Mash, Crumbles, or Pellets

[raisingirl78]

Hello!
I am currently feeding crumbles to my chickens, they are well over 1 year old (not sure exact age as I got them from a woman who was moving and could not take them with her). Anyway, they tend to spread the crumbles everywhere and then will not eat the food from the ground. Should I consider pellets? Or would adding another feeder help so they don't all have to eat from the same one (pecking order concerns)? I have 8 chickens.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[cravenchx]

Mine love the pellets. I have 14 birds, one feeder inside
the coop. Treats are given in the run.

 

[raisingirl78]

Is there a reason it is inside the coop? Ours is under the coop to keep it from getting wet. The coop is in a pen so it is not exposed to wild animals, etc. Just curious, maybe putting it in the coop would solve the issue?

 

[cravenchx]

I put in the coop because that's "home" and
away from other wildlife. I would try the pellets.

 

[OldGuy43]

Ours won't touch the pellets. Just scatter them. It may have something to do with the fact that their beaks were all trimmed when we got them.

 

[roxyblue]

I find the pellets less wastefull, and my girls love them! I set them out in a dish set on some bricks so that all of them can be eating at once without pecking problems.

(still trying to figure out the pecking order.....)
-Roxy

 

[raisingirl78]

I just spent a little time reading through older posts about mash versus crumbles, versus pellets and people were saying there is better nutrient value in mash and that it is much cheaper than pellets (by 40% or so). So I guess even with waste, it may still be the same cost using mash as using pellets? Maybe I will just experiment with one bag of pellets next week and see how they like them and whether they spread those as well. I'm satisfied with their laying ability right now considering it is cold (below freezing) and they are still laying 5-7 eggs daily, same as during summer (I use a light in the coop 1.5 hours before and after sunrise/sunset).

Some on the older posts suggested moistening the mash to make it crumbly. I don't know though if I would do this correctly.

 

[navychick]

My Girl's HATE Pellets.

 

[al6517]

Pellets all the way.............. Less waste in a proper feeder, easier to feed and custom mix additives.

Crumbles to very young chicks is all they can eat so that is fine, but as soon as they are big enough !!! not age but but size is important here, they get pellets and are made to eat it.

Mash to me is a total waste of time and effort, regardless of the season or age of the bird. LOL it's chicken coop not a made to order resturant.

Feeding what is the best for the flock owner $$/ease of use and the chicken is the key, not whether they like it or not, it's all they are going to get so they learn that and quickly adapt.

 

[raisingirl78]

al6517,
Thanks, I am a pretty logical thinker and this post helps me much. I tend to think if they are hungry, they'll eat whats available to them, like it or not - so that was well put. I'm definitely going to try the pellets. Worse case scenario, they spread those all over too and I will then just opt for what's cheapest! But I hate to see waste. Thanks again!