A question for those who feed Scratch&Peck

[Stephine]

Hi!

I have been feeding Scratch&Peck grower to my little flock and am happy with it except: they will not eat the yellow peas!
I mix up the powdery leftovers every few days with a dollop of yoghurt and water so they get the whole nutrition, but they still pick around those peas. Of course this throws off the protein balance of the feed. My flock eats lentils just fine, so ever once in a while I throw them some lentils, plus they get some grubs as treats daily, so I am making up for what they are lacking, but it bugs me that I throw some feed away!
How are yours with the peas?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I keep telling folks that chickens HATE Legumes and that all peas and beans are members of the dredded LEGUME family. There is a bright side here. Now you know how knowledgeable the "Scientist" is who is formulating your chicken feed.
Chicken Feed, especially on the retail level is only supposed to appeal to your pocket book.

A good parallel is fish lures. For a fishing lure to catch a fish it must first catch the fisherman's eye. The feed companies understand this and I sometimes think that if some quack came out and advocated massive amounts of radioactive isotopes in chicken feed that before long every sack of chicken feed would come complete with a lead tee shirt.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Honestly... being able to pick and choose what they like is ONE reason why MANY have quit using beautiful feed like that.

It has actually allowed for fatty liver syndrome and even sudden death in some birds... USUALLY they may be predisposed genetically in some manner and have been fed excess treats.

However since the risk is not worth it for many they have switched to the pelleted feed instead to ensure the birds are consuming what they are supposed to.

Don't jump to a conclusion that your birds are in danger because of this information... please just do a little research and see how it applies to you or how you feel about it.

Sorry I didn't answer your question. I'm curios too.

 

[lilmillefleur]

I agree with eggcessive in that you should switch to a starter/grower crumble so they won’t pick and choose.

 

[Stephine]

Honestly... being able to pick and choose what they like is ONE reason why MANY have quit using beautiful feed like that.

It has actually allowed for fatty liver syndrome and even sudden death in some birds... USUALLY they may be predisposed genetically in some manner and have been fed excess treats.

However since the risk is not worth it for many they have switched to the pelleted feed instead to ensure the birds are consuming what they are supposed to.

Don't jump to a conclusion that your birds are in danger because of this information... please just do a little research and see how it applies to you or how you feel about it.

Sorry I didn't answer your question. I'm curios too.

Well... it’s tricky!
I am inclined to believe that dried peas just aren’t really good for chickens and that’s why they don’t eat them. the question is: do you believe the chicken or do you believe the scientist?
In a crumble or pellet, the chickens are stuck with whatever somebody deemed to be the appropriate feed. They may or may not have been right about that. Maybe raw dried legumes are in fact unhealthy for them but we just haven’t figured that out yet? In a pellet they have to eat it anyway if they want any food at all. On top of the scientists maybe being mistaken, there’s the issue with cost reduction. Just take a look at dog kibble. Or even worse cat food. Cats are carnivores, not omnivores.Yet the kibble is full of starch because that’s cheaper...
Aaanyway - I was checking here because if most chickens turn up their beaks at peas maybe it’s time to give some input to S&P to change the formula! They obviously don’t have low cost as their main selling point, but superior quality, so maybe they would be receptive? I can dream... I wish I had the bandwidth to make my own....
As far as the current situation, I do feed them the mixed up leftovers every few days (while taking the dry feed away for the day), and they do eat it up, except the peas, so it really is only that part I need to substitute and I do that with animal protein which is better for them anyway, so I think they’re ok.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Well... since chickens LIKE styrofoam a LOT... we can't really trust them to make decisions.

It's definitely a good idea to talk change with your preferred feed company.. lots of people use them. Doesn't hurt to dream.

 

[Stephine]

Well... since chickens LIKE styrofoam a LOT... we can't really trust them to make decisions.

It's definitely a good idea to talk change with your preferred feed company.. lots of people use them. Doesn't hurt to dream.

Aha! But styrofoam is not part of their or our natural environment! They can’t be expected to have that one figured out (just like wild animals will eat poisonous plants if they are not native, but avoid native ones...).
Thanks for the crossed fingers!