Chickens picking through feed for sunflower seeds?

[phate008]

My pullets are only about 8 months old so I am new to this.

Their history of feed is as follows. I started them for the first few months on
Manna Pro Chick Starter Medicated Crumbles
Then I moved onto the Manna Chicken Stratch (non-medicated)

The store I got them from suggested that I move them to this stuff https://www.chewy.com/scratch-peck-...QyzeGMWdmwnUjPA9Vc69tURZxA7xP9ixoCjskQAvD_BwE

They started being very picky about that feed and only eating certain things so I looked for stuff like it, but being in a high risk covid area I had to order everything online.

I ordered from chewy and got a few different bags of Henny Penny. Tried the scratch and the layer blend. They don't eat any pellets and the scratch includes sunflower seeds so all they do is sift through it and take them out. It's not like the feeds include thousands of seeds, but when I fill there container half way they will sift through all of it looking for the 100 or so seeds.

I did a google search looking for some of the top rated feeds and ordered this from Amazon which had a lot of good reviews

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NSHVJ5N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Got it in the mail two days ago with the same result as it includes the seeds.

I give them treats everyday which I know is probably not good. It varies, but I'll string up a whole cabbage some weeks. Mix sweet potato, greek yogurt, and steel cut oats together and give them that. Occasionally I'll grab a few fist fulls of grass. Ill shred half an apple or some various veggies. I mean they seem happy and healthy, but the smallest is very petite and light weight. The other two seem to have healthy weights and are a good size. Eggs all seem good. For all I know when I am not in there giving them anything they are eating their scratch. But what I see is that when I throw a handful into their yard to quiet them they immediately look for the couple of seeds. When I fill their bucket they use their beaks to spill it on the floor for the seeds.

Are the feeds that I bought no good for them? Should I try a layer crumble as they seemed to like at one point? I never knew that scratch and seed blends were considered a treat. My assumption was always that chickens ate chicken scratch so if it included scratch and layer in the title i went with it. I am learning as I am going, but to be clear- this is only to be used as a treat?

I will look into some of the suggestions some of you have mentioned.

 

[Wormhunter]

Someone mentioned mini pellets to me. I haven't looked for them yet so i don't know a brand, but they might be an option for you.

I use a layer crumb that our girls seem to prefer softened
As well creased I make up a mixed of Two tablespoons each of pumpkin and sunflower seeds, one tablespoon of mixed corn and several tablespoons of grated carrot, swede etc and I add extra Softened crumb( approx 4 tablespoons) to that as well as I have a couple of picky girls who prefer To eat only pumpkin seeds
The treat is on two trays and all is eaten including the crumb so it’s a bit like hiding peas in your child’s mashed potatoes!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Sunflower seeds are about 50% fat, not so good, except in tiny amounts as a treat.
Mary

When part of a balanced feed, sunflowers are an excellent addition to feed. Just like with people food, sunflowers are healthy in moderation.

My pullets are only about 8 months old so I am new to this.

Their history of feed is as follows. I started them for the first few months on
Manna Pro Chick Starter Medicated Crumbles
Then I moved onto the Manna Chicken Stratch (non-medicated)

The store I got them from suggested that I move them to this stuff https://www.chewy.com/scratch-peck-feeds-naturally-free/dp/159796?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Scratch and Peck Feeds&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKCAjw26H3BRB2EiwAy32zhdexFSu0n_zEEDg6EXWzIrQyzeGMWdmwnUjPA9Vc69tURZxA7xP9ixoCjskQAvD_BwE

They started being very picky about that feed and only eating certain things so I looked for stuff like it, but being in a high risk covid area I had to order everything online.

I ordered from chewy and got a few different bags of Henny Penny. Tried the scratch and the layer blend. They don't eat any pellets and the scratch includes sunflower seeds so all they do is sift through it and take them out. It's not like the feeds include thousands of seeds, but when I fill there container half way they will sift through all of it looking for the 100 or so seeds.

I did a google search looking for some of the top rated feeds and ordered this from Amazon which had a lot of good reviews

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NSHVJ5N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Got it in the mail two days ago with the same result as it includes the seeds.

I give them treats everyday which I know is probably not good. It varies, but I'll string up a whole cabbage some weeks. Mix sweet potato, greek yogurt, and steel cut oats together and give them that. Occasionally I'll grab a few fist fulls of grass. Ill shred half an apple or some various veggies. I mean they seem happy and healthy, but the smallest is very petite and light weight. The other two seem to have healthy weights and are a good size. Eggs all seem good. For all I know when I am not in there giving them anything they are eating their scratch. But what I see is that when I throw a handful into their yard to quiet them they immediately look for the couple of seeds. When I fill their bucket they use their beaks to spill it on the floor for the seeds.

Are the feeds that I bought no good for them? Should I try a layer crumble as they seemed to like at one point? I never knew that scratch and seed blends were considered a treat. My assumption was always that chickens ate chicken scratch so if it included scratch and layer in the title i went with it. I am learning as I am going, but to be clear- this is only to be used as a treat?

I will look into some of the suggestions some of you have mentioned.

I think the feeds are fine. I have formulated my own feed as well, and sometimes there are parts of the feed they prefer over others. For example, my hens rejected the lentils!

I will say, based on the pricing of those items listed, you could probably mix your own feed at a slightly better price. I created a meticulously researched feed recipe calculator here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nwaBsCwD0Ls4GAgj3JA8PHACiybFN0l6RI822szY-3g/edit?usp=sharing To ensure adequate nutrition, you should add some brewer's yeast and kelp, and provide oyster shells as a free choice calcium supplement. You can make your own without sunflower seeds, and try flax seed or sesame seed instead. I sourced most ingredients from Azure Standard using bulk units and if you do that, it's human grade food too!

Regardless of what you choose, if you have the time, I'd try the fermenting method to make it harder to pick through the feed.

If you have a way to whizz them in a grinder or food processor for a quick minute, that would make it a bit more like crumble and that may help, but that is pure speculation on my part.

 

[Folly's place]

Your chick starter was fine, but since then, not so good. Get a feed that's either crumble or pelleted, with NO whole seeds included, and then a tiny amount of scratch type stuff is a treat only. I'd not feed any seeds or whole grains until they are committed to their base diet, because they are busy eating the yummy stuff and leaving balanced nutrition behind.
Mixing a balanced diet at home is very expensive, and difficult to get right. Make life easier on yourself, and your pocket book, and buy something good from a feed store! Make sure you chick the mill date on each bag of feed before buying; you want something that's fresh within a month, and fed within another month.
Mary

 

[bjurbrat]

My pullets are only about 8 months old so I am new to this.

Their history of feed is as follows. I started them for the first few months on
Manna Pro Chick Starter Medicated Crumbles
Then I moved onto the Manna Chicken Stratch (non-medicated)

The store I got them from suggested that I move them to this stuff https://www.chewy.com/scratch-peck-feeds-naturally-free/dp/159796?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Scratch and Peck Feeds&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKCAjw26H3BRB2EiwAy32zhdexFSu0n_zEEDg6EXWzIrQyzeGMWdmwnUjPA9Vc69tURZxA7xP9ixoCjskQAvD_BwE

They started being very picky about that feed and only eating certain things so I looked for stuff like it, but being in a high risk covid area I had to order everything online.

I ordered from chewy and got a few different bags of Henny Penny. Tried the scratch and the layer blend. They don't eat any pellets and the scratch includes sunflower seeds so all they do is sift through it and take them out. It's not like the feeds include thousands of seeds, but when I fill there container half way they will sift through all of it looking for the 100 or so seeds.

I did a google search looking for some of the top rated feeds and ordered this from Amazon which had a lot of good reviews

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NSHVJ5N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Got it in the mail two days ago with the same result as it includes the seeds.

I give them treats everyday which I know is probably not good. It varies, but I'll string up a whole cabbage some weeks. Mix sweet potato, greek yogurt, and steel cut oats together and give them that. Occasionally I'll grab a few fist fulls of grass. Ill shred half an apple or some various veggies. I mean they seem happy and healthy, but the smallest is very petite and light weight. The other two seem to have healthy weights and are a good size. Eggs all seem good. For all I know when I am not in there giving them anything they are eating their scratch. But what I see is that when I throw a handful into their yard to quiet them they immediately look for the couple of seeds. When I fill their bucket they use their beaks to spill it on the floor for the seeds.

Are the feeds that I bought no good for them? Should I try a layer crumble as they seemed to like at one point? I never knew that scratch and seed blends were considered a treat. My assumption was always that chickens ate chicken scratch so if it included scratch and layer in the title i went with it. I am learning as I am going, but to be clear- this is only to be used as a treat?

I will look into some of the suggestions some of you have mentioned.

I just use layer crumble and for treats black oil sunflower seeds and yogurt with some fruit for my polish not my welsummers only because they dont like fruit or veggies i dont worry to much I love them but they are chickens welsummers are 3 yrs polish is 1 yr and my silverlaced are 4 months ❤

 

[rosemarythyme]

I use the Scratch & Peck feed myself, but only serve it fermented. It doesn't have sunflower seeds but chickens still will have favorite bits they'll want to pick out - if served fermented or at least wet, it greatly reduces that tendency as well as ensures they're eating the entire feed and not just grains. The powdery fines in the feed contain many of the vitamins and protein necessary to make it a complete feed.

If you are not interested in fermenting/wetting feed, then I'd stay away from any whole grain mash feed and stick with crumble or pelleted feed.

 

[phate008]

Thanks for all the replies. I am thinking that what I will do is order a crumble and then try the fermented feed solution. I do notice that they like moist foods a lot (yogurt, sweet potato, watermelon, apples) so I think a moist food crumble/grains recipe may work well for them. I have a lot of the organic seed feeds so I think I will do a 2:1 ratio of one of those and a crumble. More crumble.

I live in an area where the legality of backyard chickens is touchy. They are legal 1/4 a mile in every direction, and every neighboring town, but not in the 'village' where I live. I have about an acre of property, but my neighbor has reported me to the police. In light of this, I tend to give them a treat to quiet them down because when they see me they make noise. Otherwise, they are usually very quiet. Maybe if I lighten up on the treats they will be less inclined to yell at me while I am gardening. We are currently in the process of doing a zoning variance to try and get them legal. We also have been communicating with the mayor as the zoning is very odd. I live in the suburban back roads of town where it is not legal, but the houses in the center of town near and around our main street it is legal. In any event I am prepared to fight for my right to keep them. I don't think I could see myself parting with them.

 

[Wormhunter]

Thanks for all the replies. I am thinking that what I will do is order a crumble and then try the fermented feed solution. I do notice that they like moist foods a lot (yogurt, sweet potato, watermelon, apples) so I think a moist food crumble/grains recipe may work well for them. I have a lot of the organic seed feeds so I think I will do a 2:1 ratio of one of those and a crumble. More crumble.

I live in an area where the legality of backyard chickens is touchy. They are legal 1/4 a mile in every direction, and every neighboring town, but not in the 'village' where I live. I have about an acre of property, but my neighbor has reported me to the police. In light of this, I tend to give them a treat to quiet them down because when they see me they make noise. Otherwise, they are usually very quiet. Maybe if I lighten up on the treats they will be less inclined to yell at me while I am gardening. We are currently in the process of doing a zoning variance to try and get them legal. We also have been communicating with the mayor as the zoning is very odd. I live in the suburban back roads of town where it is not legal, but the houses in the center of town near and around our main street it is legal. In any event I am prepared to fight for my right to keep them. I don't think I could see myself parting with them.
[/QUOTE
Sounds like you ‘ have a plan’ which is always good, one of our chicken ‘cookie monster’ is particularly vocal with a continuous screech if she wants something, but here in the uk countryside no rules apply, not sure about cockerels though!! I’ve heard they can annoy neighbours early in the mornings!

 

[NatJ]

I am thinking that what I will do is order a crumble and then try the fermented feed solution. I do notice that they like moist foods a lot

Make your life easy: just get it wet, don't bother fermenting. Wet feed is a great delicacy! (Or so the chickens tell me.)

I suggest you give them a feeder of crumbles, dry, for their main food.

Then get a bit of the same crumble wet as a treat--maybe a spoonful each time, if you're only feeding 3 chickens. Enough that each gets a few bites, but they don't have a chance to get tired of it.

I have a lot of the organic seed feeds so I think I will do a 2:1 ratio of one of those and a crumble. More crumble.

I think you should NOT mix anything with the crumbles. You started this thread because your chickens were digging through mixes of feed, so do not mix more things for them to dig through!

If you want to use the seed mixes, measure an appropriate amount for each day and just serve it separately-- a bit sprinkled on the ground if you want to give them a treat, or just put the day's amount in a separate feeder.

That way, after they eat their favorite parts of the seed mix, they have to choose either the other seeds or the crumbles. They cannot just dig deeper and find more of the favorite seeds.

 

[anno1]

With my previous flock (I moved and didn't have chickens for a year or so) I had the standard feeder, and the waste was ridiculous. I don't know how much your chickens are wasting, but it may not have so much to do with the sunflower seeds as it does with the way the chickens eat, knocking stuff all over.

I got one of the feeders that the chickens have to stick their heads into to eat this time. I think it's one of the best inventions ever! No waste.

I use New Country Organics food -- no soy, no corn version. It has pieces of oats, peas, etc, not a lot of dust like some brands.

I also feed sunflower seeds daily, along with mealworms and New Organics scratch, plus all sorts of greens etc as come available.