Pellets vs mash

[BigBen]

I started feeding my girls starter mash and the switched them to grower mash. I went in to pick up some more and the lady at the feed store said i would be much better off with the pellets.
She said it was less waistful on more consentrated.
So Ibought a 50lb bag.
I decided to do a slow change over and mixed the 2 together.
I am noticing that they are eating around the pellets and just eating the mash.
My question it.. will the eventually give in or will they starve themselfs if they don't like something?
Both feeds are Blue Seal and are made of the same products. The only difference should be the texture.

 

[fasbendera]

They will eat the pellets when they get hungry and the mash is gone. I switched to pellets over a year ago and I wouldn't go back. When I have my Cornish Cross mixed in I feed a custom blend that is ground at my local elevator and I cringe at the feed on the ground only a week left and back to the pellets. Pellets are more but they eat less and I found I saved money on the pellets. No difference in chicken behavior or egg laying.

 

[BigBen]

Thats good to hear. I have a feeder inside and one outside. The one outside is a gavity feed troth. For some reason they pull all the mash out on the ground and it make a big mess.

 

[Gallusfarm]

We have the same problem that you do. Glad to hear they will adjust to the pellets... It seems like the mash has a lot of extra power that's left over and makes a big mess - especially if it gets wet.

 

[lalaland]

pellets are more convenient, but I like mash better - when you get that leftover flour/powder, just mix in some milke or yougurt - your spoiled milk is great for this.

put the feeder inside an oil pan or some other container , or up on blocks, or hang it, to minimize waste.

 

[enola]

My chickens on the ground are fed pellets. The waste is minimal because any pellets dropped on the ground are easily found and eaten.

My chickens on the wire are fed mash, the feeders are fixed so they cannot "flip out" the mash to find something better. If I feed chickens wire pellets, they pick them up and them drop them right through the wire onto the floor.

If you are feeding chickens too much feed, they will not clean it up off the ground. Try cutting back on the amount that you feed them, they will stop wasting feed.

 

[Mahonri]

I've just got to make them do it.

Egg production will probably go down a bit.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Interesting question. I just decided to switch back to crumbles today. I have been trying to feed pellets for several months. I thought it was working, but have changed my mind.

My birds were free-ranging much of the day. It seemed like they were eating the pellets, but not wasting as much. Egg production slowed a bit.

I built them an enclosed pen, and still let them free-range several hours at the end of the day. Those pellets sure lasted a long time. Egg production down a bit more. Treat time (watermelon rinds, greens, scratch) became a really big deal. The birds yelled at me (yes, yelled!) when they were locked up.

Went on vacation, and had my dad check on the girls daily. He brought them treats (watermelon rinds, corncobs), and said they went nuts trying to get out of the pen. He said the food never ran out.

Egg production down about 75%.

Came back from vacation. Girls are getting ornery, pecking and grousing when they used to be sweethearts. Egg production has mostly stopped. Food lasts WAY TOO LONG. Birds are getting by on the veggies (spinach, greens), watermelon, and weeds, bugs, and wild oats from the few hours of free-ranging. They are no longer eating pellets. They prefer to starve. I give up. I gave in. Crumbles it is.

 

[BigBen]

I noticed that the mash mixture sticks to there beak and the when they drink it messes up the water.

 

[vnploveschickens]

Quote:
I thought I was just imagining that the pellets were lasting way too long in the feeder. But hearing this from someone else makes me feel like I am not losing my mind! Thanks OrpingtonManor!

I may just stick with the Flock Raiser instead of going to Layer Pellets next time I need feed. Or is Layer Crumbles better? I do leave free-choice oyster shell.