How do yoiu make chicken mash?

[cleopatra]

I've was reading on one of the feed forums and some people were talking about making "mash" for their chickens. What exactly is it?

 

[Fred's Hens]

It is merely chicken feed, purchased mostly from local mills. It is what I feed, because it is fresh, high quality and 1/2 the price of retail store feeds.

The mill grinds the grains and adds the vitamins, minerals, supplements, calcium, etc and sacks it in an old fashioned feed bag. Since is it ground, it depends on the local mill how fine they wish to grind it. But, usually, it has a powder or flour look to it. Fact is, it isn't all that fine, but it appears so. Add a bit a water in a bucket and stir? You'd see that it is pretty darn close to crumbles in consistency.

Until pelletizing was invented, all chicken feed was mash, or ground feed. The pellet machine "glues" the mash into pellets. That's all. Of course, this step costs. Crush or break the pellets and you can make crumbles.

Feed is feed, no matter what shape it comes in. Hope that helps?

 

[cleopatra]

That totally helps! Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me.

 

[The Hen]

My chickens wouldn't eat their new food so i started mixing it w/ water and they love it. However, i am thinking my problem in the winter is going to be how to keep it from freezing. But we will see.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I feed mash, moistened, in the am. They gobble it up, within the hour, so there is no freezing issue at all. The pecking action keeps it loose. Then, later in the day, I feed again. A smaller portion they feed on before heading to the roost.

Yes, I keep some pellets around, to put into a typical feeder, when I need to be gone for a day or three. Mash isn't ideal for those rarer times. But, for 95% of their feedings, it's mash, for the freshness and the economy.

The modern, mostly plastic feeders, were designed for the modern feed types. Mash was fed in a trough, way back when, and still works very, very well in a trough today. People sometimes question the "waste" of feeding mash, using a modern type feeder. That isn't ideal and is a bit of a mismatch.

 

[The Hen]

Thanks Fred's Hens. Didn't think of the pecking action. I cut two ice cream pails so they are about 4 inches high and use them to mix and feed the mash.