Crumble vs pellet

[Cindy in PA]

It's already been said, but 32 birds would eat 224lbs. in 28 days at 1/4 lb. per bird & somewhere near 280 if they are larger & eat 1/3 of a lb. Chickens eat.

 

[oldhen2345]

Huh! I get my feed at TSC. I’ll ask the next time I’m in there. Anyone here get the pellet form from their TSC?

I get mine from TSC - layer pellets. The hens love it. One time, I tried the crumble and it just didn't work - too much bill out and the chickens didn't seem to like it. I have a cross beak hen - Margaret. I worried so much when she was little about her nutrition, and fed her crumble with a dollup of sour cream- she just really loved it. Eventually, I switched to pellets with the sour cream - she could scoop it better slightly stuck together. One day I saw her eating out of the regular feeder - since then, she is on her own. She is now 9 months old and doing well, laying slightly smaller eggs than the others, but still doing normal chicken things.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Crumble vs pellets? I always feed PELLETS! Grumble is just basically...dust. It's a rip-off at the feed store.

 

[rehdancer]

There was a thread some time ago that mentioned sifting crumble to reduce waste, which I started doing. This forces me to relax for a bit while still getting something done - I sit and sift as the birds gather around and try to figure out what I'm doing. I mix the sifted stuff with over-ripe watermelon that I've mashed and freeze in ice cube trays - they love this on hot days. Don't know what I'll do in the winter - I suppose I'll mix the sifted stuff with hot water, but not sure I'll sift it in the winter anyway. The bill out is an issue, but I find the girls clean it up pretty well if I don't put the feeders out right away in the morning, or pick up the feeders a bit early in the evening.

 

[Folly's place]

With chicks, crumble is essential! Some feeders help decrease bill-out too. Pelleted feed is nice but not always available, or useful.
Mary

 

[gtaus]

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.....

Others have already done the math and it appears that your chickens are pretty much eating as much as expected.

I have a DIY 5 gallon feeder with the PVC elbows for feeding access. There is very little waste. Since I moved my chicks out to a grassy chicken run, they now eat about half the commercial feed as before. They spend most of the day in their chicken run and are constantly eating grass and "whatever" I have no idea. But they are happy and healthy so I am not concerned.

If you suspect that feed is being wasted, I saw an interesting YouTube video where the guy simply built a 2x4 frame with wire on top. He put a small tray under the frame. He put his feeder on the wire and if anything got scratched out of the feeder, it would fall through the wire and into the collection tray. That worked for him.

 

[Autumn47]

I started out with pellets when my hens were old enough to come off starter feed and the refused to eat it. I switched to crumble and they love it and there is very little waste.

 

[Archie01]

All this chatter about pellets & where to get them, we get all our feed at Chewy's.com. Fair prices too.

 

[aart]

All this chatter about pellets & where to get them, we get all our feed at Chewy's.com. Fair prices too.

Ehh...they don't carry my brand and model, Purina Flock Rasier, which is one most talked about here (finding pelleted formula)....and I like to check mill date before buying.

 

[Folly's place]

x2! Ordering online doesn't give you the chance to buy fresh, and the mill dates are important.
Mary