Bought Layer Feed From a Farmer, v. Fine, girls wont eat it

[pixie74943]

Wow, its hard to come up with a good thread title.

So anyway, I bought layer & pullet feed from this farmer who mixes his own, and last time I had it (when the girls where younger) they LOVED it and had a little chicken tantrum when I switch the pellets. Now they wont touch it. I think it's because its so fine, lots of dried grass, wheat, etc. The wheat is the biggest thing in there.

I'm mixing it up with pellets because I don't want to trust him 100%, because I'm a little worried theres not enough in it. But the problem is their eating all the pellets, and leaving the finer stuff and its clogging up the feeder.

Is there anything I can do to make the finer stuff clump together. I was thinking about flour and water, Mum used to use it as glue when she was a kid and they ran out. So maybe 1/4cup of flour, 1/4 cup of water to 2 or 3 cups of feed, to clump it together without it getting soggy and mouldy??

Any thoughts, or better easier ideas?

 

[georgialee]

You could make a mash out of it.. just add some water and it should clum together.

 

[pixie74943]

I should add Ive got a PVC pipe feeder and I would rather fill it from the top, so if I add straight water, I'm worried it'll go mouldy before it gets eaten

 

[georgialee]

Can you just put the fine stuff in a dish or something to give them as a treat every day? or block the feeder off and put out some of the mash and once they've finished it let them eat the pellets...

 

[kelliepulido]

I too had switched to a layer mash made by the local grainery and it is very fine the kids wouldn't eat it so I added water per suggestion here and mix it until it is the consistency of a coffee cake topping or mash potatoe consistency and they love it now.I add garlic powder a couple of shakes,1 capful of canola oil,wheat germ and flax seed,1/wk a can of can cat food mix it all up and not a drop is wasted.

 

[Big C]

Likely that if you add moisture to your mix it could go sour quickly depending on your areas humidity.
You could feed separately in different feeders. Your regular feed and the other. Decrease the one that costs more until you get to a level that the flock is used to and costs less, but keeps your egg production the same.
Place the finer feed at a higher level so they cannot scratch it out in search of larger particles.