I don't think my chickens are eating their layer pellets.

[OrpingtonManor]

You are getting great advice here!

I would add that when my girls rejected their pellets, and relied on free-ranging alone, their calcium was lacking. I wasn't offering oyster shell free choice, assuming that the feed gave them what they needed. (Feed store personell actually discouraged me from buying oyster shell as *a waste* since I was feeding a complete feed.)

The egg shells got thinner, and eventually I got shell-less eggs, and they even stopped laying. I returned to feeding crumbles, and now give oyster shell and ground up egg shells in a separate feeder.

While I can't determine if it is related, I have been treating a bird for peritonitis due to shell-less eggs. This might have been avoided if I had realized how much my birds hated pellets, as well as offering oyster shell all along.

I hope your birds start eating the pellets, but if not, don't feel obligated to use them. Crumbles work just fine.

 

[Daisygirl]

CarolynPerth, are those brown shavers in your avatar?

First time I got my girls out in the "great outdoors", they wouldn't eat. So I mashed up some strawberries and mixed that into the feed. Six weeks on, and they eat the food just fine, even without the strawberries

 

[CarolynPerth]

Hello Daisygirl. I bought my girls as a bundle from somebody reducing their flock, I was told they are "ISA Browns" but I wouldn't know them from the New Hampshire Reds or Red Stars I've seen pictures of. I'm guessing they are some sort of sex linked cross breed. I've taken some more photos I'll upload soon. They were in with a rooster that looked like this one when I bought them.

But I didn't incubate any of the eggs.

Oh I just looked up Red Shavers. Mine do have feathers more like those, yes. One is also quite golden on its neck (we call her yoko "yolk oh").

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I'm having this problem with one of my Leghorns' shells getting thinner and I think it's because they barely eat their pellets.

I locked em all in the coop all day yesterday to encourage them to actually eat some Layena, and/or some oyster shell.
I thought they were supposed to "know" to eat the oyster shell when they needed it. Stupid birds.

 

[Renee']

I have heard from quite a few people that their chickens aren't fond of pellets. Most prefer crumble...

 

[Jody]

I'm gonna crumble some pellets up and see what happens with that.

I got them to eat pellets yesterday. I cooked a few cups of oatmeal, mixed in a small container of plain yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon oil and mixed in a cup of pellets and mixed it all up, mashing/crumbling most of the pellets..

They gobbled it up... My birds were very vocal yesterday.. I think they were very happy.

 

[Tala]

Renee' :

I have heard from quite a few people that their chickens aren't fond of pellets. Most prefer crumble...

TSC is ALWAYS out of Layena crumbles.

I'm switching to Flock Raiser CRUMBLES if I can convince them to eat enough oyster shell