# Pellets or Crumbles?



## crossbonesdennis (Jul 12, 2012)

Which do you use? I bought my first bag of Layena recently and was caught off guard when the guy asked "Pellets or crumbles". I wasn't aware there was a choice. lol So since the chick starter they had been eating was crumbles, that's what I got for them.

Is there an adavantage of one over the other?


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## Pinkter (Aug 19, 2012)

I think it comes down to preference. Pellets seem to be less waste but mine sure go crazier over crumbles.


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## rob (Jun 20, 2012)

i feed mine pellets.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

I've heard pellets have less waste but mine hated it and it actually had more waste. They kicked it everywhere in search of smaller pieces. I also switched to Dumor. Had a lot of soft shell eggs with Layena even though my girls do get oyster shell mixed in with their food daily and food scraps for added vitamins. Talked to some other chicken owners at my local TSC store. They have had many other customers say the same thing about Layena vs Dumor.


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## ThreeJ (Jun 28, 2012)

I bought both and mixed them together, I figured I make everybody happy. I started out with crumbles when the chicks were small and move up to pellets when they got bigger.


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## dave425 (Aug 21, 2012)

7chicks said:


> I've heard pellets have less waste but mine hated it and it actually had more waste. They kicked it everywhere in search of smaller pieces. I also switched to Dumor. Had a lot of soft shell eggs with Layena even though my girls do get oyster shell mixed in with their food daily and food scraps for added vitamins. Talked to some other chicken owners at my local TSC store. They have had many other customers say the same thing about Layena vs Dumor.


We buy feed from our local mill store. Their feed is fresher and more nutritional than commerical feed like dumor or layerna. And its about 3 dollars cheaper and no need to buy oyster shells as well. We use crumbled.


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## crossbonesdennis (Jul 12, 2012)

After about a week or so of the Layena, they seem to really like it.


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## Lady_Alia (Jul 11, 2012)

Mine seem to eat more when I feed crumbles. Almost like crumbles aren't as filling. So we use pellets.


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## BootedBantam (Aug 31, 2012)

good question....I wondered that too when I went to pick up food. I went with pellets since my roo seems big. They only had two brands to choose from too. I'm assumed the crumbles seemed more for the chicks?


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## cindy (Jun 29, 2012)

my ladies are spoiled they hate pellets so I feed them what they like which is crumbles once a day.


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## BootedBantam (Aug 31, 2012)

I blended the layer pellets, with the stratch bag (which I wasn't impressed with?) Plus bird seed mix with sunflowers and sprinkled flax seed on top. Wondered how much to feed them? I have been feeding the roo morning and night, like a cup each time.


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## kejmack (Sep 3, 2012)

I use Purina Layena crumbles. I have for years with good results. I use a feedpan that I fill about half way and they are allowed to eat as much as they want. They also forage and get table scraps.

Why are you feeding bird seed? Most of that is fillers that even the wild birds don't eat.


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## hollyosborn (Jul 8, 2012)

i have no clue what that is.. LOL.. i buy hen scratch... IF they are lucky... usually once a month though..


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## BootedBantam (Aug 31, 2012)

I have been giving my roo bird seed because that is what I had on hand when he showed up on my doorstep. He likes it. Since educating myself on chickens and what they eat, I changed his food. Yes, I still sprinkle it on top of his food. It contains grain seeds and black oil sunflowers. He gets the flax seed because I am trying to grow his tail feathers back. Am I wrong to give it too him?


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

Birds eat bugs. In the Winter they eat seeds and grain to stay alive until the bugs are available again. Some birds migrate to continue to have bugs and live food to eat. Seeds and grain are high in fat. That's a good thing when you are a bird trying to stay alive, and keep yourself warm during Winter. 

We have domesticated chickens and so we feed them corn and pelleted rations. If they had their way, they would happily free range all the time. It's the same with dog food. People and dogs have been living together for hundreds of years and suddenly someone invents dogfood and we can't live without it? Not really. 

So chicken food is a shortcut. It allows us to mimic what they would be getting if allowed to make their own choices and free range. Bird seed is just a way to help the song birds find grain in an urban environment do they don't starve over winter.


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