thank you for your kind words!

What great advice from your notes I loved reading all of them and have gained so much knolege for the chickens Thankyou. Your site and information has helped tons. I have 5 and they are now 13 weeks. Thanks for all the tips. My New Hampshire survived a bout of foul pox but is now blind in 1 eye because of it. Our other hens bully her, is this because she is blind?

Its possible, but first read through our bullying article. We have 17 Cornish rock chicks that apparently have mites and have lost all of the feathers on their tummies and some on their backs.

Will the festhers grow back? Brooder was cleaned thoroughly, too. Is there anything else I can do to help them? What a great discussion! Found kaboodles of info on here pertaining to feed and general upkeep, in the comments. Thanks, champs! One of my concerns is going out of town for a couple of days once in awhile. Can they be left with sufficient food and water? Hi Karen, The biggest problem you will find with this is not being able to lock their coop at night- this is crucial as predators will attack at night time.

Is it possible a friend could come over at night to lock the coop up? Hi guys, Our 7 girls are about 4 years old and we are only getting about eggs a day instead of a day. We have a trough full of high quality chook food available at all times but also give them a tray of scraps each day that usually contains a lot of greens such as spinach or silverbeet, cooked rice, a bit of bread and some sort of meat such as sausages, steak, roast, curry etc.. Chickens lay the most eggs their first year.

The second year they lay less eggs, but they are larger. The third year and thereafter they lay even less eggs with no increase in size. I had a hen that was nine years old and only laid about eighteen eggs the last five years. Any ideas would be welcome on how to build our 1st chicken coop.

We live in Scotland so temperatures in the winter can be Thank you, have read your blog, very interesting. I love to watch my girls when I add minnows to a shallow water pan. The fisher-hen eventually will put the minnow down to look at it and immediately it will be snatched up by another hen to keep the chase going.

We have a mix of different breeds- they are very sweet. Is it okay either way? For most food it is ok either way Katelyn. Ive been reading about adding water to there feed and making a mash. It forments it. Ive been trying it. But my egg production has gone down.

So its back to the dry feed. It says that it better for the chickens. I have 8 chicks, 1 month old. In there any alternatives to pellets? I really want to have truly organic eggs and most pellets are just not really great about ingredients. Is there a way to feed chickens unprocessed feed?

What would it be? Hi Ogla, Yes there are alternatives. Ask at your local pet feed store for organic poultry feed. I heard that chickens like a dirt or sand bath to keep pest away.

What type of dirt or sand should I put in their dirt bath container? Hi Rosalie, Just regular plain old dirt will work fine! My granddaughter recently got 4 chicks I believe they are White Leghorns from her school. I really appreciate the information on your site as I have never raised chickens.

I have a lot to learn, but wanted to make sure the new chicks, now 4 weeks old, are started out right. Should I leave food out for them at night? Snails used to eat my garden now the chickens eat them. Also a garden snake which they played tug of war. When we have hot days I give them frozen corn. Please help! My chickens like to sleep on the top of the passionfruit vine even in the rain.

I built them a beautiful warm house but they wont go in. Theyre too fast to catch or try to herd them into the house during the day.

When I try to move them in the night, they wake up and scream. Any ideas how to get them to go and sleep in their house? Leave the door open and when you go to feed them in the morning place the food well within the coop and leave water for them also inside the coop. I have trained my girls to come eat when I ring the dinner gong. Ring it every time you feed them. Soon they will come running when they hear the gong. Then at nighrt you can close the door on them while they are feeding, just be sure the have somewhere to roost.

Chickens should eat the same as wild ground feeding birds like quail and pheasant. Greens and all kinds of worms-bugs should be the major diet. Corn and soy is hard on their liver and probably wheat too. Table scraps are fine occasionally. We seem to change animals diets to keep it cheap and convenient for us. Its just not right. The smarter chickens taught the slow learning ones when to come in and out and now they all go in before the door closes at 8pm!

Also keeps them safe from predators! My chickens love left over watermelon. They go crazy over it. Any problems with feeding them watermelon? Thanks for all the info. Its great. I too am just starting with chickens as they were a gift.

I feed them as you recommend. Yesterday one of the hens I only have 9 hens eat one of the eggs. What should I do? Great site, I am about to join the chicken motherhood club. Picking up 4 on weekend, coop arriving tomorrow, very excited. Free range then in coup at nite. Kids 8 and 12 are picking names god help me , wish me luck. I have bought 4 ISA Browns in the last fortnight and am still discovering what they like to eat.

Interestingly I put a whole half pepper in their run and they took no notice of it but when I blitzed the pepper in the food processor and put it back in their run some came straight over and started pecking it up! They also like runner beans blitzed in the food processor and lightly boiled in some water to make a sort of mash. Hi there, I have 6 baby chickens, They are 5 days old, I feed them smashed corn, the problem is they waste most of the food by throwing them away with their feet, how do I stop them from wasting food?

Brilliant information. Beef pate. They love it. I have 8 big girls and they go crazy over tomatoes! Just getting started with chicks and hope to put them into the outside coop in a couple weeks.. Is Straw or woodchips better for the nesting and inside coop? How warm do nights have to be for the 6 week chicks to stay out? Thanks — I got a great amount of info from your blog and question section!!

When you feed your chickens vegetable scraps,like broccoli, is it ok if the vegetables are cooked? Or, do they prefer raw vegetables? Dear Claire, I just became a chicken owner because I have been chosen by the chicken.

She showed up in our yard about ten days ago and seems to have moved in. I have ordered a coop. Is it okay to keep just one chicken? Any insight will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, LeAnne. Aloha, I keep an active compost pile and add green waste and kitchen scrapes and turn it regularly. The chickens watch me turn it and then start scratching. It is full of bugs and the chickens love to scratch for them. Chickens will eat almost everything. The rooster stands on top of the pile. And they take dirt baths around it.

We just throw whole apples out into the run for our girls. They have never had an issue from seeds and they have fun rolling them around! Merry Christmas!! I am soon to have 4baby chicks!!

A little intimidated by the cost. About how much are you paying a month? Also I saw that you offered to have others email when they start raising chickens, can you email me so I can put it on file?

And lastly thank you, this obviously took a lot of time and love. Are there any major differences? Hi I am picking up my 12 20 week old pullets up this saturday and by reading some coments i have only bought Layers pellets and oyster shell for their daily food. Do i just mix in the oyster shell with the pellets every day? Oyster shells should be presented separately and they will peck at them at will.

Zafira I have just acquired my first beautiful hen. I have read all the info and have gone out and bought pellets for her and also give her vegetable and fruit scraps. Also should I cook her the veggies or is raw OK? And also I have fresh water in her bowl but she seems to drink from little puddles in the ground as it spills. What do I do?

I really love her and what to make sure she is healthy and happy. We see a group of hens and a rooster when we are dog walking and they all come running up to us looking for treats. Having checked with their owner he would be quite happy for us to give them a bit of something when we are passing. I cant thank you enough for the info which has given me lots of ideas for tasty chicken treats!!!

Ps I want to come back as one of your birds!! My 6 girls have seemed to stop eating their feed. We have been feeding the Scratch and Peck Layer since they started laying.

Now they seem to be boycotting. They do get greens daily and still eat that but not much feed. Any tips? But, before that, first make sure your food is still fresh and theres nothing rotten about it. Am Godwin U. I really wish to start a layer business, just with 25 numbers of layers about to lay or just starting layering.