They're not eating any of the feed I buy now

[Uwish]

This is their preferred feed (Kalmbach Chickhouse Reserve), straight from the bag. The fermented feed looks a lot like this, but moist :

View attachment 4130129

That is my entire flocks favorite… (ducks, turkeys, chickens) I do have to supplement a bit for the turkey they need higher protein. But my flock LOVES that feed never a mess on the ground of spilled food they clean it all up

 

[ChaosMom]

That is my entire flocks favorite… (ducks, turkeys, chickens) I do have to supplement a bit for the turkey they need higher protein. But my flock LOVES that feed never a mess on the ground of spilled food they clean it all up

That’s amazing! Chick feed as an all-flock!

What protein do you supplement with? When I was fermenting, I added split green peas (1# cheap house brand bag), but I’d like to mix that up a bit.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Update!
Last night when I went to check on the flock before bed, I ended up having to bring our Serama hen inside as she was very lethargic. Her crop was empty and even when I placed food and water in the carrier I currently have her in, she only drank the water and ignored the food. I got her to drink some nutri-drench and today she's still only drinking the water
After I brought the hen inside, I checked everyone else and their crops were empty too. They're still empty today
They've been locked up with only feed and water since I first posted and I've only had to refill the water. The feed is still untouched after days of them being locked up

 

[Altairsky]

Just change feed, there is something wrong with the feed.

 

[Perris]

Offer them a little real food - e.g. tinned sardines, milk-soaked bread, peeled banana, whatever until you can think of nothing else to give them. If they still don't eat, then they are really sick and their digestive systems have shut down to focus all energy on their immune systems.

 

[FrostRanger]

The day we brought our three home, we were still waiting for the Chewy delivery in a few hours, so I tried them on Bob’s Old Country Style Muesli. They were horrified. Go figure.

Ingredients (this is the muesli):
Whole Grain Wheat, Dates, Sunflower Seeds, Raisins (Raisins, Sunflower Oil), Whole Grain Rye, Barley, Whole Grain Oats, Whole Grain Triticale (Wheat), Almonds, Flaxseed and Walnuts

Oy, no taste whatsoever, bob's red mill muesli is amazing! Only reason I don't buy it regularly is it's expensive

 

[ChaosMom]

I would but I’m temporarily not doing mash, because I’m getting a knee replacement next week, and I’m trying to simplify things a bit for my husband.

The mash was initially made from 18% chick feed and then part chick feed, part layer. Even though the feeds were from the same company (Kalmbach), they were very different in terms of appearance. The chick feed has almost all whole grain plus the fines (no pellets) containing supplements. The layer version has noticeably fewer whole grains and the rest Mystery Pellets. So I can understand the refusal in the chicken attitude of “OMG, what’s that; she’s trying to kill us.”

So I went back to only the chick feed in the mash, but they still noped.

At this time, the weather also began heating up, so maybe that affected the flavor.

At any rate, I’ve decided against the layer feed in favor of chick or all-flock, so Im just feeding it dry and not worrying about waste for now. Ideally, I’d like a combo of non-layer mash in the mornings and dry on hand for when they feel they need it. They’re definitely thriving on the foraging, generally three hours in the mornings and three-four in the late afternoons/evenings.

Update: they’re back eating mash. I borrowed @Shadrach ‘s technique of feeding them in the morning before letting them out into the yard for foraging.

Also, the layer food that they rejected was the Kalmbach Organic Henhouse Reserve. I only bought it because it’s corn- and soy-free. But apparently, the replacement ingredients were formed into pellets, which they ignored, with only peas and some grain identifiable.

So I passed it along to my older daughter’s co-worker, got the regular Henhouse Reserve, and they’re happy again. I leave some dry feed out during the day for when they think they’re on the verge of death (every 20 minutes or so.) I’m still going to supplement with animal protein as @Perris does, but we seem to have a system going.

 

[Sundyrse59]

Try feeding the food wet (mash), my chickens go bonkers for that. I’d swear they’d eat cardboard if I wet it down.

LOL, When my pullets were a little younger, the buggers tore up a cardboard box I had blocking one of their laying boxes. I put a different cardboard box and they left it alone.

 

[Apis mellifera]

They free range

Thats why.

 

[Chicken Mama48]

Like Kiki says, stop give them treats and they will eat the feed.

Might be keep them in the run for a day or two so they don't have anything else to eat but the feed you give them.

My chickens get out of the run a few times a day and I found that the more they get out the less they eat their feed. When I was out all day and they were kept in the runs, they ate all their feed.

My chicken runs only have plain soil, earth so they dig and eat whatever, but that aren't enough so they eat the feed.

If your chickens aren't eating the feed you buy AND are running loose in the grass and eating anything and everything that is the best for them in the long run. When they can't get enough they will eat what feed they find. Probably not that they don't like what you buy, they just like fresh and moving better.