Chicken won't eat laying pellets or Mash Help.

[Beth 67]

We have about 16 laying hens. They don't like eating laying mash or pellet.
Right know we are feeding a mixture of corn and laying mash spread out in the run twice a day. We also feed kitchen scraps when availble. We are collecting about eight eggs today.

 

[un-named543]

Welcome, Beth! Not sure what to tell you about your chickens not eating their feed; but I did want to welcome you.

 

[OkChickens]

I would suggest putting there feed into a hanging feeder. Chickens will eat when they get hungry. They will not (usually) starve to death. Its a new food to them so it might take them a while for them to get accustomed to just the Pellets.

Nate

 

[Hyline]

I have the same problem :/ one of my hens will starve herself though - she got all pale combed and thin after refusing to eat pellets or crumble for 24 hours! I have tried EVERYTHING so now just pander to her a bit lol

but I worry she isn't getting enough vits/mins.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Put the mash or pellets in a feeder so it stays clean and dy, and stop feeding the corn and you should get more eggs

 

[jak2002003]

Your hens are not hungry enough. They are used to eating the delicious kitchen scraps and corn (like chocolate and cake for us).

No wonder they don't want the boring pellets (like bran flakes with no sugar for us).

Easy to fix this problem. STOP FEEDING ANYTHING EXCEPT THE LAYER PELLETS.

Then they will get hungry and start to eat it. After they are used to eating the pellets after a few days, you can still treat them to the other foods, but make sure no too much!

Also its very bad idea to throw the food on the floor

. It will get contaminated with poo and attract rodents if there is any left at night. You need to put the pellets in a proper chicken feeder.

 

[Fred's Hens]

A hungry chicken will eat pellets, mash or crumbles. A chicken fed enough snack food will ignore the feed and hold out for more "Twinkies". It's that simple.
Mix snack foods into feed? Even in a feeder, they'll pick through to get what they want and waste a lot of what they like less.
Use a real feeder. Feed dumped on the ground attracts rodents, gets soiled and a lot gets wasted.

 

[Chris09]

We have about 16 laying hens. They don't like eating laying mash or pellet.
Right know we are feeding a mixture of corn and laying mash spread out in the run twice a day. We also feed kitchen scraps when availble. We are collecting about eight eggs today.

What I would do is cut out the corn and the scraps until they start eating there mash when it is put out to them. After about a week of eating there mash when it is put out for them then you can start offering treats to them. Feed mash in the morning then feed treats in the evening.


Chris

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Put your mash in a feeder so that it doesn't get moldy as moldy feed can kill chickens. They will eat whatever they have when they get hungry enough, so you don't have to worry.

 

[Hyline]

I am currently feeding a mix which has grains and seeds as well as pellets, so I am going to switch back to a pellet or crumble as of today. They are fed in feeders. They do make a heck of a mess scratching for the good bits though, so no more good bits! They are really adamant about not eating the pellet in this mix though, so I am figuring they know something I don't - bin it I think.