My chooks dont like pellets ! Also, no eggs :/

[Sybadd]

Hi all

As the title says my chooks dont like their pellets. I have made a feeder and filled it with pellets. First i put pellets mixed with with cracked corn but they just dug out the pellets to get to the corn. Then i put just pellets... They dug out the pellets looking for the corn that was not there.

They have stopped laying mostly, they only lay after i have fed them things they will eat (cracked corn, whole barley, seeds...)

We put kitchen scraps in nearly everyday and a couple of trowels of "worm bin matter" every other day, which they love. But when i leave them with just pellets they really seem to rather go hungery

They have a waterer, a small hopper full of oyster shell and the large feeder with pellets, but we hardly have any eggs.

Im based in France and it is winter here. Winters are quite mild and this winter is particularly mild so i dont think the weather has stopped them from laying...

Any ideas??.

 

[Judy]

Think of corn as a bit like ice cream to kids. They love it, but it's not a nourishing diet.

Most chickens will dig out the corn and leave the feed, whatever feed you use, if corn is mixed in. It's not as nutritious as formulated feed and doesn't contain micronutrients, so corn is best given as a "treat" or snack, or used to train them to come when you call, etc. You might want to hold off on both the corn and the scraps for a while, or at least severely limit them, unitl they become accustomed to eating the pellets.

Sometimes chickens will resist pellets if they are accustomed to another texture, but the truth is, they will eat them when they get hungry enough, if that is what is available. I've switched back and forth between pellets and crumbles several times, and never have trouble with them wanting to eat pellets.

I'm not sure what "worm bin matter" is, sorry. They may be laying less because their nourishment is varying from day to day, or simply because the corn is in effect making them a bit malnourished.

 

[Percheron chick]

How old is the bag of feed and do you have access to a different brand? They might be telling you it's not good. Put them back on a grower if they'll eat that.

 

[Michael Apple]

Think of corn as a bit like ice cream to kids. They love it, but it's not a nourishing diet.

Most chickens will dig out the corn and leave the feed, whatever feed you use, if corn is mixed in. It's not as nutritious as formulated feed and doesn't contain micronutrients, so corn is best given as a "treat" or snack, or used to train them to come when you call, etc. You might want to hold off on both the corn and the scraps for a while, or at least severely limit them, unitl they become accustomed to eating the pellets.

Sometimes chickens will resist pellets if they are accustomed to another texture, but the truth is, they will eat them when they get hungry enough, if that is what is available. I've switched back and forth between pellets and crumbles several times, and never have trouble with them wanting to eat pellets.

I'm not sure what "worm bin matter" is, sorry. They may be laying less because their nourishment is varying from day to day, or simply because the corn is in effect making them a bit malnourished.

X2. FW makes some good points, especially about corn and scratch grains. Some layer or meat bird rations are more palatable than others, and have better quality ingredients too. Chickens notice this. This may sound crazy to some, but next time you buy a sack of feed, taste some of it. It should taste pleasant and fresh. There a a couple feed mills I buy from. One is not so palatable. I can tell by the amount left in the troughs.

 

[Sybadd]

Hi all

Thanks for all this input. I have bought another brand of layer feed from the "other" suplyer (i have one farm supply warehouse and one garden center with in reasonable distence distence and eachs ell their own brand)

Of the three birds one of them eats the pellets. She is the "newer" bird and i guss she has not had time to be spoilt by my treats.

I have not fed them anything for three days. Today i went down with a bowel of pellets to physicly show them (incase they were as confused by my feeder as the apes by the monolith in 2001, which they seem to be...). As i approached the run they were going crazy, i threw in some pellets and, well, they looked at the floor then back at me like i was crazy. To see i threw in a pich of seeds and they literally fougt over them. Pecking and pushing each other.

They're not likly to starve themselves to death are they?

 

[Michael Apple]

Some years ago I changed from crumbles to pellets for my adults due to the excessive powdery waste left over from crumbles. When I opened the bag of pellets I remember thinking,"These are huge. They'll never eat those." It took some adjustment for them but eventually began eating them since it was a palatable ration. Some mills produce smaller pellets since that time. They can't be too big if a finch can steal a pellet and swallow it.