Can chicks eat the dust in the feed crumbles?

[ForFlocksSake]

I mean are they physically capable of eating the crushed dust portion? I know I can mix with water and what not, but I’d rather not have to. Can I just leave it in the feeder? Will they be able to eat it?

Also- I had planned on switching my older pullets to crumbles once they finished their bag of pellets so the whole flock can eat the same feed. Will THEY be able to eat leftover feed dust? I see so much talk about waste in the feed bags but wondered if anyone just leaves it there till the feeder is empty.

 

[FunClucks]

I mean are they physically capable of eating the crushed dust portion? I know I can mix with water and what not, but I’d rather not have to. Can I just leave it in the feeder? Will they be able to eat it?

Also- I had planned on switching my older pullets to crumbles once they finished their bag of pellets so the whole flock can eat the same feed. Will THEY be able to eat leftover feed dust? I see so much talk about waste in the feed bags but wondered if anyone just leaves it there till the feeder is empty.

If you just leave the dust they won't eat it. Unless they're starving, then they might try. But even then they'll have a lot of trouble getting it up into their beak and then into their crop. It's physically quite hard for them, and a lot of the vitamins are in dust form, so if they don't eat the dust, they could be missing out on a lot of the nutrition of the feed. Add some water or extra eggs to the dust and give them a treat. I don't need to do this with my feed dust more than every 2 months or so.

 

[aart]

Mine will eat it up, no problem.

 

[ForFlocksSake]

Mine will eat it up, no problem.

It’s wild because with the crumbles there’s just always so much dust. So many brands I’ve tried and it’s always the same. My chicks are a week old and I went ahead and replenished their feeder because I got worried, but I have to think they’ll eat dust or else who would buy a bag of crumbles?

 

[aart]

It’s wild because with the crumbles there’s just always so much dust. So many brands I’ve tried and it’s always the same. My chicks are a week old and I went ahead and replenished their feeder because I got worried, but I have to think they’ll eat dust or else who would buy a bag of crumbles?

I've always used crumbles, they vary in dustiness.
Nothing wrong with them eating dust, same as mash which many used to use.

 

[BDutch]

I mean are they physically capable of eating the crushed dust portion? I know I can mix with water and what not, but I’d rather not have to. Can I just leave it in the feeder? Will they be able to eat it?

Also- I had planned on switching my older pullets to crumbles once they finished their bag of pellets so the whole flock can eat the same feed. Will THEY be able to eat leftover feed dust? I see so much talk about waste in the feed bags but wondered if anyone just leaves it there till the feeder is empty.

I put the leftover feed/ dust in a bowl, add some fluids and mix it in. I use water with apple cider vinegar or yoghurt. Sometimes I add a little bird seed or left overs like rice too. They think its a treat and eat it with pleasure.

 

[RojoMarz]

Mine will not eat the crumble dust (that I can tell, anyway.) I will let the dust collect in the bottom of the feeder for a bit, then when it's too much, I empty it into a container that is stored in the house. From that container, I make mash a couple times a week.

 

[LaurenRitz]

My feed is just ground--no shaping at all. They eat it without a problem.

 

[K0k0shka]

I only use crumble for all ages and they all eat it just fine, including the dust. When it's time to refill the feeder and I've let it get empty, it's impressive how much they can get off the bottom - it's almost like they've licked it clean, even the dust is gone!