What is chicken mash and its purpose?

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
It is? ... It's more expensive here, it costs me $12.25 for a bag of crumbles and $14.50 for a bag of mash!

 

[patandchickens]

the same size bag??

That's weird. Different mfrs?

Here, a 40 (?) kg bag of mash that the feedstore makes themselves costs about the same as a 25 (?) kg bag of Shur-Gain crumbles or pellets. Thus the mash is significantly less expensive per weight.


Pat

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Both 25kg (we can't get 40kg bags for whatever reason, it's very annoying actually) and the mash costs more.

 

[lalaland]

I agree that the powder in the mash contains the nutrient/mineral part - I don't use a hopper feeder because of that - just those big black rubber tubs. Fill it up only 1/3 and when they pick out the bigger bits, add liquid/yogur/t etc and they clean it up. Course if I'm gone a day and someone else is taking care of them, I switch to a hopper type for that time.


it is funny, isn't it? I haven't priced the pellets here, but the farm stores are higher on everything than the feed mills.

And in this area, there are a lot of people with a couple of horses on a few acres, and they tend to be more city folks and so the farm stores are stocking up on pretty halters and toys for horses and jacking up their prices a bit. Heck, I don't even have a horse and look at all the pretty horse stuff. good thing they don't have that for chickens!

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Mann I wish we could get halters and such at our farm store, they don't even carry much chicken stuff aside from a hovabator that's been there for about a million years and some really expensive feeders.

 

[bigzio]

The mash I feed my flock is ground fresh at the local feed store. My birds prefer it over crumbles and pellets, and I prefer it because the flock wastes less, it's 2% higher in protein, and is 3.50 cheaper per 50lb bag. Kinda wn,win,win situation for me.

bigzio

 

[tdgill]

when you mix the mash with yogurt you wanna make sure that its just to finish it up and not leave mash and yogurt sitting and spoiling? I read something about feed spoiling....ergot or whatever...

mmmmmm hot grapenuts yummy

 

[karen]

Get some cheap pellets and put one in your mouth (or drop in water if you can't stand to do that). It will turn to salty mush. Now get the good quality pellets and you'll have left a nutty flavored bit of hay like putting bits of grass or hay leavings in your mouth. It just depends on the manufacturer and the mill you get the pellets from.

Gotta LOVE it! I have taste tested my girls feed too! Our favorite is Blue Seal pellets for the laying girls- mash grower for the little 'uns.

Zagat for birds!​

 

[sheralynb]

I have chicks and I feed starter and my feeders are always full of just the powder part at the end of the day. Is it ok to leave that as is, forcing them to eat it? I can't afford to throw it away, and I'm not going to make a wet mash ( I have 150 chicks - that's too much mess

) I wish they made a half pellet sized pellet. Sorta like koi food size.

 

[caralouise1974]

I've been giving our girls some variety - they've only been getting pellets, but after a rather wet day recently, I rediscovered their love for wet mash - the pellets got mushy and they wolfed them down!

So now, I offer both dry pellets and a bowlful of wetted-up pellets, which are mixed to the consistency of coarse pate. They seem to be preferring the wet mashed up pellets right now, but they've gone off them before - they'll go off them again I'm sure! It's no odds to me - both foods are identical - even if they don't realise it! And the good thing about the wet mash is that they don't seem to waste much - and contrary to everyone else's experiences, I find they waste far more pellets. They scatter them all over the floor and then ignore them. They will only eat the ones that are still in the feeder, the cheeky girls! The wet mushed-up pellets, on the other hand, get cleaned up, right to the last little morsel!

It does seem to help in the hot weather to give them a moist food, made with cold water and/or cold milk. They seem to get some relief from it.