We are still learning on the
fly (PUN, giggles). We don’t begin to know
everything and highly recommend doing your own research. Those of you that keep chickens, please comment
on things you do, so that we can continue to learn. Thank you!
How
much should I budget for feed and what do I feed my chickens?
First let’s establish that we
are discussing standard-sized egg-laying chickens, not bantams, chicks or
broilers. We are also discussing
chickens with no special needs, not molting, brooding or healing from an
injury.
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| A Mille Fluer Leghorn Pullet. She is almost the perfect back yard chicken. Nearly every day she'll lay a great big whit(ish) colored egg and she only weighs 6 lbs so she won't eat much. That's a really good ROI for feed. |
Time and again sources prove
that the average adult hen will eat nearly a quarter pound of feed a day if she
is kept in a caged environment. Here is
one source: http://www.nutrenaworld.com/knowledge-center/poultry/how-much-does-a-chicken-eat/index.jsp
Our
hens run around and we feed them kitchen scraps so I know they eat less than
.25 lb a day. For budgeting purposes
though, we use that figure.
The average family of 5 people
will need about 8 hens. This will provide
6 -8 eggs a day in the summer and maybe 2 or 3 in the winter.
Unless of course, there are lights in the
coop. But that’s a topic for another day.
So 8 hens will eat 2lbs of food a day. This means that a 50lb bag of feed will last
25 days.
If your chickens are free
range and supplemented with kitchen scraps, odds are high that you’ll manage a
month on one bag. We buy organic feed
which is more than double the cost of non-organic. Regular feed is $12 - $14 in our area. Once you are past the initial investment,
your eggs could cost you $14 a month.
That’s pretty impressive, especially if you are getting 15 dozen eggs in
that month! Remember that home grown
eggs will have a nutrition value that far surpasses store bought eggs, even if
you choose not to use organic feed!
Besides, fresh eggs taste SOOOO good!
If you are the food-saving
type, here is a great blog on how to keep your eggs all year long! http://taylormaderanch.com/blog/preserving-the-bounty-freezing-fresh-eggs/#comment-61062
I highly recommend reading that
blog page if you ever have too many eggs.
What kind of feed should you
buy?
Buy chicken food. Not dog or cat food. Chickens have special needs because they are
doing a special thing when they lay eggs!
·
Feed. A complete layer pellet
will have no less than 15% protein. Soy protein
works best – if GMO’s concern you –then hunt for GMO free, soy-based chicken
feed.
·
Grit. Chickens don’t have
teeth. They depend on stones in their
digestive tract to grind up food. If
they free-range, they’ll find their own grit.
If they are penned up, make sure you supply grit in the form of sandy
pebbles, store bought grit or real dirt, sand and weeds to play in.
·
Calcium.
“The eggshell for each egg that your hen lays
is about 95% calcium carbonate by dry weight. In just one year’s time,
the amount of calcium that a hen will put into her eggshells can equal 20 times
the amount of calcium that is contained in her bones. That’s a lot of calcium.
In order to stay healthy and produce strong egg shells, she needs to consume a
steady supply of calcium.”
McMurray http://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2011/03/29/should-i-feed-my-chickens-oyster-shells/
You can see that calcium is
important. So if your feed does not have
enough calcium, or you allow free range or feed lots of kitchen scraps, you
will need to supplement. Oyster shell is
cheap and worth it. Some people suggest
feeding egg shells to chickens. Never do
this! It teaches them that eggs are
food. Oops, you don’t want them eating
YOUR breakfast! More information on
calcium:
·
Treats! Chickens LOVE kitchen
scraps.
The short list is
what NOT to feed them.
1. Avocados.
They kill chickens.
2. Bananas.
They kill chickens too.
3. Chicken.
Don’t encourage cannibalism.
4. Moldy food.
Not to worry, that odd grape, berry or tomato with mold on it is not the
real problem. The real problem is that 3
month old cheesecake you found in the back of the fridge. Use your common sense—don’t feed that to
animals that can get sick from it! Chickens
have very delicate respiratory systems.
If you don’t want your mouth near it, odds are high they don’t
either.
5. Egg shells, already covered that. Eggs, however are fine if they’re cooked and
in other scraps. Do not feed raw eggs.
6. Milk products. They
can’t digest it. Use real probiotics not
yogurt. (That will be a topic for
another day). Don’t worry about that
little bit of cheese in the taco salad, just don’t pour milk in the feeder.
Another blog with more in-depth
information about feeding chickens.
If you keep chickens, do you have a daily routine for feeding them scraps? What do they love best? Our chickens come running when they hear my voice - do yours?
