I’ve used pellet bedding before and had the same thought. It really does look like chicken feed at first glance. My girls pecked at it a little when I first put it in the coop, but once they realized it wasn’t food, they left it alone. I’ve never seen them actually eat a bunch of it.
What I like...
Haha I feel you — goats are something else, always acting like they’re starving even with a whole pasture in front of them! I’ve got a mixed flock too and went through the same thing trying to simplify feeding.
All Flock feed works great for the chickens, ducks, geese, and guineas, just toss...
I had the same issue with my girls when they first started laying. Some weird-shaped eggs, soft shells, all of it. It’s pretty normal for young hens at first, but feed can definitely make a difference. I’ve used Purina Layer too and my flock seems to like it — the eggs got better after a couple...
Oh no, I’m really sorry to hear that. That’s so hard.:cool:
It’s wild how attached we get to them, isn’t it? They’re just chickens, but not just chickens, you know?
It sounds like Stripe had a pretty good last day—out pecking, roaming, just being a chicken. I really hope it was quick too, and...
Hey, I’ve had something similar happen with a few of my hens. If they’ve been missing tail feathers for that long, and now some have bald spots on their necks too, it could be a few things.
You already ruled out mites and haven’t seen any pecking—so that’s good. But sometimes feather picking...
You're on the right track! Since you've got a mixed-age flock, an All Flock or Grower feed with free-choice oyster shells is actually a great setup—especially while most of your hens are still under laying age.
Layer feed has extra calcium, which is great for hens that are laying but can be too...
Thanks! :hugsThey’re in a covered run most of the time because of predators, but I let them out to free range for a few hours in the afternoon when I’m home. They love scratching around and dust bathing under the trees. I just have to keep an eye on the garden or they’ll tear through the lettuce...
Thanks for the advice. Sounds like we’re doing it pretty much the same way. I also just add water to the dry mix and let it sit a bit before feeding or pressing into pellets. Good to know it works well with crumbles and pellets too. That gives me more confidence.
I haven’t used cornmeal as mash...
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. I really appreciate your explanation. It is very helpful.:jumpy
I started making pellets because cornmeal goes bad easily where I live, and wet mash takes a lot of time and effort to prepare every day. I once saw a video of someone using a...
Thanks for the welcome! I’m realizing there’s a lot more that goes into proper feed than I thought. I’ll pay more attention to the mineral content and keep learning as I go. Appreciate you taking the time to share that.:thumbsup
Thanks so much for the honest feedback! I really appreciate you...
Poor girl… she really does look uncomfortable. I’m not an expert, but I’ve had a hen with similar feather damage before. In my case, it wasn’t mites either, just some kind of stress or maybe a nutritional issue. I added some extra protein to her feed (like scrambled eggs or mealworms) and gave...
Oh wow,that sound a good idea. But it actually makes a lot of sense. I’ve been using a pellet machine to make feed for my chickens. Now I’m thinking maybe I could try using it for bedding too. Sounds like a smart idea. I’ll definitely give it a try and see how it goes. Thanks for the idea!:bow
Just started making my own chicken feed pellets – looking for some advice
I’m pretty new to raising chickens—just keeping around 20 laying hens in the backyard for now. Nothing too big, just something for our own use. Lately I’ve been trying to make my own feed pellets, mainly to cut down on...