All Flock as a boredom buster?

[RojoMarz]

I got a All Flock (think it may have been Homestead brand) once...opened the bag and it was mostly pellets with some an assortment of whole grains and balls of something. Defiantly was called All Flock, but not at all what I expected.

 

[RojoMarz]

View attachment 3427722

Is it from Homestead? That looks like an All Flock that I got once.

 

[SouthDakotaLiving]

Is it from Homestead? That looks like an All Flock that I got once.

Yes, it is Homestead brand.

 

[RojoMarz]

Yes, it is Homestead brand.

I ended up mixing mine with my regular feed, in about a 3 to 1 ratio, so the seeds would be even more diluted.

 

[David61]

chicken "feed" pellet or crumble is made from many things that will mold if it gets damp and left out for a day so thats a no for me as a broad cast feed. Scratch feed is just that, a broad cast feed they can scratch for like Cracked corn , seeds, grains... They will sprout if missed and get damp.

 

[PetesChicks]

chicken "feed" pellet or crumble is made from many things that will mold if it gets damp and left out for a day so thats a no for me as a broad cast feed. Scratch feed is just that, a broad cast feed they can scratch for like Cracked corn , seeds, grains... They will sprout if missed and get damp.

I’ll sometimes mix a handful of pellets in with scratch and throw it in the run. I know that it will be eaten long before it gets moldy. Inside the coop, I use pellets a lot. It’s dry, no need to worry about anything going bad and I don’t have to worry about it being too many treats. If I’m in the coop and they are pestering me for treats, I’ll toss a handful of their pellets on the floor and they go crazy.

 

[NatJ]

The above pic is the All Flock.

Using that All Flock feed as you described, in small amounts per day, should be fine.

any and all whole grain feeds should be wet into a mash to ensure the chickens are not just picking out the tastier less nutritious pieces.

That applies if the feed is their whole diet, and it also applies of the feed has powdery bits that the chickens will leave behind.

If this feed is only pellets and grains/seeds (no powdery bits to get lost in the bedding), and if it's being scattered as a treat, it should be fine to use without getting it wet. Each chicken will probably get an uneven share of the various parts, but as small amount of unbalanced feed each day is no big deal. Also, spreading it around makes it more likely that each bird will get a few sunflower seeds or a few bites of corn, rather than one bossy hen getting every sunflower seed (or corn) in the whole batch.

Is it Ok to scatter All Flock feed around in the coop several times a day to give them something to do? I ask bc I'm concerned about fatty liver disease.

If you are worried about overdoing it, you can think about how much you want to give them each day), then find the right size scoop to make sure you are giving that amount. If you just grab handfuls to scatter, it's easy to give more than you planned. The "right sized scoop" might be something like a re-purposed yoghurt cup, or whatever you've got that's around the right size. It doesn't really matter if the scoop holds enough for each feeding, or enough for the whole day at once, as long as you know which one it is.

I had a hen abruptly die overnight, not due to cold, and I wasn't able to get her body examined at the time. I had been giving extra treats (peanuts, sunflower seeds) and warm/moist regular layer feed (sometimes with a bit of peanut butter) to help them stay warm when the temps were very low. I've stopped all treats since she died just to be on the safe side.

I can't tell if you stopped the moist feed too, or not. Moist feed should be fine. I agree that stopping the other things was probably a good idea.

They don't like the typical boredom busters such as hanging cabbage. They do like it when I leave the main coop door open to allow more daylight so that they can kick around in the straw, doing their foraging thing.

You could consider adding a light, so they can see better in other parts of the coop. Foraging like that is great activity for them.

Many people talk about adding light in the winter, to make the days seem longer so the hens will lay eggs. But here I'm not talking about extending the day length, just about making things brighter inside the coop during the hours the sun is already up, so the hens can see better and get more enjoyment from the space and activities they already have (like the straw to forage in.)

 

[SouthDakotaLiving]

Using that All Flock feed as you described, in small amounts per day, should be fine.


That applies if the feed is their whole diet, and it also applies of the feed has powdery bits that the chickens will leave behind.

If this feed is only pellets and grains/seeds (no powdery bits to get lost in the bedding), and if it's being scattered as a treat, it should be fine to use without getting it wet. Each chicken will probably get an uneven share of the various parts, but as small amount of unbalanced feed each day is no big deal. Also, spreading it around makes it more likely that each bird will get a few sunflower seeds or a few bites of corn, rather than one bossy hen getting every sunflower seed (or corn) in the whole batch.


If you are worried about overdoing it, you can think about how much you want to give them each day), then find the right size scoop to make sure you are giving that amount. If you just grab handfuls to scatter, it's easy to give more than you planned. The "right sized scoop" might be something like a re-purposed yoghurt cup, or whatever you've got that's around the right size. It doesn't really matter if the scoop holds enough for each feeding, or enough for the whole day at once, as long as you know which one it is.



I can't tell if you stopped the moist feed too, or not. Moist feed should be fine. I agree that stopping the other things was probably a good idea.


You could consider adding a light, so they can see better in other parts of the coop. Foraging like that is great activity for them.

Many people talk about adding light in the winter, to make the days seem longer so the hens will lay eggs. But here I'm not talking about extending the day length, just about making things brighter inside the coop during the hours the sun is already up, so the hens can see better and get more enjoyment from the space and activities they already have (like the straw to forage in.)

Yes, exactly! I have been using a light in the coop simply bc the coop is very dark. I know chickens see poorly in dim light and I want to make sure they don't have to wait more than 12 hours to get water and food, so I've added a 75 watt secured/caged light. I think I will add a second light bc it's still so dark in there. They seem happiest when they can kick around in the straw.

I have been using a 1/4 cup as a scooper for 4 birds. I will be very careful from now on to give only a specific amount a couple times a day. I have been trying to fish out the corn as much as possible and may continue to do that.

I do like those dry pellets and will more often just scatter those around in their coop when they are terribly bored. Once my light in there has improved they will be better able to distinguish those pellets from the straw.

 

[SouthDakotaLiving]

Thanks everyone for your very helpful input!

 

[NatJ]

I have been trying to fish out the corn as much as possible and may continue to do that.

I would not bother fishing out the corn.

It's common for chicken feed to contain corn. Usually it's ground up and part of the pellets so you don't see it, but in this case it looks like they left certain ingredients whole and made the rest into the pellets. As long as it's the right amount of corn in relation to the other parts (which in that mix it should be), then the corn isn't a problem.