Layer mash with pellets that hens avoid...?

[limabean]

My layer mash has some sort of pellets in the mix (along with visible variety of grains) ... I have noticed my hens don't eat the pellets. Their feeder ends up full of these pellets, with them crowding around demanding food, as if they have none. What's going on?

 

[OldGuy43]

Ours wouldn't eat pellets either. We switched to crumbles. Problem solved.

 

[limabean]

I chose mash over pellets or crumbles because I just thought the idea of them
eating "whole food" seemed better...but the darn mash has these pellets mixed in. Hmm, maybe I will consider crumbles the next time
I buy feed.

 

[limabean]

Browsing through some old threads, I'm not even sure I'm using the right terminology!

Anyway, the feed I use has whole things in it - corn, oat, seeds (?), etc, AND pellets.

 

[limabean]

Hmm, reading more it seems that my ladies may be missing out on important nutrients by not eating the pellets, so I may have to go ahead with crumbles.