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This probably has been spoken about before so sorry for the repetition - Is it best to put the chicken feed in say a hopper or can it just be thrown on the ground so the hens can scratch around also how much should they be eating ( grams ) per day ?

I don't know but I'm glad you asked, I hope you get a reply as I'm sure I overfeed mine. W.

we started with putting the grain/pellets in a tray. but all that happened was it would rain.. they would go into soggy mush . we decided to change when bird flu got a bit close recently in Dorset.. - dont want birds pooing into the food....

so bought a feeder.. the kind with a hat. and actually its great - they dont over eat, and you dont waste food either. the hat keeps the food dry.
we got this one http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/pd4_PO ... EASANT.htm would also recomend a water thingy too.

you only have to fill up every couple of days..so 'feeding the hens' is just peering in and making sure both are full. collecting eggs.. done.

Our hens feed from a very similar feeder to Red's birds. They feed ad-lib and won't overfeed. We throw mixed grain into the run in the late afternoon/early evening so they can scratch around for it and roost with a full crop which sees them through the night.

Our poultry is entirely free-ranging, so we only feed them what they will clean up off the ground in 10 minutes. Otherwise it goes to waste, as wild birds get it. Heavier breeds can actually tend to overeat, lay down the excess as fat and become poor layers.

After 10 minutes' feeding frenzy, all seem very satisfied and go to have a preen and sleep it off. I've been rearing chooks for more than 20 years, and that's what seems to work for us. If yours are not free-ranging, I'd probably get a hopper type feeder, hanging from above, inside their house to discourage wild birds (won't keep away all, but this does seem to act as a deterrent to most of them).

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

My hens are free range, but I get them up each morning with a hanfull of corn each just scattered on the ground in the enclosure, and put them back into the run each evening with a few handfuls of mixed boiled macaroni/rice/bread/carrot/barley and anything else left over, scattered again. They love it!

farmerdrea wrote:Our poultry is entirely free-ranging, so we only feed them what they will clean up off the ground in 10 minutes. Otherwise it goes to waste,

oph yeh good point, forgot to mention my hens are in a huge run, which is covered with netting, so that cuts the wild birds eating the food thing. if you dont have a cover.. you might be better off feeding a set amount each day - like wot famerdrea said

I have a problem with seagulls stealing my girls food. I use a feeder but we have built a low day shelter and place the food under there. It keeps it dry and keeps the gulls off it too.

My girls have a huge garden area to free range in but they are ex-batts and have a voracious appetite. They have eaten all of the grass off the whole area and eat every shoot as it regrows so it is impossible to regrow any grass there. I was amazed as I have kept 7 chooks on there for years without anything like this problem. A year ago my girls were all killed by a fox and I replaced them with 5 ex-batts. The girls are lovely but eat and lay like there's no tomorrow.

I only scatter small amounts of scraps because of the gulls.

We have a feeder and drinker hanging up in their house. Once they're out they scrat about until we give them corn in the afternoon, just a few handfuls that they can scratch around for. They would always prefer corn which is why we leave it until later in the day. Likewise any scraps.

I have a hanging feeder with layers pellets inside the shed too. Then they get wheat scattered around on the ground in the afternoon.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice
cheers
Lorrayne