wasted chicken feed

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Paul Cereghino, Sep 3, 2008.

  1. Paul Cereghino

    Paul Cereghino Junior Member

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    I am buying in pellets for my laying hens in a fairly suburban environment. I've constructed a feeder that I can fill allowing my laying hens to feed on demand. They scatter a lot of food on the ground, and only eat it when there is nothing more to scatter about, and by then it usually rains (sorry for those stricken by drought). I am considering rationing to encourage more efficient use of purchased feed. Any suggestions? They are in a wheeled coop and I move the yard every month or two. I am working on more tractor-like arrangements and gleaning opportunities for the ladies, but I suspect I will be managing bought in feed for a while. What is a good feed rate? Most web resources suggest the endless trough approach.
    Paul
     
  2. SueinWA

    SueinWA Junior Member

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    Re: wasted chicken feed

    I hang my feeder, and I use pelleted feed, not crumbles, as several people told me that they waste a lot more when crumbles are fed. Since I only have four hens, I never fill it up. At first, when the feed got low, they would eat what they could reach, but there was always a mound in the center that they couldn't reach. Finally, I got smart and put a largish, pointy-on-top rock in the bottom of the dispenser, to occupy much of that space. The last of the feed slides closer to the sides, where they can reach it. A rock shaped like a Hershey's chocolate kiss would be perfect (still looking). Maybe I will make one out of concrete, in a simple in-ground sand mold.

    I keep it in their covered pen where the rain can't get to it. They don't go into the pen much during the day, but they can if they want to.

    Sue
     
  3. paradisi

    paradisi Junior Member

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    Re: wasted chicken feed

    I use grandpas feeder

    absolutely brilliant

    I went from a 25kg bag of feed every 3 weeks for 4 hens to one bag every 3 1/2 months for four hens

    the waste was going to the local doves

    https://www.poultry-feeders.com/

    they are expesnive - mine cost $195 plus postage, but I reckon I'll get my money back in six months

    and they are dead easy to train the chooks in using them

    my lohmans brown got the hang of it on day one
    the light sussex took a while longer
     
  4. tina

    tina New Member

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  5. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    we had 4 chooks some time ago building another chook combo now for more again maybe 6, wife would feed ours grain mash 1 cup each once a day, we got eggs each day(4), would never use that pelleted stuff that is same/similar to what chook farms use. our birds then as now will ahve free range from early arvo' on grass, where they get to eat various bugs as well.

    len
     
  6. johnw7000

    johnw7000 Junior Member

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