differences in feed types?

[Rick5070]

So we recently got a pair of pullets from a friend and we named them laverne and shirley. We are getting ready to to start giving them layer feed but we are wanting to use an organic feed. In our research we are finding that there are different types of layer feeds. So could someone please tell us the differences in the pellet type layer feed and the mash type feed and maybe the benefits and or drawback of each? It would help us out a lot. Oh and if there is a specific brand that you like we would also like to hear about that as well. Thanks in advance!

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

My chickens didn't like the Organic crumbles, because it was extremely dusty, and it does turn into dust fast. I'd use pellets, they stick together longer, and don't really get dusty.

Mix the organic feed into their regular food gradually, soon they can start eating the organic feed straight on.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I use a local organic mash mix & the chickens love it. It can get messy if you don't have a deep feeder. I don't fill it until the afternoon, so they will eat more of the fish meal, vitamin & calcium powder. Of course they like the whole & cracked grains best, but they will eat the other stuff. If you get too much of an accumulation, you can dump it out of the feeder into a dish and wet it for them. They will go crazy over it, but it is a bit more work. Filling less often & letting them eat more of the powder is easier. There is nothing like fresh milled local feed IMHO. It's really up to you.

 

[Fred's Hens]

First, what age are your pullets? Are they laying now? If so, layer feed is fine. If they are 8-16 weeks of age, I'd keep them on the Grower.

All commercial feed is ground to a powder of varying coarseness and then,
1.) left as mash
2.) formed into pellets or
3) formed into crumbles.

The shape is simply a matter of flock keeper preference.

I prefer the mash, the coarse ground feed as it is much cheaper and high quality. That is the way our local feed mill produces it and it keeps the costs down substantially. Some birds eat the floured mash just fine, but I prefer to moisten it and stir. It is a quick step and not labor intensive. The birds love the moistened feed. When most mash is moistened sufficiently, you can see that is actually coarser than crumbles. The coarseness of mash is hidden by the flour from the process of grinding the grains.

 

[devora]

Pellets. Less mess. I've got enough messes to ignore, um, get to.

 

[Rick5070]

My girls havent started laying yet. They are around 2-2.5 months. I got them from a lady that I work with that has a friend that runs a chicken rescue here in arizona. I guess we are just wondering if there was one that works bette. More than anything We are just wanting to learn what our next feed might need to be. We just want to be good parents

 

[Indigosands]

I asked almost the same thing a while back and got the answer that it's all the same formulation, just ground up in different sizes. What you use depends on your birds. A lot of folks say that the pellets are the most clean feed. My birds prefer crumbles or mash and don't make a terrible mess of it. What might help you decide is knowing what they are familiar with and changing it slowly like a pp suggested if it doesn't suit your needs.

Yes there's lots of different types of feed and one organic feed may not be any better than a standard feed depending on the ingredients so do read the labels. I switched my girls to Modesto Organic crumbles after they were done with starter and they are doing wonderful on it. I like that alfalfa is high up on the ingredient list, a good thing because it's high in nutrition and they seem to stay cooler in the high heat we've been having on it.

 

[The Hen]

When I got my chickens from a friend I bought a bag of crumbles from the Mill in town, but it has some corn in it and is yellow. Is it suppose to? I bought a bag of Layena (which my hens will not eat) and some other brand from Family Farm & Home (which they don't like either) and neither of those have corn pieces in them and they are not yellow. Do I maybe have 'scratch'? I don't know what else to feed my ladies. All they will eat is the first bag and that seems to have slowed down some out of their dish. They love when I put it on the ground for them.

I have these two extra bags of food now and not knowing what to do with them I figured I would use them in the bird feeder too, but even the birds won't eat the them.

Help! Am I using the wrong feed?

 

[Den in Penn]

HI The Hen, welcome to BYC.
Your doing nothing wrong. Chickens do tend to prefer one food brand and or type over another. To get them to eat the two bags they don't prefer try mixing a little into the one they do. Or you can wet a little each day and feed it as a porridge. Chickens seem to like moistened feed. A third option is to put a separate feeder with the disliked food in it, might surprise you how much they do eat of it.

 

[The Hen]

Thank you Den in Penn,

I did try adding water to the one bag as i would feed them and they love it. They eat it right up. Thanks for the help.