I bought all flock and my birds will not eat

[joshua k]

I bought Nurturewise all flock and my ducks will not eat it at all. It smells so strongly of herbs that they hate it. and which I was not aware of when I bought it. What should I do with it.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I bought Nurturewise all flock and my ducks will not eat it at all. It smells so strongly of herbs that they hate it. and which I was not aware of when I bought it. What should I do with it.

You might try mixing it with another feed or making a mash of it and see if that entices them.

 

[joshua k]

I did that for the ducks and they still won't eat it.

 

[Aroostertoomany]

maybe if u buy at the place you bought it from regularly, they would exchange it for you, i dont like to buy those name brand feeds, i actually make my own mix and our 2 ducks seem to eat it but they really just love Kale and mealworms, lol. the duck food they eat when there is not much else to snack on.

 

[joshua k]

how

maybe if u buy at the place you bought it from regularly, they would exchange it for you, i dont like to buy those name brand feeds, i actually make my own mix and our 2 ducks seem to eat it but they really just love Kale and mealworms, lol. the duck food they eat when there is not much else to snack on.

how do you mix your own

 

[3KillerBs]

I always make feed changes gradually -- mixing in the last of the old feed with the first of the new in the feeders so that the birds get used to it gradually.

 

[WIchickMama]

I always make feed changes gradually -- mixing in the last of the old feed with the first of the new in the feeders so that the birds get used to it gradually.

this is what I do as well, if I can (sometimes I get to low on feed at home and the feedstore doesn't have what I need). You can try and make your own, though it is a challenge to get all the nutritional needs and you need to buy various bags of feed and then mix up the rations--too much work for me. honestly, I have never had a problem with my birds eating if they are hungry-but I also don't have ducks.

 

[3KillerBs]

honestly, I have never had a problem with my birds eating if they are hungry

At this point my flock is well-trained to know that anything in the feeder is what they're supposed to eat.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Only the ignorant and the desperate* will try to mix their own feeds. The more you learn about a chicken's nutritional needs, the less likely you are to attempt it.

and no healthy chicken will willingly ignore good food for long. The Nutrena Naturewise isn't bad, and its decent nutrition for a mid price off the shelf option. Chickens don't like change, which is usually the reason they turn up noses (intially) at new foods.

WHAT WAS THE MILL DATE????

*ok, I'm being a bit theatrical here. If you are in a remote area of the country, a developing nation, planning for the end times, or an area so urbanized that there is no local farm/feed/pet store with commercial chicken feeds, then you are "desperate". And probably still better off either paying for shipping of a commercial feed or not having chickens at all.

If you have access to decent commercial feed, and you want to mix your own anyways??? Barring some severe food alergy, there is no good reason for it - and plenty of reasons any reasonably educated person on the subject of chickens and their nutritional neeeds should find adequate to a determination that they should not attempt to do so.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

How long have you been trying to feed it to them for?