Here's an old trick that not everyone knows about: If you feed your chickens out of two feeders, one full of grain and the other one full of chicken feed, you save money. Chickens have a reasonably accurate appetite for calories, protein, and other things, and will mix and match the two feeds in a way that tends to maximize the amount of inexpensive grain they eat, but with no downside in performance or health.

For example, laying hens given access to a balanced 16% layer ration in one feeder and corn in another feeder will eat about 1/3 corn, but will do just as well as hens that eat nothing but the balanced ration.

This has always rather annoyed poultry nutritionists, because it sort of doesn't make sense. The key seems to be that only the high-producing hens need the full 16% protein, while the ones who aren't laying much anyway don't need all that protein -- and don't crave it.

This trick works best if the chickens are given clear choices: a high-protein/low-energy feed and a low-protein high-energy feed. Most commercial chicken feeds use wheat bran and other cheap, low-energy fillers, which means that they fit the bill nicely. I had some trouble with a custom-milled high-protein/high-energy feed -- wonderful feed, and the chickens liked it a lot better than grain. NOT what I had in mind, because it was three times as expensive! So this is a trick where ordinary chicken feed is likely to outperform super-premium stuff.

Normally there are two kinds of layer ration -- a 16% ration and a 20% ration. With the 20% ration, the hens will eat about half grain, half 20% ration. Such rations are formulated for use with supplemental grain, and contain extra calcium and such. For broilers, you simply use the same broiler ration as ever, but with supplemental grain in a second feeder. If you used to use a finisher ration, try using the starter or grower ration plus grain. The results will probably be the same as ever, but the cost will be less.

Corn and wheat are the grains of choice here. They can be tolerated by chickens of any age. Use whichever is cheapest. Chicks can't handle oats or barley very well. Chicks can handle whole wheat, but can't handle whole corn until they're about half-grown.

A three-feeder system is even better, with oystershell in the third feeder. Hens have a definite calcium appetite. If they can get the calcium they crave directly via oystershell, they do. If they have to eat chicken feed for its oystershell content, they'll do that, even if it means eating too much. Feeding oystershell can thus reduce the flock's total feed intake.

To get the maximum feed savings, you need to find your local provider of low-priced grain. Feed stores and feed mills overprice grain, but usually there's a local vendor who is selling it at a lower markup. Here in the Corvallis area, it's Venell Feed. As of this writing, they're selling whole corn at $6.00 a sack, while at Kropf Feed (now CHS Nutrition) it's $10.20 a sack. This is typical.

How much can you save?

• 16% chicken feed from CHS: $11.17/sack or $0.223 per pound

• half 20% CHS feed ($11.70) and half Venell corn ($6.00): $17.70 per cwt or $0.177 per pound

• Savings: $0.046/lb. or 26%.

According to Leeson and Summers' "Commercial Poultry Nutrition," feeding oystershell on the side can give total feed savings of 6%-7%. This means that a total feed savings of 30% is within your grasp!

This topic is covered (along with every conceivable feeding topic) in the classic book, Feeding Poultry by G. F. Heuser, which I have reprinted. Check it out! It even has a chapter on the nutritional value of green feed and free range.