chickens wont eat pellets?

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I'm having the same issue and don't know what else to do. Even made into mash with treats mixed in, they are rejecting it. An entire feeder-full of it is lining the bottom of their run right now from their picking through it for "real food" on day 1. They really hate this new food, and I have an expensive 40 lb bag of it.

We're on day 4, and while they've had free range of our yards the prior days, I am keeping them in their run today (which has pretty bare and picked over dirt, so not much for them to eat) and I am worried they just won't eat any food. Today is the first day of no eggs. :-(

They are used to a whole grain mix but always left the powder behind, so I, too, switched to these organic high nutrient pellets in the hopes that it would be a more efficient feed. So far: not efficient and not feed! :-(
 
Tomatoqueen: This is an old thread. Last winter, my flock just about starved on a bag of feed. I'd bought this feed many times before, but for some reason, they'd not eat this bag, though it looked and smelled fine. I took it back to the store, and they happily replaced it. I bought a bag of multiflock which was higher protein, and they immediately resumed eating. You could try fermenting it. But, you might want to call the feed store, and let them know you're having problems. Also, if you mix treats into the feed, you're training them to be looking for goodies, just like a kid who has a plate with chicken, broccoli, and peanut butter cups. He's going to choose the candy, and leave the meat and veggies behind.
 
Lazy Gardner hit it on the head. If chickens are not eating pellets it is because they have other options. When pellets are first introduced it has to be pellets only until they establish them as their main staple. You can't give in. They will not starve. I have never seen a chicken that won't eat a pellet. Once they are eating the pellets you can reintroduce treats and free ranging.
 
You know, that was a great idea. I called the feed store and they were really gracious about exchanging the food. I would not have let a 50 lb bag of feed go to waste, but trading it back for the food they like (and getting our eggs back) was worth it! They may be spoiled, but I don't see the point of keeping them penned in, hungry and ornery for the sake of it. 6 days was enough! ;-)
 
Whenever I'm changing over to pellets from crumbles I take 2-3 days of feeding the pellets as treats first. Don't ask me why but I have seen many times when food in the feeder will go untouched will be fought over when thrown in the run. I just start feeding to them as treats in the same place I feed scratch and they will eat it.This is the one time it;s ok to feed them lots of treats if their eating the pellets. After a couple of days of this I just start putting it in the feeder. All it takes is a couple of the brave girls to eat and they all catch on.I have noticed that the more chickens you have the better. More chickens equals more competition for food
 

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