Food all Crushed?!

[AntiqueB]

Mine love lettuce! I hang some from a short shepherd's hook, and let them go at it. You can either put small pieces in a wild bird suet feeder, or just tie some leaves together with string. Sometimes, I put bits of cucumber and tomato in their "salad," too.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Here's my understanding of starter/grower feed. Others chime in and correct me if you know better, please.

Chicks need higher protein, (maybe other nutrients too?) and their food has grit included in it.

I assume it varies by brand, but none of my starter, grower or all flock feed has grit in it, so I supply it myself.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Ok thanks yall...I'm not gonna try to bag it all back up cuz had the teenagers helping me yesterday for few hours pour it into container.
I'll post pics in lil bit to make sure yall think its OK.

Photos would be great, as even crumble feed should be mostly crumbled pieces and not powder. So if your bag is mostly powder, I would consider taking it back.

 

[Sally PB]

I assume it varies by brand, but none of my starter, grower or all flock feed has grit in it, so I supply it myself.

OH! I had been told that starter feed does have grit (I assumed it was sand particle size), and frankly, never looked to see if it was noted in the ingredient list. I'll look at the tag on the Dumor bag next time I'm at TSC.

I've never had any problem with chicks not being able to digest their food, thank goodness. Thanks for the heads up on this.

 

[AntiqueB]

If chicks are only being fed starter, they will not need grit, as it is finely ground. As soon as they eat anything else, though, they will need chick grit. Layer or grower grit is too big.

 

[Reginazavier]

I always buy the same feed every time, yet every time it looks a little different. Sometimes it’s ground finer, sometimes coarser, sometimes it’s a lighter color, sometimes darker, or it smells different. It’s less uniform and consistent than human food. Sounds like maybe you got a bag that had more of the finer particles in it. You can try to return it for a refund, or you can feed it in the form of a wet mash - wet it to a clumpy consistency, and feed only as much as the chickens can finish in one day (don’t let it sit overnight, as it can mold). Chickens love wet feed!

 

[3KillerBs]

OH! I had been told that starter feed does have grit (I assumed it was sand particle size), and frankly, never looked to see if it was noted in the ingredient list. I'll look at the tag on the Dumor bag next time I'm at TSC.

I've never had any problem with chicks not being able to digest their food, thank goodness. Thanks for the heads up on this.

Chick starter doesn't contain grit, it's ground so finely that they don't NEED grit to digest it.

I keep having to give my chicks grit anyway because I brood outdoors and see them going after bugs the moment they've had a drink after being unboxed.