Chickens

Every chicken owner (or potential chicken owner) knows how super valuable it would be to have a chicken feeding guide. Whether you are just thinking about getting chickens or perhaps already have chickens, you may wonder how much feed per chicken you can expect them to eat.

Of course, how much feed your chickens will consume will depend on a few factors.  We will look at age/size as well as feed supplements as we assess how much feed per chicken you will need to provide.

So, here a Chicken Feeding Guide to find out how much feed per chicken will be needed.

First, let’s talk about adult layers.  A generally accepted layer feed consumption per day is .25 or 1/4 of a pound of chicken feed per day. This is assuming that you are feeding adult layers a regular dry chicken feed as their only source of feed.

Next, let’s talk about chicks from hatch to 8 weeks of age.  Of course, a little baby chick is not going to be feed as much as an adult chicken.  From our experience raising pullet growouts, each chick will eat about 5 – 6 pounds of feed from day one to 8 weeks of age.  The first few weeks, they don’t consume much feed.  But at week 4 or so, they can really start to plow through their feed.

A few factors to take into account when looking at how much feed per chicken to provide:

1. As discussed above, age is an important factor.  Babies and young chicks won’t consume as much feed.

 

2. Size of birds.  If you are feeding bantam (small sized) breeds like Silkies, they will obviously eat less than heavy breeds such as Orpingtons.

3. Feed Supplements.  If you are feeding your chickens in addition to their regular feed, their feed consumption will decrease.

 

So, for example, if they are getting lots of garden scraps, scratch, mealworms or are free-ranging they will be getting nutrients from additional sources and will not need as much feed per day.

4. Feeding set-up.  If you are using no-waste feeders or fermenting feed, your chickens will be getting more of the good stuff and wasting less.  This will mean less feed per day per chicken.

5. Health and Environment.  If your chickens are sick at all, if they are molting or if it is very hot or cold (or any type of extreme environment) then they need more feed in order to combat the stress on their bodies.

Any questions on how much feed to provide your chickens?  Drop them in the comments below!