Poultry Feeding System

[BarredBuff]

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[freemotion]

I scatter whole grains for my birds. I scatter food and wait and scatter and wait until they show no interest. Twice a day, winter and summer. I also wait for the lowest on the pecking order to show up. The two or three bottom roosters aren't allowed to eat (by the other three roosters and the guinea cock) until everyone else has had their fill, and those three roos are gonna be dinner so I make sure they get some, too.

 

[BarredBuff]

What kind of whole grains?

 

[Marianne]

I have two feeders in my coop, one with scratch grains and crushed egg shells, the other with grower/layer feed. I just let them eat as much as they want. I usually let my hens free range, but there is sorghum planted on either side of our place so too much cover for predators until after harvest (we lost two hens in one day last year). Our feed bill is pretty low in the months that they free range, but they still eat some from the feeders.

I usually throw some scratch into the hen's fenced front yard so they have something to scratch around and look for. There's still brome and grass in there, too. I figure that anything they might miss could grow into more food for them. I only have 10 hens, oops I mean chickens - one of them crowed this morning!

 

[BarredBuff]

I think mine is high because all the baby ducks and chickens

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I don't feed free choice, I'd go absolutely broke! I feed twice a day, and they free range all over the property. They seem to be doing just fine.

 

[gettinaclue]

That's a lot of birds. I only have 16. I just put a couple feeders in the run where the chicks are and fill it about 1/2 way and let them munch a while seperated from the big birds. I also have another feeder where I put layer feed and give the big girls an opportunity to eat. After a few minutes everyone free ranges the rest of the day.

I have to fill the chick's feeder every couple days. The laying hens have hardly touched their layer feed since I've let them free range all day. They prefer the grass and the bugs. They get in our gravel driveway for grit. I do throw out scratch and boss for them because I enjoy watching them run to me when I call LOL I think they look silly. The only thing I really need to put down is calcium. I mostly use crushed egg shells.

 

[savingdogs]

I feed free choice but only once a day, and it is empty by the time we refill. I have the same issue as freemotion, if I did not provide plenty some of the birds would not be allowed to eat by the more dominant ones. I let mine free-range in a fenced area every day in the summer and this seems to cut my feed bill by about 1/2. I use scratch grains to get them to go back into their pen when I need them to, it is more of a tool than a food.

 

[BarredBuff]

Mine also free range...........anyhow I got wheat bran today with egg money we had. Im gonna see how they like that.