Feeding the Neighborhood

Remember when "chicken feed" was a term for something that didn't cost a lot? As in, "I bought it for chicken feed?" We e e ell. Chicken feed is a pretty penny now. And I'm not talking about fancy organic, high in omega shmega feed. Although I WISH I could afford to feed them that. No, we get the cheapest the farm store has to offer. And it still costs so much that I seriously cut down on the size of future flocks when we switched from free range to a run. Yes we can keep more birds alive in the pen, but we have to balance out the costs. You can't get chicken feed for -umm- chicken feed anymore.

I've been really frustrated at the amount of feed we've had to buy for the past several weeks. We cut back some more on the number of hens (and one mean old roo!) and kept only one layer, the 3 Silkies, and our little flock of 10 pullets. And still we are going through almost 50 pounds of feed a week!?! Where in the world could they be putting it?

Well, today, I changed up my routine a little bit. I had to run to town this morning for a medical test and I slept in too late to feed before I left. So I ran down to the coop as soon as I got home and guess what I discovered... a party at the chicken feeder! There in broad daylight were approximately 10 little birds (swallows? starlings?) circled around the feeder. They swooped out as soon as they realized I was there, stopping on the other side of the little door. I think they were demanding a refund from the Silkies that were guarding the entrance.

Now that I've had my "ah-ha" moment, it's time to figure out how to solve this expensive problem. Any suggestions?