Mash, Pellets or Crumbles? Poll!

[ziphix]

I feed pellets to my girls mixed with cracked corn and wheat grains. I mix it up a bulk feed into a 80 ltr wheelie bin using 40 kilos of pellets, 20 kilos of cracked corn and 20 kilos of wheat. My girls love it and then they get crushed egg shells scattered with scraps. I also let them free range when I can. Next up I want to start a mealworm farm for them

I have great feeders that means I have minimal wastage and the rodents can't get their feed either.

 

[PheasantsFirst]

I feed pellets to my girls mixed with cracked corn and wheat grains. I mix it up a bulk feed into a 80 ltr wheelie bin using 40 kilos of pellets, 20 kilos of cracked corn and 20 kilos of wheat. My girls love it and then they get crushed egg shells scattered with scraps. I also let them free range when I can. Next up I want to start a mealworm farm for them

I have great feeders that means I have minimal wastage and the rodents can't get their feed either.

 

[autumn123]

I switched to pellets 2 weeks ago, but 2 of the 3 hens don't seem to like them as well. I do see them pecking around in it, but they seem to be losing a bit of weight. The 2 are white mix breed and not a very large kind. The bigger (yet younger) RIR likes pellets fine. The 2 white ones egg production is slowing down, but it is November. They aren't molting that I can see. Will they get used to the Pellets, or will I have to grind it up?

 

[A HappyHenLover]

I prefer an "Other" - Scratch and Peck which is mainly whole grains which my birds love. It is also non GMO.

However I have to drive out of my way to get it and can't always make the trip when the bag is low. If I don't have the time,I get the crumbles at my local feed store which is what the girls seem to prefer over the pellets.

My girls get organic feed- non gmo.

 

[chickyfuzz]

I only have a poulet but i feed her pellets.

 

[crazyaboutchickens]

I am really interested in this fermenting process, but I am not by any means Paula Deen or Betty Crocker. I don't know my way around measurements and I don't understand "a dollop" or "part of a bucket". I would like some hard fast measurements of how much and of what goes into it. Even more embarassing is that my father was a career dietitian. I burn water. Cou/d somebody please direct me to the easiest to understand method of fermenting that there is. I would appreciate it very much and thank you.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket with 3 gallons or so of feed.
Add water and mix until a slurry is formed.
Put in a few splashes of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. A 1/4 cup should do if you're picky about it.
Keep at room temperature.
Wait about 17-24 hours.
Serve as needed.

It's not being cooked, so exact measurements aren't necessary.
The only way you can go wrong with it is if you neglect it by not adding water and feed every few days.
No apple cider vinegar is needed after you start the first batch.
You can keep the same batch going for several years.


Fermented Feed can be made with any sort of feed or grain.
It'll last up to 5 days, providing it has enough water.
Only the 3 ingredients are necessary (4 if you consider the airborne bacteria that causes the fermentation.)
So why over-complicate things?

 

[member 142084]

Pellets for older birds
Crumbles for chicks
Weeds, grass clippings, hay, scraps, and scratch... and insects.
I do feed mash if I have something for it. but what pellets they do spread everywhere.. they eventually do eat crumbles disappear into the dirt. and the power is lost. Pellets = less waste

All non GMO, soy free, and organic

 

[Bru1995]

Teachick, the standard way the big commercial companies make chickenfeed is to mix all the different ingredients they want in it and grind that up to a powder. That’s called mash.

If they want pellets, the wet it to make a paste and extrude it through dyes, flash dry it, and break it off into short pieces. That’s pellets.

If they want crumbles, they crush the pellets some, but not enough to take it back to mash.

Why do they do this? Glad you asked. Different styles of automatic feeders work better with different types of feed.

There is another issue or two. If that powdery mash stays dry, it can sort itself into the different ingredients based on specific density so the chickens might not get a balance diet. The pellets and crumbles keep it mixed up.

Also, if you cut the top beak off a chicken kept in crowded conditions so it can’t eat other chickens (called debeaking), they can’t handle pellets or crumbles really well. But they can handle damp mash really well.

Wow I did not know that!

I have been feeding my laying hens Lay Mash ever since they were 18 weeks old however the lay mash that I use is made from: Black Sunflower seeds, rolled barley, whole sorghum, cracked corn, whole wheat, full fat soya bean meal, calgrit and molasses.
I get this in a 20kg bag and that's the only feed I give them except for the obvious daily food scraps and anything else they eat the forage or catch while they free range during the day.

I give my chicks a combination of grower feed and mixed grain (no added calcium) from 8 weeks to 18 weeks.

 

[Aaisha]

Quote: the post qouted at first is a great mixxture!!! i am sure my hens willl love that mix but not all are sold here...

 

[Aaisha]

I only have a poulet but i feed her pellets.

@chickyfuzz you should buy more chickens!!! they are fun!!