Pellets Vs Crumbles??????

Illini - A whole field mouse - LOL I reckon the girls will learn.

Knowonespecial - Tell me about it. I try not to spoil, but I do have my favorites.... We bought Hubby a new recliner and he wanted to know if I wanted to put the old one by the coop so I could rock and talke to my girls in comfort. He thinks he's so funny sometimes.... Reb

Eeeek!!!! That reminds me of one of my hens who was running around last summer with a pair of frog legs sticking out of her beak. I knew it wouldn't hurt her, she would eventually get it down.

The thing that freaked me out was I have an irrational dislike of frogs to the point of thinking I don't want to eat an egg that came from her

Frogs just give me the willies.

I only feed laying mash purchased locally (cheaper) from the Amish mill.

Ours prefer layer mash made by the local (1 mile away) elevator than either pellets or crumbles. And they lay better too!

The best part is that the mash is "house brand" and costs less than either of the others.

I have already done some work for a custom turky mix with them for the next summer.

A few weeks ago, I bought some of the mash, but none was mixed, would not be until the afternoon. One of the guys dropped it off at the house on his way home, no charge

They have our business forever.

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Roger

I prefer pellet, but gosh, crumble is higher in protein AND cheaper. We have a variety of poultry, and this year, LOTS of hungry beaks! We also have lot's of rain. I'm usually able to just sprinkle the pellets on the ground, so that everybody get's a chance to eat - but during the rainy season, the pellets turned to mush immediately. The crumble wouldn't stand a chance...so.....

This year, we took a long PVC pipe and cut it in half, lengthwise, then attached it to the chicken wire fence about eight inches off the ground. This particular type of pipe has holes in it, so the rain water runs out. A single piece of ten foot pipe became 2, ten foot long feeding troughs. Our birds no longer have to eat off the ground (which I didn't like in the first place), and every body gets a place at the feeder. That which falls through the holes is dry (being roofed by the pipe above) and is fair game for the smaller birds. I can now buy crumble or pellet (the crumble doesn't get completely wasted any longer), and have accomplished a feeding system with less waste. Will try to post pics.

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Look for incidents on the learning curve at: http://littlecricketchronicles.blogspot.com/

Even my bantam birds have no trouble at all eating pellets. At the mill where I buy them, pellets and crumbles are the same price and have the same protein (22%). As others have said, pellets are less waste, so that's what I use. Chickens that eat off the ground pick up dirt and small rocks as they eat, which means they don't need added grit either. That's not to say that I just throw their feed any ol' where and expect them to eat it, but I don't get upset about them eating off the ground either. I do give them oyster shells or crushed eggshells for added calcium.