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My neighbor Karen told me I was overfeeding my chickens and she was right
I used to give my hens like 2 cups of layer feed each per day plus all the kitchen scraps they wanted. Karen said I was making them fat and lazy lol. Turns out she was right, I cut back to 1/4 cup per bird morning and night and they actually started foraging more in my backyard in Portland.
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black.jordan7d ago
2 cups per day plus scraps" is way too much. But 1/4 cup morning and night sounds pretty low to me. That's only half a cup total per day. Most layer feeds recommend about 1/4 to 1/3 pound per bird which is more like a full cup. Your birds might not be getting enough protein now especially if they're laying. Chickens need a balanced diet not just foraging. A good laying hen eats about 1/2 cup of feed per day plus treats. You probably just needed to cut out the free feeding and the scraps not slash it that hard.
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carr.blake7d ago
Kept my birds on a strict 1/4 cup each in the morning and another 1/4 cup in the evening for a few months and they laid fine actually. They had a big run with lots of grass and bugs though so maybe that made up the difference. @black.jordan I think you're right that half a cup sounds short but for me it worked because they cleaned every crumb and stopped wasting feed. I did notice their shells got a little thin so I added oyster shells on the side and that fixed it quick. How long did you try that half cup schedule before switching?
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