I have 6 chickens, they are now 20 weeks, and about two week ago i change the food to layer pellets, since that time, they dont eat much from the layer food, they are desperate for kitchen scrap like vegetable, and corn, they are most of the time in the run, i let go to my patio 2 hours every day, and also yesterday i found two eggs. another thing is since that time , they make all day big loud noises, and i live in the city, is normal that all day they make that loud sing like when the lay and egg.
I don't really like layer feed, I would recommend you feed them Grower/Finisher feed, and give them oyster shells on the side. That way, they can choose how much calcium they get instead of it actually being IN the feed.
In other news, my 4 year old human doesn't like her nutritionally balanced vegetables and proteins, and is desperate for kitchen scrap like watermelon and candy canes. So she begs for them constantly and I reward her by giving her the watermelon and candy canes. Sound familiar? Chickens will not starve themselves. If the pellets you are providing are fresh and the birds are aware of the where the pellets are and how to access them, they will eat them. If pellets seem to be the problem, buy some crumbles and see if that helps.
You can try dampening the pellet's with water to make a wet feed out of it. Mine seem to eat the pellet's better that way, and it also help's to keep them a little bit more hydrated in the summer heat. Then after you finish off the bag you can try some of the crumble version on them to see if they will eat that.
This is true. I had a bag of pellets that I did not want to deal with the hassle of training some young chickens on, since I did not plan on feeding pellets long term. So I just soaked them so that they were a mush. If you have the time and energy to do this daily, this would be an easy way to get them to eat.
Chickens generally don't find layer feed to be tasty. So you can either switch back to the feed you were using before, and supplement with oyster shell on the side, or do not feed ANY scraps or treats and feed nothing but the new pellets to force them to eat it. Laying hens often sing the "egg song" after they lay or after other birds lay, and some are louder and noisier than others. It's completely normal.
I have always switched to layer pellets when its time without really even mixing, I don't understand all the problems people have. Why would layer pellets be any less palatable then grower or all flock? I just have never had a problem. Sometimes we make things way too hard & over think them.
Note: if you wet their food, especially in this heat, only mix up only enough for one day and then discard it at the end of the day. Mix up a fresh batch every day. Moldy food is very bad for chickens!