How Much Feed Does a Chicken Eat per Day?

TL;DR: This guide gives no grams-per-bird figure, because the honest answer depends on bird size, stage, breed, temperature and waste — and a wrong number in a budget is worse than no number. Instead: weigh what you put out over a week, divide by birds and days, and use your own figure. Then attack waste, which is usually the biggest and cheapest saving: feeder design, not overfilling, dry storage and rat control. Expect intake to fall in hot weather, taking production with it.

Feed is the largest running cost in any flock. Everything about the economics rests on this number, which is why it is worth measuring rather than guessing.

Why No Figure Is Printed Here

Because the variables that move it are all larger than the precision a general figure implies:

Variable	Effect
Bird size	A Jersey Giant and a Serama are not comparable
Stage of life	Chick, grower, layer in production, molting hen, broiler in finishing
Type	Commercial layer, native, broiler, gamefowl
Temperature	Birds eat less in heat
Ration	Denser rations are eaten in smaller volume
Waste	Often a substantial share of what leaves the sack
Foraging	Free-range birds get part of their intake elsewhere

A figure that ignores all of that is a figure that will be wrong for your flock. Measure instead.

Measure Your Own, in a Week

Weigh the feed you put out, each day, for seven days. A cheap kitchen or luggage scale is enough.
Count the birds, by class — layers, growers, chicks separately if you can.
Divide: total feed ÷ birds ÷ 7 = feed per bird per day.
Do it again in a different season. Hot-month intake and cool-month intake differ, and your budget needs both.
Write it down and use that number for planning.

This takes a week and gives you something no article can: a figure that is true of your birds, your ration and your feeders.

Once you have it, the arithmetic that follows is straightforward: cost per bird per day, cost per egg, cost to raise a bird to market. See is poultry farming profitable and selling eggs.

What You Will Notice

Intake falls in the heat. Digestion generates body heat, so a bird under heat load eats less. This is one of the main reasons lay rate and growth drop in hot weather even with feed freely available — see heat stress in chickens. Feeding at the cooler hours helps.

Layers in production eat steadily. A hen making an egg every day or two has a continuous demand and it shows.

Growing birds’ intake climbs. Budget for more feed each week rather than a flat figure — see growing pullets.

Broilers are on a programme. Their intake follows a phased plan and their economics hang on feed conversion — see broiler chicken feeding program and broiler feed conversion ratio.

Free-range birds take less from you and more from the ground — see free-range native chicken farming.

Waste Is the Cheapest Saving

Feed that leaves the sack and does not enter a bird is pure loss, and most flocks lose more than the keeper thinks.

Where it goes:

Billed out of the feeder. Chickens flick feed sideways as they sort it. An overfilled, shallow, open feeder sprays it around — see DIY chicken feeder.
Rain and damp. Wet feed spoils and moulds — and mouldy feed must be discarded, not fed, per what not to feed chickens.
Rats. They eat it, foul it, and chew through sacks.
Chewed sacks and open storage.

Fixes, all cheap:

Do not fill feeders to the brim.
Raise feeders to about the height of the birds’ backs.
Use a lip or grill that blocks sideways billing.
Keep feeders covered and dry.
Store feed in sealed metal or hard plastic, off the floor.
Remove or close feeders overnight.

Are They Getting Enough?

The bird tells you, not the scale:

Body condition — feel the breast. Thin birds are underfed, unwell or parasitised.
Production — a drop in lay is often the first sign, though heat, molt and parasites cause it too, per why chickens stop laying eggs.
Behaviour at the feeder — birds crowding and fighting suggests too little feeder space, not necessarily too little feed. Add feeding points — see the pecking order.
Uneven flock — wide size variation usually means some birds cannot get to the feed.

Before concluding you need more feed, check for worms, mites and lice. Parasites make a well-fed bird look underfed.

The Honest Limits Here

This guide deliberately publishes no feed-intake figures. Published intake data exists — breeding companies supply it for their own strains under controlled conditions — and it is specific to those strains and conditions. A general number applied to a mixed Philippine backyard flock would mislead anyone budgeting from it. Weigh your own over a week, in more than one season, and use that. If you are running commercial stock, ask your supplier for the strain’s management guide, which will include intake by age.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much feed does a chicken eat per day?

It depends on the bird size, its stage of life, the temperature and how much feed is wasted. Rather than using a general figure, weigh what you put out over a week and divide — that number is the one your budget should use.

Why does feed intake change with the weather?

Birds eat less in heat. Digestion generates body heat, so a hot bird reduces intake, which is why production and growth fall during hot spells even when feed is freely available.

Do laying hens eat more than other birds?

A hen in production has a high, continuous nutritional demand, so intake reflects that. A bird that is not laying, or is in molt, eats differently.

How do I reduce feed cost?

Cut waste first, since it is free to fix — right feeder design, do not overfill, keep feed dry and rats out. Then look at the ration and at supplementary options like forage.

Does feed waste really matter?

It is often the largest single saving available. Feed billed out of an overfilled feeder, spoiled by rain, or eaten by rats is bought and not used.

Should I restrict feed?

For layers and growing birds, feed is generally offered free-choice. Deliberate feed restriction is a specific technique used in some situations, such as holding broilers past market age, and it should be done knowingly rather than by underfeeding.

How do I know if my birds are getting enough?

Watch body condition, production and behaviour. Thin birds, falling lay rate, or birds crowding the feeder aggressively all suggest intake or access is short.