Layer Feed that Isn't Pellets. Okay?

[pnwoldie]

My hens are the same way. They love & do well on Scratch & Peck layer. I feed it dry in the winter, but encourage them to finish the fines before giving them more, and feed it moistened in the summer.

 

[CochinLady61]

You might try adding a touch of water to your pellets or crumble to make a soft mash.

I have two pans that my birds eat out of, one I create the mash in and other is fed dry. Some birds prefer damp feed at times.

I feed scratch only about once a week, or when egg production starts to fall a little. I'm also feeding a little fodder this winter to see how that goes. But not as a replacement feed as yet. More as a treat.

 

[HappyHenHomestead]

Very good point and one of the reasons I really like pellets.

I wonder if the flock would eat pellets or crumbles if they were moistened.

My chickens think that layer pellets soaked for as little as 15 minutes and served up at the consistency of cooked oatmeal are the best thing ever. Might be worth a try.

 

[NickyPick]

Hi All - my girls just flat out reject any pellets or crumbles I give them. They will eat scratch but not layer pellets or crumbles. I found these two products on Amazon that I want to try but wanted to know if any of you have tried them and/or like them as an alternative.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X5MPVJZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PS24841/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


any thoughts/comments? Ps Happy New Year to all of my chicken loving friends!

I don't feed layer pellets and haven't since 2012. I feed a grain mixture (rolled oats, barley, BOSS, scratch grains & catfish pellets) which I ferment. I have had 60+ hens since 2012 on this mixture and now 100 hens/turkeys eating it. They love it and there is SO MUCH LESS waste than with the layer pellets. I did an experiment (because it was SO hot this summer) this August-September, and went back to a layer pellet. It was easier to feed, but there was so much waste - the pellets that the hens pushed to the ground were never eaten- and the smell in the coop was so bad, that I went back to the grain mixture really quick. With my FF mixture, there is nothing left at night, so nothing to attract rats/coons/possoms/etc, and the smell in the coop is so much less than with pellets. For those two reasons alone, I'll keep up with the hassle of mixing and stuff. It's really better.

 

[Jenjason2]

Very good point and one of the reasons I really like pellets.

I wonder if the flock would eat pellets or crumbles if they were moistened.

My girls like crumbles with a little meal worms mixed in I moisten it with warm water they love it.

 

[Ascholten]

I have found a place by me that sells Chicken Feed that is NOT pellets, it resembles scratch just ground up a bit more and seems to have a bit of citrus in it too. Yes you CAN feed them food that is not pellets. Check your local feed stores they may have something good you can use. Also look for local chicken farmers / raisers, they can also possibly turn you on to a source if not themselves.

As said before, the scratch should be a treat, not the main staple. Also feeding them late at night means more poo you have to scoop in the morning, so may want to reconsider the before bedtime snack.

Put the food out, stop the treats, eventually they WILL eat it, then just re introduce them to the scratch again slowly AS A SNACK ONLY, and in moderate quantities. Don't worry too much about it being a finer powder, they will flip the bowl and mess the stuff all over, that's what chickens do, but later when hungry, will pick those tiny wisps right back out of the dirt and eat them! Note, if the ground is caked with food, don't give them more fresh to cake in with it, give them a few more hours of hunger, they'll clean that up.

Also if they are anything like my birds (4 Chickens and a Bratty M-2 Cockatoo) they will put up a fuss and try to guilt you into caving on the snacks. Stand your ground do NOT give into animal treachery!!

Aaron

 

[SHeld]

Hi All - my girls just flat out reject any pellets or crumbles I give them. They will eat scratch but not layer pellets or crumbles. I found these two products on Amazon that I want to try but wanted to know if any of you have tried them and/or like them as an alternative.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X5MPVJZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PS24841/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


any thoughts/comments? Ps Happy New Year to all of my chicken loving friends!

You have a spoiled bunch. Take charge!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I’ve never fed non-pellet/crumble commercial feed...my concern would be that they’d “cherry pick” their favorite grains and waste others.

Do those that have tried this type of feed findthat to be the case? I’d bet fermenting it might solve the problem.

I happened to acquire a pallet of expired baby oatmeal earlier this year. My flock loves when I mix that up for them.

 

[uberpixi]

Holy mackenoly, those are expensive. I'm with everyone else. Only give as much scratch/treats as they can eat out of your hand when your there but no more. Scratch especially corn is only slightly better than Doritos. Try both crumble and pellets and make them available in multiple locations where the birds hang out. Try mixing whatever higher protein feed they ate as chicks in with the layer crumble. Also give them multiple 'dining' options. Variety of feeds and variety of ways to eat it. One more thing: try fermenting and sprouting. Chickens are like us, they like a huge variety in their diets. If you blend up all your nutritional needs into a crumble for each meal it would be the LAST thing you would choose to eat. I know - I ate hospital food for a few months - blarrrgggg.

 

[oldhen2345]

Thanks for the tip about the freshness date. Will check that. Did you see the links above? They say that they are 100 percent layer feed, just not in pellet/crumble form. Do you think it is not true? Just wanted to get some expert opinions of these type of "complete layer feed" links that are not pellets or crumble. Thanks!

IDK, seems like it is still just complete nutrition crumbles at a real high price. Any good feed store should have feed that is complete at 1/3 the price. The chickens will eat the pellets / crumbles if they are hungry. I would not feed anymore scratch or snacks for a few days. Trust me, they aren't gonna starve with layer feed available. Right now, they are just bluffing you out to get more of the good tasting stuff.