Official BYC Poll: Crumbles, Mash, or Pellets?

[Bcolpetzer]

Mine eat crumbles. I tried giving them pellets, because I accidentally bought a bag they refused to eat, after days 4 went and bought a bag of crumble they acted like they have been starved to death. Mine don’t make messes and waste.

 

[JennyHeidewald]

Ohhh, so "mash"is what they call all that annoying dust in my bags of crumbles... I like the smaller pellets that Tractor Supply Producers Pride has, they waste less and like it better than the bigger pellets. I stocked up in April, but I've had littles in with the flock so I haven't been able to feed it. I really do need to get it out of the basement since it is a few months old, and I don't like feeding older food.
The birds like crumbles better, I had to use Purina Allflock to distract the older ones from the chick food. They seem to eat more crumbles.
I got one bag of Scratch and Peck once, it is pricey, and there are over 100 birds, they go through a LOT of food right now. They didn't eat a lot of the little stuff, they went crazy for the grains. I got it more as a once in a while treat.

 

[Silky45]

I buy all 3 and mix them in a large container. I wanted them to have mixes so incase they don’t prefer one there’s others to choose from . I also mix in a organic scratch that they all seem to love.

 

[RRRescue]

Choosing which feed to buy for your birds can be a complex process with many variables, and today we would like to hear your opinion on one of these. Which feed texture/size do you prefer? Vote in the poll above, and reply below if you wish with the reasoning behind your choice.

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(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

I use pellets due to the loss of edible feed in crumbles.....Mfr proccesing creates too much fines ...that and the chickens tossing feed out of feeders that is too small to eat....pellets are easily the best bang for the buck$$ Try sifting crumbles with a screen sifter and xou will see how much is wasted due to mfr. Fines.....not nearly as bad with pellets....

 

[Shahnaz13]

Why do so many people feed "artificial" stuff? We feed maize (whole and cracked), sunflower seeds (more as a treat) and rye (we live in Spain with different food sources). But all are actual grains. Are pellets etc. the better or just the cheaper choice?

 

[Foxinthehenhouse]

I’ve tried them all and I have learned two things. Don’t mix other feed into pellets cause they sort thru it and throw the other food out on the ground. Also, I had been using Purina pellets with great success and read about another pellet feed that was all natural and turned out to be made in my state. I switch to that cause it was $3.00 cheeper and I got 10 lbs. more! Everything seemed fine but in the back of my mind I thought that my egg production was less. Well, went to feed store for more and they were out of it( as well as all brands of pellets) so I went to another feed store and all they carried were Purina products so I bought it. I told the proprietor about the other feed and he told me that the old time chicken keepers had told him that they wished they had switched long ago cause when they did their production went up a lot. So, long story short, you get what you pay for! When I put the Purina in their feeder they attacked it like they were starving! I’m sold!

 

[GC-Raptor]

Why do so many people feed "artificial" stuff?

Nothing artificial in this crumble feed.

Just natural ingredients with added vitamins, minerals, amino acids, prebiotics, probiotics, and a natural preservative. GC

 

[dunmovin]

I like pellets best, as they seem to spill less.

We use pellets too. It seems to be less waste. I have a couple of chickens who love to stand in the feeders and kick the feed everywhere. Then throughout the day, they eat it from the ground.

 

[dunmovin]

I’ve tried them all and I have learned two things. Don’t mix other feed into pellets cause they sort thru it and throw the other food out on the ground. Also, I had been using Purina pellets with great success and read about another pellet feed that was all natural and turned out to be made in my state. I switch to that cause it was $3.00 cheeper and I got 10 lbs. more! Everything seemed fine but in the back of my mind I thought that my egg production was less. Well, went to feed store for more and they were out of it( as well as all brands of pellets) so I went to another feed store and all they carried were Purina products so I bought it. I told the proprietor about the other feed and he told me that the old time chicken keepers had told him that they wished they had switched long ago cause when they did their production went up a lot. So, long story short, you get what you pay for! When I put the Purina in their feeder they attacked it like they were starving! I’m sold!

We stick with Purina too!

 

[R2elk]

Nothing artificial in this crumble feed.View attachment 2300893View attachment 2300901View attachment 2300895
Just natural ingredients with added vitamins, minerals, amino acids, prebiotics, probiotics, and a natural preservative. GC

The methionine in most feeds is due to adding synthetic methionine. Synthetic or not, it is an essential ingredient.