Crumble vs pellet

[momoftwinsinwi]

I started my chickens out with crumble and was going thru about 200 pounds (4 bags) in less then 4 weeks, with not a lot of waste on the ground as my feeder is hung (5 gallon bucket with drilled holes and a 6" tray screwed to it, and when I sent my sons for more feed, not knowing they bought pellets, seems my feed is lasting quite a bit longer, any thoughts on crumble vs pellets my "peeps" I have 32 birds by the way.....

 

[FlyWheel]

Wet it. Fermenting is even better (nutrition wise) but just wetting it will stretch the feed out further because they will be able to eat all of it as there will be none wasted as dust. Also put your feeder a few inches above the ground and put roof on the feeder so they aren't walking on it and scratching it to all four corners of the earth. Here's the one I built as an example:

Feed bin. Raised to prevent the chickens from spilling their feed, roofed to keep them from walking (and pooping) in it. Roof is hinged to 'dump' any chicken that tries to roost on it.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

200 pounds in 4 weeks for 32 birds is a lot of wasted feed. Crumble is so easy to be scratched away by chickens. I don't even think I use that much for 90 birds a month.

There is less waste with pellets. It is also possible your birds are just eating less pellets because they don't like them. It can take a while for some to switch to pellets. It also could be that there's not much waste. I personally only feed pellets unless I'm feeding chicks.

 

[Folly's place]

Usually scissor beaked birds can't eat pellets well, so do watch her! A deep dish with crumble works best, IMO, and that will get scattered by your birds.
Make sure to pick her up weekly, at least, checking her body condition compared to same breed flockmates. Weighing her would be good! She needs to be keeping up with them, and 'feel right' in your hands, or she's malnourished. Don't wait for starvation!
Mary

 

[aart]

Pellets are definitely less waste, but they are much more processed compared to crumble/naturally milled feed. I also noticed that all commercial feeders are intended for pellets, and milled feed (from local farm) gets stuck, so that I have to shake my feeders more often.

Actually, crumbles are crushed pellets....I often find the pellets in the crumble.

Not sure what you mean by "naturally milled feed"?

 

[Folly's place]

If Flock Raiser came in pellets here, I'd switch at least part of the year. Because it's my preferred feed, and only comes in crumble here, it's what I feed all the time. Having feeders that limit bill out helps.
Chickens hate changes, and any food change offends them. Is their egg production lower, or any other signs that they aren't eating enough? If things are fine, just wait it out, and be glad if it's actually all about less wasted feed!
Mary

 

[ironsightfarm]

Usually scissor beaked birds can't eat pellets well, so do watch her! A deep dish with crumble works best, IMO, and that will get scattered by your birds.
Make sure to pick her up weekly, at least, checking her body condition compared to same breed flockmates. Weighing her would be good! She needs to be keeping up with them, and 'feel right' in your hands, or she's malnourished. Don't wait for starvation!
Mary

@Folly's place, thank you for the heads up! She's done really well with the deep dishes and crumble, and while it appears she's doing better with the pellets it's good to know that may not be the case. She's slightly smaller than her flock mates but has been doing well, and is weighed weekly so we should be able to catch an issue pretty quick - offering both crumble and pellets wouldn't be an issue for us!

Thanks again!

 

[Evelyn Walker]

200 pounds in 4 weeks for 32 birds is a lot of wasted feed. Crumble is so easy to be scratched away by chickens. I don't even think I use that much for 90 birds a month.

There is less waste with pellets. It is also possible your birds are just eating less pellets because they don't like them. It can take a while for some to switch to pellets. It also could be that there's not much waste. I personally only feed pellets unless I'm feeding chicks.

X2!

 

[aart]

5 gallon bucket with drilled holes and a 6" tray screwed to it

Pics please?

Crumble is what I can get in the formula I want....so I devised a bill-proof feeder.
There have been many iterations and adjustments...scroll way down to see the latest and greatest. This one feeder services up to about 20 birds well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder.67218/

 

[Acre4Me]

Usually less waste with pellets as others mentioned. They sure can make a mess with crumble if allowed!

If you have 32 full size birds, 200lbs in a month isn’t so unusual. I think it’s estimated 1/4lb per bird per day, so that would be about right. If they are not full grown, then yes, a lot of waste using the crumble.