[4crumleys]

I have 6 Rhode Island Reds about 12 weeks old that I just got. How much should I be feeding them? Right now I have a feeder that they have access to all day long while out in their run. Their run is 5 x 20. Did not know if they could be overfeed or if I should limit what they eat.

thanks for help

 

[Muleman]

I would feed them all the time if it were me. I have feed available for my chickens all the time. The only exception is my Cornish Cross Broilers, which I limit.

 

[Forcast]

Yep what Muleman said

 

[idigbeets]

I feed 1/4lb per bird, per day. up to 1/3 in the winter/cold days. My layers do not have access to feed 24/7, if they eat it all, its time to forage.

Broilers get fed roughly 1/3-1/2lb per bird per day, depending on how they are eating down the feeder.

 

[gracielagata]

I started doing closer to what Idigbeets does, as well. My chickens don't free range on good land, they live in a 50-6ish ft x 50-60ish ft fenced area. So there are occasional bugs and such.
I stopped free feeding them and started the 1/4lb/bird/day and noticed I feed MUCH less and get the same amount of eggs. MUCH less wasted as well. I feed 2x per day.
I still pour the feed into that 11lb metal hanging feeder you can buy. They do better this way it seems, for less money. If I am not going to be home for several days, I will fully fill the feeder for them so as to make less work for their caretaker.

 

[Muleman]

The above post does make some good points, a lot will depend on how you are housing them and what other things are available to them besides FEED. When I had mine in tractors moving them around the yard they would eat approximately 2 to 3 times the feed they are now. I now have them in a small 4'x8' laying house at night then they are free to range in the pig lot and small pasture in the day. Since changing now I fill one small feeder that is in the laying house and it will go three days before it is empty. When given a choice I think most will forage before they eat commercial feed. Just some considerations if you are concerned with feed cost or looking a little farther down the road. Free ranging will offer some economic benefits if you are able to do so, tractors are the next best thing.

 

[bergere]

I free feed mine in the hen house.
Though spring and summer, they eat very little feed... lots of yummy bugs out there.
Autumn and winter, their feed consumption picks up a lot.
Specially in winter when its really cold and they have to eat more to keep warm.

 

[Rick]

We had 4 reds running modified free, and when they found weak spots in my fence and 2 mastered flying the ranged even more freely.

We didn't measure feed, and they did sure waste a lot - that's when we'd slack off on the feed.

When cold nights started they were cleaning the pots and ground totally up at night.

Some nights they would leave the cat food we would treat them to and just eat feed.

 

[akane]

I've always free feed mine. When I had free ranging chickens they would eat the feed last. Often August through October the feeder wouldn't even empty enough to fill it. Except the eggs tasty horribly kind of like grasshopper around september. I know eggs don't usually take the flavor of things they eat but seriously I used to ingest lots of grasshopper parts while shoveling unscreened oats from the field and it tasted just like that. I would guess it's the protein source. We ate month old eggs for awhile and gave the dogs the fresh eggs for about a month.