Feeding Pellets?

[clairehuxtable]

I've seen a lot of people that feed their hens pellets instead of the mash. The pellets seem to be more expensive and better for the hens. Because they're better for them and have more nutrients (from what I can tell) do you feed them less of it?
We feed our dog the more expensive natural food and because it's got more nutrients and less fillers we feed him less so I'm wondering if the same thing applies with the chickens?
I'm new to all of this so I could be completely wrong.
What do you guys feed your chickens?

 

[Judy]

Types of feed (formulas or recipes) for different types of chickens are things like starter, grower or layer. Pellets, mash and crumbles, denote differences in consistency. There may be a nutritional difference between different brands of feed, though, such as brand A's layer vs. brand B's.

I use pellets because, like many people, I find they waste a lot less feed. Some people say they have trouble getting the chickens to accept pellets if they are used to crumbles or mash, but I never had this problem. Surely they will eat the pellets when they get hungry enough, if they do resist a bit.

 

[WeBeCluckin]

I feed pellets to the laying flock and chick starter crumbles to the younger ones who haven't started laying yet. I prefer pellets because there's not as much waste as with crumbles. The crumbles get pecked to powder and also seem to clump easier. The only times I feed mash is when they're tiny and it don't think they're eating enough. Or if I have a sick bird. But I make the mash by moistening their feed with vitamin supplemented water. I'm not sure on the less droppings part of your question. Honestly, I've never given it thought!

 

[canesisters]

I feed pellets because I use a trigger feeder and the pellets work best for that - also, almost zero waste.

 

[spies04]

Our chickens started on crumbles and we tried to move them to pellets and even with a week of only being offered pellets, and they barely ate any. So, we have stayed with a combination of layer crumbles and scratch combined together. We also supplement their diet with fresh veggies, yogurt and some starches. We still have good layer with our oldest chicken turning 8 this year.

Good luck - I would say a balance diet either way is the best way to approach their meal plan.

 

[jstamesngr]

I use pellets but am buying crumbles today. Doesn't seem to matter anymore about waste, they seem to be the same to me. Since moving Doves keep getting into the chicken area and eat seems like more than they do - not much I can do about it.

 

[clairehuxtable]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Is there anywhere food to get it online? My feed store doesn't carry pellets unfortunately. The issue with online is shipping though

 

[Folly's place]

Your feed store may take special orders for pelleted feed of a brand they already stock, or go online to look at feed companies and to find the nearest suppliers. Local mills may only produce mask, because of the cost of pelleting machinery. I prefer pellets for adult birds also, and feed Purina, which is available several places here. It costs more than the locally milled feeds, but has worked better for my flock. Mary