Alfalfa Horse Pellets

[EggsInTexas]

I recently bought some alfalfa pellets for my chickens, but they were meant for horses. They are about an inch to an inch and a half long and seem to crack in half rather easily. Is it safe to give to my chickens as they are? I've been snapping them down to maybe about a fourth of an inch long, and they just gulp it up. I can't be doing that with each pellet because it's a lot! Lol! Can I just get away with giving it to them as part of their feed without having to soak them? Thanks

 

[nuthatched]

Why do you want to feed them alfalfa pellets?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I bought this to feed my hens last winter when green grass was dormant. They wouldn't eat the alfalfa pellets until I soaked them in water. I think that if you mix the pellets into their feed dry, they will pick out their feed and leave the pellets, but it certainly won't hurt to try. I see by your member name that you are a fellow Texan, and with the extreme temps we've had lately, wetting feed down helps keep them hydrated, whether alfalfa pellets or regular feed.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Why do you want to feed them alfalfa pellets?

I bought it because the horse pellets were on sale, and for the nutrition that alfalfa provides.

 

[EggsInTexas]

Why do you want to feed them alfalfa pellets?

I noticed that when I would feed them brands that had alfalfa as part of the ingredients, they would be more satiated and wouldn't be staring at me wanting more food in the afternoon. Since I switched over to another type of feed that doesn't include alfalfa, they line up to me wanting more food in the afternoon. At first, I would give them more food because I thought they were starving or something until I realized they were getting really overweight.

 

[EggsInTexas]

I bought this to feed my hens last winter when green grass was dormant. They wouldn't eat the alfalfa pellets until I soaked them in water. I think that if you mix the pellets into their feed dry, they will pick out their feed and leave the pellets, but it certainly won't hurt to try. I see by your member name that you are a fellow Texan, and with the extreme temps we've had lately, wetting feed down helps keep them hydrated, whether alfalfa pellets or regular feed.

Yes! I'm a Texan! It has been so crazy down here at the southern tip of Texas. With the gulf humidity and the high temperatures, I'm seeing 115°F. I have a small, ground dip in my yard that I fill up with water everyday, and that's where they chill. Lol

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I grew up on the gulf coast. I now live only a few miles from the Oklahoma border, and though summers are very hot here too, your Texas heat combined with gulf coast humidity makes it literally feel like hell on earth. I don't miss that one bit, and shall never return!

 

[nuthatched]

I bought it because the horse pellets were on sale, and for the nutrition that alfalfa provides.

I noticed that when I would feed them brands that had alfalfa as part of the ingredients, they would be more satiated and wouldn't be staring at me wanting more food in the afternoon. Since I switched over to another type of feed that doesn't include alfalfa, they line up to me wanting more food in the afternoon. At first, I would give them more food because I thought they were starving or something until I realized they were getting really overweight.

Alfalfa doesn't actually have a lot of chicken available nutrition, it's great for animals that eat primarily grass, they have the stomachs for it but chickens don't.
It won't hurt them but the positive nutritional effects will be small.
What feed are you feeding?

 

[EggsInTexas]

I grew up on the gulf coast. I now live only a few miles from the Oklahoma border, and though summers are very hot here too, your Texas heat combined with gulf coast humidity makes it literally feel like hell on earth. I don't miss that one bit, and shall never return!

I don't blame ya, bud. I HATE it here although I'm born and raised here. Lol. I had a one-year stint last year living at almost 6000 FT elevation near the four corners in New Mexico. I LOVED IT!!! 100°F with 20% humidity is AWESOME!! LOL!! I'm a traveling healthcare professional trying to pay off my house, and when I do pay it off, I'm going to sell it and move over to New Mexico or Colorado. I'm taking my chickens with me too! Poor girls are all panting here day and night!

 

[EggsInTexas]

Alfalfa doesn't actually have a lot of chicken available nutrition, it's great for animals that eat primarily grass, they have the stomachs for it but chickens don't.
It won't hurt them but the positive nutritional effects will be small.
What feed are you feeding?

I was giving them Power 99 as that was what was suggested to me when I first started with a hobby two years ago. Later I found out that what I was giving them was actually chicken scratch as their main feed for almost a year! I didn't know the harm I was doing to them! Then, I switched over to Dumor layer mini pellets which had alfalfa as one of the many ingredients. The change in my girls was almost immediate! Unfortunately, that specific feed was discontinued. I switched over to another Dumor layer feed without alfalfa, and just like before, the change was immediate; they seemed to be hungry all the time. Now, I'm giving them layer feed that is being sold at Tractor Supply by Naturewise. They love it but they still look for me in the afternoon wanting more. So, I don't know. Lol