New member

[Pamaly]

Hi everyone. I am new here and found this discussion looking for ways to I,prove the food my chickens are eating. A 50 pound bag of layer pellets would last me up to 6 months, my chickens are skinny, they are slow to regrow from molt, just all around bad health. I have found a recipe for feed, I am fermenting some today and can’t wait to see how they like it tomorrow. I bought some feed online, hugely expensive, and mixed it with layer pellets. All layer pellets are on the ground now and they are eating twice as much now. I think I’m on the right path. I also added kelp…..fingers crossed they will eat the mash. Can anyone tell me how they prepare mash for a way to feed it to them?

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi, and welcome to BYC!

There are other reasons your chickens are skinny, and it's most likely not the feed. Have you ever wormed your chickens? Sometimes mites can take a chicken down too.

We make mash out of Kalmbach's Flock Maker crumbles as everyone here gets that. We just put some in a dish, add water, mix it up, and serve it. It should be the consistency of cooked oatmeal.

When I say "dish," we went to rummage sales and picked up some ceramic dishes and also got some heavier bowls from Walmart. We pick those up at night, put in the sink to thaw, then wash them up for another day.

We're glad you're here!

 

[BoundlessLove]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens!
Hope you can find a good feed for them.
We use Tucker Milling Show Flock feed.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore and hang out. A decent feed is easy to acquire.
I use a locally milled one here in Washington state.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I agree with @Debbie292d that the feed is unlikely the problem. I would start with a thorough physical exam to rule out external parasites and deal with them if you find any. Then I would move on to giving them a course of general dewormer like Safeguard liquid goat wormer.

I would also not keep them on layer feed as it's very difficult to find a layer feed that offers 18 to 20% protein. Additionally the birds do not need layer feed unless they are actually producing eggs and there are many times in a hens life where she is not producing eggs. I would keep them on a good quality chick starter crumble. You can ferment that if you'd like. They do tend to enjoy fermented feed. But I wouldn't try to do a homemade feed because it's very easy to get the nutrient balances completely out of whack.

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC. I also do not believe its the feed. You have gotten good advice. Good luck with your flock!

 

[N F C]

Hi, some good advice from the previous greeters. Best of luck to you with your flock!

 

[fldiver97]

Looks like the other posters covered the question. Good luck with your flock!