Poorly ground chick crumbles - what to do? How to reduce mash waste?

[BlazeJester]

I bought a bag of chick crumbles from my local mill (first experience with them) and realized as soon as I opened it that I have a huge problem. The pellets were the size of the horse pine bedding that I'm using, and the mill had half-assed the grinding process - a good portion are far, FAR too large for my 4wk-old bantams to even think of eating.

Is there a way I could further process this feed to make it more palatable for the chicks? I don't have a hand mill or anything comparable. I could use a food processor if that seems a viable option...

Even with the food I sifted when I opened the bag, the chicks are throwing out an incredible amount of food. What is the secret to reduced feed waste with a mash/crumble (I'm going to say my feed is everything from pellet to mash, all in one bag)?

 

[Mahonri]

Make it all mash.

I have a Montel blender and I put scratch and high protein gamebird feed in it and make mash for my chicks. They love it and so does their mama.

 

[cmom]

I would suggest a food processor or blender.

 

[Beekissed]

Just feed a daily ration and wet it. Wetting it will dissolve it down to mash consistency if it is in pelleted form right now.

 

[SouthernBYChickens]

I believe if it's not too much trouble, I would take it back to the place you bought it and ask for another bag. Open it up before you leave to check (just incase it's the same situation). If they don't work with you, then take your business elsewhere.

 

[Renee']

Stick it in a blender, food processor, or coffee grinder. All of those can reduce it as much as you desire. If you have none of those machines, place it in a gallon zip lock and roll it with a rolling pin.

Be careful with wetting the feed, it has a high potential to mold, especially with the warm temps in a brooder. Definately throw away any uneaten wet feed every 12 hours and clean the feed dish thoroughly.

To prevent waste, set your feeder on a paper sack and don't refill the feeder until the paper sack is cleaned.

 

[jessicayarno]

Quote:
I would take it back too, that is alot of food to have to regrind yourself and you didn't get what you paid for..

 

[BlazeJester]

This was my first (possibly last) experience with one of the local mills. The guy on site said "yes" to every question I asked him, despite several of the answers actually being "no"...

I'll go ahead and grind this bag myself as I feed it to them but I may not go back. It was $4 cheaper than Purina, but I was expecting feed freshly ground by this mill and ended up purchasing these "crumbles" in a bag labeled with another mill's logo.

A real *chicken farmer* came in while I was there asking about poultry feed, saw the sample bags and was none too happy about it, so I probably won't go back. I did join the LocallyGrown network and co-op, so hopefully will meet someone who has better ideas where to get feed in the future.