Chickens dont seem to like the layer pellets.

[Jeeper1540]

mine didnt like pellets either, but we are short of money, so here comes the hammer!

ETA: Just to clairify, the Hammer is to break the pellets into crumbles. after re-reading that it looked like i was going to hit the chickens with a hammer

 

[spatino]

We just started transitioning ours from crumbles to pellets about a week ago. I swear my girls looked at me like I was insane! We hung up their new feeder with new food. Oh no!! Unfortunately I had gotten really low on crumbles and didn't have much to mix with the pellets.

I do 50% pellets & 50% scratch. Then I just started adding oyster shell also. For every 2 quarts of pellets/scratch I add 1 pint of oyster shell. My girls are all almost 4 months.

 

[muddstopper]

I am going to caution about mixing layer feed with scratch. Scratch will have larger, partially ground grains and is really meant to be pickedup ( scratched) off the ground and not from a feeder. If you are going to mix scratch in with your other feed, you should make sure there is also a good source of grit available at all times.

 

[flash5153]

It has been 2 days and Im starting to think they are very stubborn and are not going to eat the pellets. I broke some of the pellets up and seems as though they still dont want it.
I have been feeding them veggies from the garden and gave then a few cans of cooked corn.

This is bad timing for this to happen ,,I got our first egg the same day I changed their food to pellets. (2 fays ago) And now they dont want to eat it. If I go buy layer ,crumbes, do you think they will eat it?? Sounds like a silly question,but ,,,,,I cant go back to grower ,,,,,,,,,and like I said,,,,,,,,,, they dont seem to want the layer,pellets, even if I break it up.

Spoiled chickens!!!!!!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Try mixing the pellets in a little bit of (warm or cold, depending on your weather) water to soften it and put it in a tray or container, just enough that they can eat it in 10 minutes or so. Offer this twice daily. Each day add less and less water until you have pellets.

Worth a shot.

 

[flash5153]

Oh,,and yes I read everyones posts. Allot of ideas,,,,but Im still not sure at this point what I should do.

Maybe just let it go like it is. Will a spoiled chicken starve to death with a bowl of food in front of it,,, that it just didnt like?? LMAO

 

[flash5153]

Quote:
I will give that a try tomorrow. Even milk,yogart, or a oatmeal mush might work if the water dont.

Spoiled chickens,,,,sometimes I wonder if all the work is worth it,,lol. It is kinda fun,,,like going out to the coop at feeding time and all the girls dont like what you brought,,so they all give you the stink eye at the same time. lol ,,oh what fun it is.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

A hungry chicken will eventually eat. Sure for a day or two they may turn up their noses, but that's about it. They will be glad to have the pellets. I've never lost a chicken when switching them over to the pellets. Just put the pellets in the feeder and leave them alone. It's not the pellets that they don't like, it's the change. Make sure that they are capable of swallowing the pellets though.

ETA...Also withhold snacks/treats for a couple of weeks until they are completely used to the pellets. If you don't they may hold back from eating the pellets waiting for their daily snack/treat.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Yeah mine are spoiled little brats that I'm madly in love with. I brought them some fresh picked blackberries this afternoon. Seriously fresh, like less than 5 minutes ago from the front lawn. They turned their cute little beaks up at them and proceeded to eat the styrofoam insulation off my house instead. Sometimes it makes you want to slam your head against hard objects while screaming. I will never understand them. But I think it's better this way. Mystery makes life much more entertaining.

 

[Opa]

I feed pellets to all my layers, large fowl and bantams. None of them wanted to eat them initially but after a few days they started eating them and now consume them without any trouble. I have found that I use substantially less feed. With crumble quite a lot would get bill out on to the ground and wasted.
Just give your birds more time. The will eat them, and I recommend you feed them dry. Wet feed can mold easily in hot weather and that can lead to serious and potentially life threatening problems.