My chickens refuse to eat layer crumbles

[The Phantom]

For a couple of months now my hens have refused to eat layer crumbles. What is a good food for them?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What *are* they eating - are the foraging on a large area they free range in, are they eating lots of vegetable/food scraps, are they eating scratch grain? What is their current body condition? Are they producing as expected for their breed(s) or are you seeing more/less production than should be expected?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you don't provide any other feed they will eat it. Chickens will not starve themselves so if you stay diligent they will switch to the new feed. Being creatures of habit any change can be a challenge from change in location, coop, feed, etc. Don't provide treats or scraps until they make the change of feed. Then provide other options in rationed amounts.

 

[The Phantom]

They are eating oats,corn,and black oil sunflower seeds. They are skinny. They are not laying as much. What is a good brand of food? I have been feeding them Sprout Layer feed. I will try only giving them the crumbles. Thankyou

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

They are eating oats,corn,and black oil sunflower seeds. They are skinny. They are not laying as much. What is a good brand of food? I have been feeding them Sprout Layer feed. I will try only giving them the crumbles. Thankyou

I kind of expected to hear that. ....yes, cut out all the stuff and give only layer, or even a grower/all flock feed (sometimes more palatable), just be sure to put out oyster shell to make up the calcium....the extra protein in the grower feed can help recondition them. Another thing to try is using soaked feed/mash or fermented feed, both are more palatable to most birds.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I feed the Sprout Layer Crumbles also, which happens to be the only Layer feed available at a reasonable price. I could get an organic crumble, but the cost is nearly triple. My chickens will not eat the All Flock pellets - except for One Spoiled girl, she loves her some chicken feed in any form - even preferring it to any other treats. They will not eat the crumbles if it is wet or fermented. I prefer the crumbles to pellets because they seem to waste a lot more with the pellets.

They definitely prefer the cracked corn, oats and sunflower seed treats that I throw in the run to keep them occupied when they cannot free-range. I prefer to mix cracked corn, oats and BOSS instead of buying scratch grains because (1) it is cheaper this way and (2) scratch grains contain soybean oil and I am trying to avoid soy in my diet. I have also been giving them some sprouted popcorn and wheat lately. Just extra stuff from the pantry that is getting old and needs to be used up. Maybe a cup per day of treat for 12 chickens to dig out of the hay.

Maybe toss a little of the scratch with the feed - very little, like maybe a tablespoon of scratch to 2 cups of crumble. The scratch will get them to start eating, and once started my chickens tend to keep at it until full.

That said, I would like to find a better quality of feed. If I don't supplement with "treats" the egg yolks are pretty pale and a couple of my chickens seem to get a little thin. ( I have 3 different "breeds" of chickens).

And watch the bags of Sprout feed, I have gotten a couple that were moldy. I am now the strange lady that sniffs the bag of feed before buying. Not meaning to blame Sprout, it could happen to any feed with shipping, handling, storage in the warehouse, a lot of reasons/ways a bag of feed may get damp and mold.
In fact, the latest bag that I dumped into the bin was a little clumpy on the bottom of the bag - my fault, the sealed bag was stored on the shelf next to the bin and water from melting snow dripped on it for a day. Not moldy, but clumpy so the birds are getting picky, but I made sure to feed the damp clumpy stuff first so it wouldn't mold.

 

[snow5164]

That seems to be the problem with any animal not eating, treats !!

They can eat only so many calories in a day so if you feed them " a handful" of high calorie treats they don't have room for what their bodies need .

I feed the real food in the morning, if it's gone in the afternoon/evening they get a handful of treats

We have a dog boarding kennel , one dog who " wouldn't eat" dog food was getting pizza at home ..... go figure the kibble wasn't appealing

 

[The Phantom]

Ok Thankyou all for your feedback.

 

[Birdslave]

Hi there you all! (smiles)
I come and go here, so sorry if I missed past notes and all that either to me or posted. It's been a hard year overall for me, so I wandered aimlessly from here. Lol.

I have a question about the feed in all poultry-type brands. I have partridges, a pheasant, and two chickens.
I know this is an old thread. But my birds don't like ANYTHING.
They'll eat it, but they immediately drop it from their beek, shake their heads and walk off with most feed brands. Either the crumble or small pellet stuff from Purina, Kalmbach (spelling may be off here) Dumar, Egglad's Best (whatever), and even some Manna Pro crumble. I've spent so much money!!!

The other huge problem is the crumble is barely crumble-form. Usually POWDER.
Does anyone know how to convert powdered crumble to a whole edible form again?
I'm considering making the powdered crumbled feed into a baked loaf of bread, Honest! Lol

Does anyone know a really tasty happy brand for game bird PETS?
I'm wondering if the food is less edible because the manufacturers think my "game birds" will later be on someone's dinner plate so quality isn't an issue. Not to be paranoid.

So, here's the thing: Is there a feed quality problem going on out there? And does anyone know a really good quality Chukar Game bird feed, not to mention chicken feed?
Thanks! Take care, everyone,

Oh yeah, has anyone noticed the fruits and other produce are being rejected by your birds? Like Kiwi, etc.? My Red Golden Pheasant won't eat anymore no matter the brand ever since a year ago. Trader Joe's (a local store I use for relatively good foods) says they changed buyers and that they are from other sources. It seems "wildish" birds know best. Even at Sprouts, the tropical papaya (the smallish-medium ones) that he loved he won't touch, either. I can only figure it's all around the covid thing. Has anyone noticed this food rejection with their birds with the produce? It's frustrating for me. I'm only lucking out with the "live" butter lettuce heads and some types of Romain lettuce hearts. But these birds are pheasants, not chickens, so maybe nobody knows here. But it certainly lifts my eyebrow how the recent foods are not touched, no matter the "quality" stores I try to supplement their needs.
-Birdslave