tommy64 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 whats better mash or pellets (organic) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Well, I use pellets but I've never tried mash . I've heard mash can be messy and the pellets certainly aren't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I use pellets. I don't think one is "better" than the other. It is down to what you (or your hens!) prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janty Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I use both...my girls love their early morning mash but they have pellets to scoff throughout the day. I use mash as it's easy to include extra nutrients and additives such as cod liver oil, limestone flour and poultry spice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I use mash because that was what the poultry centre where I bought the chooks advised. It is also meant to keep them occupied for longer so there's less time for boredom! I also mix in garlic powder, limestone flour and sometimes diatom and poultry spice and it's easier to mix stuff into mash. On the organic front, I think you have to be careful not to give organic mash to your hens when they are below a certain age as it can cause prolapse. No idea of the details but I've read it on here and the poultry centre confirmed not to use it for young layers. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I use pellets from the "Smallholder" range for general feeding. Whilst it's been cold, I've been making some into a soggy mash with extra goodness added. I give this in a separate dish and also have the dry pellets in the grub peanut. I give it to them late morning so they've eaten some pellets first. They seem to enjoy it more as they have fun picking out the treats before eating the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I used to use pellets,but changed to Mash when I bought new hens & they were already eating that. I must say that my old hens,the ones that were on pellets,have never seemed happier or healthier since changing to Mash. They spend a longer time eating & this occupies them too - so its mash for me from now on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feemcg Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I use both - and, like others, use the mash feeder to add Poultry Spice and Diatom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmgreen Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 How much limestone flour should you add to feed?? We have had some problems with soft shells which we are trying to cure.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I use both... I use mash as it's easy to include extra nutrients and additives such as cod liver oil, limestone flour and poultry spice. ditto to that and we add garlic powder and it's easier to add flubenvet to when you need to. Ours started on mash as that's all they knew and we tried to move them over to pellets but we found the pellets made more mess as they got chucked about easier than the mash. If they're going to be confined to a run most of the time, mash keeps them busier as it takes longer to eat. We're reverting back to mash once the pellets have run out, they've been getting a mixture of both but we've decided just mash from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...