Need Feeding Help

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

We feed Tucker Mill’s NatureCrest layer (16.5%).
I felt that the flock really could use some more protein as I’ve seen real good results with my growouts on Kalmbach’s 22% meatbird feed.

So we have started feeding TM NatureCrest Chick starter (18%) and free feed oyster.
But since they make such a massive mess & waste so much; we have started soaking it before feeding them.

Research says they need 1/4lb/hen/day. With our mixed flock we should feed around 10lbs/day. (2 geese & 7 ducks)
Today they have had around 12lbs & are still begging for food. (The hens are.)

If we fed less they’d probably quit laying just to spite us! LoL

What’s the advice here? We feeding too much? Not enough?

 

[Al Gerhart]

Uh, 10 pounds per day is enough for 40 chickens. You have two geese and seven ducks? How many hens?

What else are you feeding besides chickens, geese, and ducks? What kind of feeders? You pay for good feeders even when you don't have them.

 

[K0k0shka]

Dosing is difficult because these birds usually eat small amounts throughout the day, and need to have feed available to them at all times, free choice. They can regulate how much they eat. Invest in better feeders that reduce waste, rather than trying to dose how much to feed them.

 

[saysfaa]

Are you measuring after adding the water? The 1/4 pound per day is the ballpark amount for dry pellets or crumble or ground feed.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Uh, 10 pounds per day is enough for 40 chickens. You have two geese and seven ducks? How many hens?

What else are you feeding besides chickens, geese, and ducks? What kind of feeders? You pay for good feeders even when you don't have them.

Lolol sooorrry! We have 33 chickens, 2 geese & 7 ducks.

That’s all they get a day. Unless a scrap here & there or grass tossed in from garden.

We have several different style feeders. Not sure why that matters? Lol

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Are you measuring after adding the water? The 1/4 pound per day is the ballpark amount for dry pellets or crumble or ground feed.

Yes! We did the calculation dry.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Dosing is difficult because these birds usually eat small amounts throughout the day, and need to have feed available to them at all times, free choice. They can regulate how much they eat. Invest in better feeders that reduce waste, rather than trying to dose how much to feed them.

We have a gutter style feeder (rarely any waste there), and typical hanging feeders.
They will pick through & make a massive mess on the hanging feeders. Like they’re looking for a specific piece of food.
With layer pellets we just would remove the feeders & they would clean up the ground. But because the crumbles are so fine, that doesn’t work. It gets ground into the dirt/wood chips & wasted.

With using the water method currently, they’re getting bowls & doing fine with that.

I agree they need to be able to eat throughout the day. But I do think some are over eating & just freeloading here.

That also doesn’t make sense why the pellets go farther when there is more protein in crumbles & more mass in the crumbles bag due to sizing.

 

[saysfaa]

How long since the change? They do sometimes overeat a yummy new food but settle back to needed amounts as it becomes less of a novelty.

 

[K0k0shka]

That also doesn’t make sense why the pellets go farther when there is more protein in crumbles & more mass in the crumbles bag due to sizing.

The pellets probably go farther because there's less waste with them, if the birds are able to pick them out from the ground, where the crumbles get ground into the dirt and lost. If pellets work better for you in terms of minimizing waste, then go back to a pelleted feed. A lot of people prefer pellets to crumble for that reason. There are feeds that come in both pelleted and crumbled form, so you can still pick one that has the protein level you need, but is in pelleted form. For example Purina Flock Raiser is 20% protein and comes in either pellets or crumble.

 

[NatJ]

Research says they need 1/4lb/hen/day. With our mixed flock we should feed around 10lbs/day. (2 geese & 7 ducks)

We have 33 chickens, 2 geese & 7 ducks.

1/4 pound per laying hen per day is only an estimate, and is too low for some kinds of chickens. So there's one possible problem with your numbers.

The bigger problem with your numbers is that you figured food for 40 chickens. You actually have 42 birds, and each duck or goose will be expected to need more feed than a chicken. So you almost certainly need to feed more.

Today they have had around 12lbs & are still begging for food. (The hens are.)

If they act hungry, give them more feed. Weighing the dry feed is a good way to keep track of how much you are giving, but keep increasing until you find the amount that is right.

The amount of feed may change at different seasons of the year (hot or cold weather, laying or not, molting or not, etc.)

I agree they need to be able to eat throughout the day. But I do think some are over eating & just freeloading here.

That also doesn’t make sense why the pellets go farther when there is more protein in crumbles & more mass in the crumbles bag due to sizing.

If they are overeating and freeloading, you should figure out which ones are too fat and butcher them.

Or you can just provide plenty of feed and trust them to know how much they actually do need.

As for the pellets vs. crumbles, if they are wasting the crumbles, that is the obvious explanation. If you are comparing with wet crumbles that are not being wasted, I don't know for sure. @saysfaa has a good point:

How long since the change? They do sometimes overeat a yummy new food but settle back to needed amounts as it becomes less of a novelty.