New hens don't like their feed... help!

[l'oeuf]

Hello,
We just got our five hens Sunday evening, and have been giving them pellet feed for adult laying hens (our hens, red stars and RIRs, are 24 weeks old). They don't seem to like the pellets, as I can see they aren't eating much. I tried adding some rolled oats, which they seem to like. I think the guy we bought them from fed them oats and other whole grains, but must have fed them something else too. They are healthy, but I don't want them to be hungry, so I'm looking for any suggestions or advice to help them get used to their new food. Or, any suggestions on good food or people's preferred brands of feed.

Thanks!

-Vanessa

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Mine dont like the layer pellets. Wont eat it unless they have absolutely NOTHING else. They prefer the crumbles. So that is what I get em.

 

[Mahonri]

My leghorns and Buff orpington will eat the pellets but the rest of my birds act like they would starve first.

 

[weloveourchicks]

Same here, my leghorns will eat the pellets but all the others act like it's poison. I've had to resort to mixing pellets and scratch together to get them to all eat happily.

 

[l'oeuf]

Hey,
Thanks everyone so much for your input. I'll try mixing in some scratch, and we also realized that maybe they just don't like their feeder container, so we're trying out a different option.

Cheers!