Chicken Feeding: Layer Feed, Then the Feeder and the Waterer

Feed laying hens a complete layer feed, free choice. A 6 lb hen eats about 3 lb a week. Size the feeder and the waterer from that number, then add oyster shell and grit in their own dishes.

The feed row comes first. The gear pages only make sense after you know how much the flock eats and drinks. Six hens eat about 18 lb a week. A 25 lb feeder then lasts about 10 days.

Water is the other half. Kentucky lists 5.55 gal per 100 laying hens a day at 68°F. That is about 0.33 gal a day for six hens, so a 2 gal waterer lasts them about 6 days in mild weather.

Protein sits on the bag, not in a guess. University of Maine lists 15 to 19% for light laying breeds and 14 to 16% for dual-purpose birds, with calcium at least 2.5 to 3.5%. Switch to that layer feed at the first egg, and not more than 2 weeks before.

Open the feed guide if you are still choosing the bag. It covers layer feed, oyster shell, grit and how small a scratch handful should be. Open a gear page if the bag is already in the shed and you need a container that matches the flock.

Chicks do not eat layer feed. They start on a complete starter and stay on it for the first weeks. The starter page gives the protein range and the pounds per chick. The brooder pages live under Chicks, not here.

Penn State gives 3 to 4 linear inches of feeder space per large bird, and 1 in for bantams. Count ports the same way. Six ports serve six hens at once. A flock of eight can still share them, because hens take turns.

Set the lip of the feeder at back height, and keep it about half full. University of Maine gives both of those as ways to cut waste. A deep, full trough is easy for a hen to flick out with her beak.

Store spare feed off the concrete, in a sealed non-metal bin. University of Maine says feed keeps about 1 month in summer and about 2 months in winter. A feeder that holds more than the flock eats in that window leaves old feed in the bottom.

Scratch grain is a side dish. University of Maine puts scratch near 10% protein and says to offer only what the flock clears in 20 to 30 minutes. It does not replace the layer feed.

In winter, check the water before you check the feed. A frozen waterer stops the hens even when the feeder is full. The heated-waterer page lists watts, gallons and the cold rating on each unit. Pick by flock size first, then by how cold the nights get.

Bring a feeder in at dusk if rats are a problem. Kentucky Extension says to leave no feed in the run at night. A treadle lid helps during the day. It does not replace that evening habit.

Write three numbers down before you buy anything. Hens in the flock. Pounds of feed they eat in a week. Gallons they drink in a week. Every page linked above turns those three numbers into a container size.