Crumbles vs. Pellets

[CAjerseychick]

Not sure I about the comparison of their rate of eating (pellets vs crumbles) --am only on day 2 of pellets (surprizingly my birds seem to think I am treating them with the pellets and gobble them up)..Am about to go out of town for 3 days so will fill up a big metal hanging feeder with the pellets (they also have 2 little ones filled with crumbles) and see how they do... (My daughter and husband will let them in/out of the coop while I am gone....)...

 

[cute chicks here]

Mine were taking their beak and throwing the crumble out everywhere. Also birds were getting in and eatting it. I do have the feeder suspended from a chain at their back height. I just switched to pellets and they do seem to be eatting it but not as well so I make sure I give them more outside time to graze on grass and bugs.

 

[BuffOrpington88]

My chickens picked through the pellets and spilled a bunch, so we switched to crumbles.

 

[cute chicks here]

I moistened small amounts of the pellets to get them to eat them better. I put these in a separate small dish so that I could dump them out at the end of the day so they wouldn't get moldy. I still have the big feeder full of the dry pellets in case they get more interrested.

 

[kagross]

Grain is not good for chickens?
Grain is the primary (and secondary and tertiary) ingredient in chicken feed...

It's also the main ingredient in dog food, but it's not good for them either (or us, for that matter). It's cheap, stores and travels well, and you can live on it, that is why grain is the main ingredient. Chickens should have bugs and grass and flowers, berries and seeds. That's the natural diet of fowl. If your chickens get to range, and they find some bugs, watch how quickly they forget about feed. They'll spend all day chasing down June-bugs, scratching the ground to kick up bugs and beetles, and chasing anything that flies. Sure, they'll return to the feeders and get some water and feed, but they're happier in the field.

 

[Rich386]

Quote: I agree with every thing you said here but not all can free range. If we had to buy Berries and fruit seeds flowers etc. The cost per egg would be outrageous. Do you have any suggestions for those that have to confine their flock. How can they give them a more natural diet without an unnatural cost?

 

[Rich386]

Quote: I agree with every thing you said here but not all can free range. If we had to buy Berries and fruit seeds flowers etc. The cost per egg would be outrageous. Do you have any suggestions for those that have to confine their flock. How can they give them a more natural diet without an unnatural cost?

 

[KuroKitsune]

my five girls being 6 weeks old are still on their starter/grower crumbles and they've never spilt much and now that i've started hanging their feeder at back height they waste even less buti do hope to try my girls on pellets once the are done or get close to being done with this current bag of starter/grower

 

[lacymorgan]

I put my silo feeder in a wash tub that is slightly bigger then the feeder. When they peck the feed out of the feeder it falls into the tub. at the end of the day I empty the tub back into the feeder. Not much waste at all

 

[wingedshade]

I agree with every thing you said here but not all can free range. If we had to buy Berries and fruit seeds flowers etc. The cost per egg would be outrageous. Do you have any suggestions for those that have to confine their flock. How can they give them a more natural diet without an unnatural cost? 

I know this post is old, but mealworms can be grown. I haven't tried raising them yet, but I hear it's cheap and pretty easy. That would supplement the insect side. Kitchen scraps would help too. If you have room, grow sunflowers. I don't think this list is complete enough to entierly phase out pre-made feed, but it would be a start.