Crumbles vs. Pellets

[Rogers BY Farm]

I'm feeding mash of brown rice, probiotics grain, oatmeal and crumble. They eat it all with little to no waste. They have grain/seed dry food available but the mash is their first choice.

 

[Eraser81112]

I switched from crumbles to pellets, the chickens were not happy.

Sure they ate it but they also made a mess with the pellets I think my chickens are a little "different" pellets are supposed to be less messy. Well I switched them back to crumbles and no more mess And the chickies are thrilled So I guess it depends on what works for you and your flock.

By the way my chickies do not like lettuce either and from what I've read most LOVE it--go figure

 

[Eraser81112]

My chickens dislike lettuce too

 

[Compost King]

Mine will spill pellets like they did crumbles but if i put the feeders up they would scratch and get every single pellet they dropped, crumbles just become coop dust

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I've fed my girls crumbles for a couple of years, but it seems like they waste so much of it. Would it be better to switch to pellets...

Chicken mash is designed to help debeaked commercial laying hens and broilers eat without their top beaks being intact. Chicken beaks are hook shaped and this enables them to rake their food out of the feeder like Caterpillar excavators.

Cauterize the top beak of your chicks or hens like the commercial poultry producers do to keep them from wasting feed. Debeaking hens also reduces aggression. Otherwise learn to live with the wastage or else switch to pellets.

Chickens hate change of any kind so if you switch be prepared to face some pushback from your flock over the change in feed.

There will be a short or else a long period of adjustment to the new looking feed.
Now you handle this period of adjustment will determine whether you own your chickens or whether the chickens own you.

 

[oldrooster]

Chicken mash is designed to help debeaked commercial laying hens and broilers eat without their top beaks being intact. Chicken beaks are hook shaped and this enables them to rake their food out of the feeder like Caterpillar excavators.

Cauterize the top beak of your chicks or hens like the commercial poultry producers do to keep them from wasting feed. Debeaking hens also reduces aggression. Otherwise learn to live with the wastage or else switch to pellets.

Chickens hate change of any kind so if you switch be prepared to face some pushback from your flock over the change in feed.

There will be a short or else a long period of adjustment to the new looking feed.
Now you handle this period of adjustment will determine whether you own your chickens or whether the chickens own you.

I knew someone who added water (or milk or juice) to dry mash to make it a soup or "oatmeal" consistency esp. during cold weather they would heat it to help the birds get and stay warm, also they added food scraps to it. they did not have beakless or trimmed beaked birds (unless there was some deformity or injury that made it necessary, much like cutting off a arm or leg to save a person's life if severely injured or diseased). I would think since it is much cheaper, it might make more sense to use it in fermented feed, also if there is a binding agent in it it would not effect the stuff from getting soaked with the brine....

 

[Chickassan]

Crumbles, no waste here though feeder sits in a large rubber bowl any that gets kicked out goes back in at the end of the day. Once i'm down to powder I add broth or crock pot juice to make a nice gruel. We waste nothing here.