Topping up chicken food

[vancheese]

Hi people

Ive been feeding my six week old chickens commercial chicken food and they are now eating rather alot of this. I'm wondering what cheaper grains I could mix in with the commercial feed, so it will go further. Also, how much food by weight should I give a chicken?
The chickens will be outside and free range so they can pick some food from the grass jungle which is currently outside their house

Thanks for any help

Andy

[doofaloofa]

I stopped using hen food a now feed whole barley and oats ad lib. They also forage

I have had a regular supply of eggs all winter, and the change does not seem to have effected yield, though this is purely annecdotal

[diggernotdreamer]

I don't use chick crumbs any more. My hens get rolled barley and oats and whole barley and oats, not maize as it is all GM, they get organic layers pellets when I have a bit of extra money and forage freely in a large meadow. My chicks get the same as the big chickens, rolled straights have quite a few small bits and the mother hen breaks any large bits down for them, if they are inside, they get weeds and clods of turf to pick over and well rotted compost to pick the worms out of, this time of year they are outside in pens that get moved onto fresh grass every day