Wheat alternatives

[Thom1]

Hi,
So my partner and I have 9 young hens. And a bantam roster that's about 50 years old.

This is our third group of hens.

These ones just won't eat the wheat.

We have a big feeder of wheat and they just don't touch it. We have a smaller Feeder with Red Hen and they go straight for the corn and sunflower seeds. Then pick and choose a bit what's left.
We have tried mixing some of the wheat in with Red Hen but that doesn't work
and even alot the wheat that's in the Red Hen mix is left.

We tried sourcing some wheat from a different place and they liked that even less.

I'm not trying to force them to eat wheat but what else can we feed them with along side the Red Hen? The wheat basically goes to waste or the birds get it because the chooks spread it on the ground.

They eat our scraps once a week and get bread basically daily. So it's not just Red Hen.
Based in Australia of you have any products you can recommend

 

[rosemarythyme]

Not in Australia so no idea what is in the Red Hen. Is that a feed? A scratch?

Do you have access to pelleted or crumbled feeds?

 

[Thom1]

This is the Red Hen we get.
https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/laucke-red-hen-free-range

Yes we can get pelleted and crumble feeds.
Feed them a crumble feed when they were younger weren't too interested in that either.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd consider trying different pelleted or crumble feeds (and sticking strictly to that to force them to eat it - no additional treats, bread, etc), and/or look into fermenting or at least wetting the feed. It's problematic that your birds are picking and choosing what they want out of the feed because not only is it wasteful for your wallet, but it can also lead to malnutrition as they're not getting a complete diet.

 

[raingarden]

The Red Hen sounds like a mix of whole grains. For us, a mix of whole grains or hard red wheat alone is much more expensive than formulated crumble or pelleted chicken feed. If mixed together, they will pick the wheat out and leave the chicken feed. The formulated feed is better for their health though.