laying mash vs laying pellets

[chick4chix]

I have read on here that once you start with either mash or crumble or pellets- the chickens will not accept another style.

I just filled the feeders this evening with laying mash (what they have been used to) and watched them while they proceeded to fling it everywhere including onto each other!

I am tired of wasting all this food since their feeders are over pine shavings it is going to be hard for them to pick it all back up

I wondered if anyone has had luck with switching out the mash with pellets by mixing some pellets in with the mash a little at a time until they are eating all pellets? Just a thought- I want to try it, but don't want to waste a bag of food either- although they are wasting it by flinging it. Thanks in advance

 

[Akane]

You are probably best off just giving them a feeder full of pellets and nothing else. They won't starve themselves to death. They'll eat it eventually. If you mix it they will simply eat what they want, throw the rest around, and then annoy you for more food anyway while the rest sits on the floor of the coop until they get hungry enough. You can skip the middle step and the wasted feed by not giving them the option. They might start out not eating as much of it but they'll get used to it quickly if they don't have a choice.

 

[sonew123]

I hated the mash--I used the med food for 8 weeks ( that was just like mash except more powdery and wasteful!) I go right to the pellets at that age-That is also areound the age I let them out to free range so they get a little taste of it too before I actually switch--hardly any waste love it!

 

[Beekissed]

My chickens get fed once a day, in the evening. They will eat anything you place before them!

I eliminated the wasting of feed by going back to the older trough style feeder, wrapped in fencing. This allows beaks in for food, but no scratching or flicking of feed out of the feeder. Has saved me soooooo much feed and I can feed mash this way, like I prefer to do.

 

[lorrir]

Quote:
Can you post a picture. Please.

 

[chick4chix]

Yes- I would like to see it too. Thanks for all the advice- I am definitely going to switch out as soon as this bag of mash is gone- I think they will eat it because they are "little pigs" and eat everything.

which is best for non waste -Pellets or crumbles?

 

[Beekissed]

I'll try to snap a pic of it tomorrow!

 

[justmeandtheflock]

I switched to pellets this week. They ate very little for all of 1 day. Mine are 15 & 22 weeks old.

 

[lymasm]

I was glad to see this post.

We just got chickens that were already laying and we had been using pellets since we bought the chickens.

We went to the Amish community and purchased laying mash to see if the chickens liked it and like you said, they have thrown it all over the chicken house and made a terrible mess! They never did that with the pellets and now I wonder what the mash has in it that makes them want to do that.

Does anyone know?

The pellets seem to be a much cleaner way to feed the chickens. They peck at the pellets, eat them and don't throw them out of the feeder.

 

[Beekissed]

Because they can pick through the mash for individual grains and pick out what they like first and eat the left overs later...just like kids!

Mash is a type of feed that was meant to be served wet...as in the true meaning of a "mash". Those who feed it dry normally feed it in a trough to eliminate too much waste and I ever used to place welded wire fencing over my trough so they could not flick or scratch. Now that I ferment the mash and whole grains I no longer need to do even that as it's impossible to flick or scratch in wet feeds.

Pelleted feeds have the same ingredients but just ground finer and steamed, passed through an extrusion process to make it into a bigger form for eating.