emmalou Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 We have new chickens and I bought a feed mix from our garden centre which is OK but there is a lot of maize in it which firstly they don't like and secondly think it is too much for Summer and their general wellbeing. I am trying to find some mix that has minimal maize, if any. Can anyone help please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 most if not all of the layers mash/pellets contain maze I think it's one of the main sources of protein which is about 14-16% in layers the other main grain is wheat as it's cheap and soya beans again because their cheap the only brands I know of that you might get in France are Matador ( German brand), Garvo (Dutch brand )and Versio Lager ( French or Belgian brand I think) last one I'm not sure of the spelling others will come on and recommend their favorite brand but most of them will be UK brands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmalou Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 Cool thanks. They do vary considerably wi the amount of maize in each mix. I had this recommended but speaking to other hen owners maize can be a little hit and miss with chickens. I also am not keen giving them too much in the summer. i have raised a separate question on the layer pellet subject as I am unsure on this too. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 I would go for a layer pellet, without corn and other stuff mixed with it. They are just going to eat the goodies out of it and leave the pellets, that have the most vitamin and minerals in them. Mine have pellets in feeders. I just top that off as they will never over eat on that. In the morning they get a hand of corn mix, which contains grain and broken maize. They love that, but might get fat on that. Getting chickens fat isn't a real big threat unless you feed them loads of kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s and high calory treat like mealworms or cat food. Hens in lay tend to be on the lean side (ask any vet, they will mostlikely think they are skinny). Just give them a good stash of pellets and they will eat them, when there is nothing else around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmalou Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 That is the problem. I am in France and all mix comes with maize.mThey do not really like it. I am not sure what pellets to get. Some people seem to mix their own feed but not sure what I need to do that. I have wheat and the layer mix but what are the pellets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Pellets are a little bit like dog or cat kibble, but then pellet shaped. It's made of a mix of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins pressed in a pellet. They often have a light grey colour. Mine get some off brand food. Nothing special, but it does the job. A real layer pellet doesn't have grains of corn or grain in it. Chickens will only eat that and miss all the nutritional bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmalou Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 OK, I am a little confused no. I am managed to buy some layer pellets today and they are still using the cereal mix with maize, although I am taking some of this out as this type has far too much. Should I mix the pellets in with the cereal mix? Someone said about feeding the pellets in the morning? The feeder atm just has the cereal mix in and I throw in soome carrot tops or similar mod morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 You should have layer pellets in the feeder the whole time and do the cereal mix as a treat. It's like with cats and dogs. You feed your cat kibble as its regular food and you would add some wet food as a treat. To be honest, I'm running out of ways to explain this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmalou Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 No I understand that but I always thought the cereal mix was the bread and butter of chicken food and a must for all chickens. I thought the pellets were an addition as most stores out here only sell the cereal mix. That is why I asked. I have managed to find the pellets in one shop so hence why I am having problems as a newbie to understand this. I have read so much about having the cereal mix in their feeders but not a lot about pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 do you have an indigents list for the cereal mix that you've got as it might help us understand what is used in France as opposed to the UK and Holland and is it whole grains or co"Ooops, word censored!"ly ground what We refer to as mash a photo might help but in the mean time just use the cereal mix as a treat and give the layers ration as the main feed at about 100 grams per bird a day so they can feed as and when they want to this is the Composition of the layers pellets that I use (Matador copied from the last bag) 45% corn bran 15% co"Ooops, word censored!" soybeans 3% rapeseed meal 8% Lucern mal. 7.5%wheat 5% barley 7% calcium carbonate 6% wheat bran 3.5% molasses 1.2% mono calcium phosphate 1% peas bran 0.3% mono calcium 0.3% sodium chloride ingredients 13.4% raw protein 9.6% raw ash 3.4% raw fat 5.1% raw fiber 0.22% methonen plus added vitamins but that part of the label hasn't printed properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mars Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 What Cat tails saying is true I feed pellets Mixed corn as a treat In the beginning they will not like pellets, then they get used to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
