Pellets Vs Mash

[Mick]

Mine had pellets, then got some rescue chicks a little while agao and got a 25K mash as suggested and they all 'Loved' that stuff, almost run out of each and wondered which to get again, pellets or mash?

Anyone got any thoughts or suggestions? Pro's / Cons

Just wondered?

[wendy]

Hi Mick.
This is a difficult one to vote on.
They will love the mash, because it is easier to eat. But it is Sooooo messy. So I love the pellets.
So I will have to vote....pellets
Wendy

[juicylucy]

Hi mick
I have always fed mash. I started off with 4 hybrid layers and after endless research before getting them i had read so many times that if mash was fed opposed to pellets the hens would spend more time at the food bowls eating the mash as it takes them considerably longer to fill up on mash than it does pellets. Therefor the hens wouldnt get bored and think'who can i peck at ' so to speak. I had to put 2 feeders down to ensure that the 4 girls all got their share. I have had my ex batts for a week and they love their mash so will be sticking to it. I wont be converting them to pellets. The downside of mash is that it can be messy and some can get wasted but my girls seem to like pecking it up from the grass when they have knocked their bowls over.
My girls free range and ive got 5 feeders dotted about
Lucy x

[Mick]

I understand the mess side of it, I started putting it in a large earthenware casserole dish which they cannot tip over or get there feet into - much as the ex-bats try!

They make a reasonable effort at making a mess with the pellets which are in a feeder

[manda]

My girls have pellets and in the winter when it starts to get cold I mix it with a bit of warm water so they have mash. So I suppose I have to vote pellets because that's what I buy

[rachell24]

My girls had mash when I fisrt got them but I found it so messy and it would turn the wood chip round their feeder into a big solid mess and it smelt. So I gradually introduced pellets and they loved it so no going back to mash for me.

Rach

[Woody]

Hi
I feed our birds pellets in the morning and grain in the afternoon.
I have only ever used layers pellets, but I have been thinking for a while that next time I will buy a bag of mash instead, I understand that the pellets and mash are exactly the same product.

I recently read in a couple of library books that its better for the birds to feed them mash, and both books said NEVER ever feed them on pellets because they will get fat, although I am not sure I fully understand if its the same product! I can only assume that as the pellets are bigger, its the larger quantity of food they eat and the birds are just eating machines as we all know.

Also I read that the mash is cheaper to buy because its simpler to produce, although I have not checked any prices myself.

So my vote to be honest, I am a little unsure
I started using pellets because I read thats what most people feed them on. I am guided by the excellent advice on this site, so perhaps, going on what I read in books that the mesh is said to be better, and its a little bit cheaper, as for mess? I use measured scoop to dish it out anyway, and don't think that will be an issue as the feeder I made keeps their food undercover and dry, it cannot be knocked over as its fixed in place, so without even seeing or trying a bag of mash, I will vote Mash.

Woody

[wendy]

Fat ex battery hens....don't make me larf.
That will be the day when my girls get a little weight on them. They are fatter than they were. But I don't think they can get fat.

Yes, mash and pellets are one of the same. The battery farms feed them on mash, because it takes longer to eat. Therefore keeps them busy doing that for a while instead of beating each other up.
I didn't believe the mess, even though my feeders are hung up. It, as has been said, went hard if it got wet and it is just fodder for any rodents that might like to indulge.

Wendy

[mellonia]

Well i bought pellets for my banties and they never hardly ate them bless they were only 16 weeks old so no wonder but new to chicken keeping , anyway add warm water to them now so its mash and they don't love it but eat a bit, so better than they were. I use old pots for there food so they don't make a mess (these bowls i bought for chinese and went off them) heavy. So will have to vote mash, as thats what they get.

Mellonia

[stiggy]

I use a 40/60 corn/layers pellet mix in a gravity feeder, throw them apples every other day or day (depending on how many we eat or have stored, and let them do their own thing when they're out in the paddock.

Although I have heard that 'Breeders pellets' have slightly more protein in.

[wendy]

I have heard that breeders pellets can make the eggs taste a bit fishy. But never have tried the breeders pellets for my girls.
Wendy

[Al B]

We give our girls mash and hubby has made a heavy wooden tray with a lip all round it that the feeder stands in - so any mash that gets flung lands in it. I then sweep it up and recycle it! This means no mess to attract rats and less waste. The tray stands on blocks so it is raised off the floor and the girls perch on the lip to scoff and then mash stays off the floor. Took a while to work this all out but now system is great and no mess and little waste.

[lou]

Funny this thread came up, i have been trying to introduce pellets, mine are ex-batts so got them mash, they love it, they have it wet once a day and go crazy for it.
The place where i get their feed from had bagged up pellets for a £1 so i thought i'd grab a couple and see how i go, well turned their nose up at it for about a week, i would scatter some about, put some in with their mash too. But then this morning, they all went charging over to get the pellets!

I think i would prefer the pellets as i think they waste so much mash, and i find it messy, but they love the mash so much!
Not sure how to vote!!!!