Permies Poll: Crumble Vs Pellet Commercial Feed

Which do you prefer? Why? Share your thoughts!

I am currently trying to figure out what works better.

I feel that crumble lasts longer but it feels like more goes to waste?

I don't see much pellet loss, but the chooks seem to eat it faster?

Timothy Norton wrote:I feel that crumble lasts longer but it feels like more goes to waste?

Lasts longer?  Not sure how to interpret that.

-Generally chicken feed is sold by weight.  So, crumbles won't feed more or less than pellets.
-If you are talking about how long they will last without losing nutritional value or "going bad", then if anything crumbles have more surface area to oxidize and would go quicker.  Much like how storing whole bean coffee retains flavor longer than ground coffee.

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As for your original question about crumbles vs. pellets, I use crumbles only for chicks.  When they are large enough, they switch permanently to pellets.  That said, it is a preference.  There isn't enough reason to mandate one or the other for adult chickens if the feed is fresh.

It sounds crazy, I know.

I fill the same sized gravity feeder with either feeder or crumble, and it seems I refill it more frequently when it is pellets. I don't see pellets on the ground or scratched around, but when I do crumble it seems there is more spillage but I don't have the refill the feeder as much.

Maybe the flock scavenges more with crumble available? I'm at a loss. Once I finish this bag of crumble that I'm watching I'll try pellet again and see if I can compare the time it lasts.

I'm with Cujo.

I use crumble for chicks, simply because of the size. I use pellets for adults because I believe there is less waste. I also tend to simply spread it on the ground, and I feel like the adult chickens can grab a pellet much easier than crumbs.

Timothy Norton wrote:I fill the same sized gravity feeder with either feeder or crumble, and it seems I refill it more frequently when it is pellets. I don't see pellets on the ground or scratched around, but when I do crumble it seems there is more spillage but I don't have the refill the feeder as much.

I'm not 100% certain, but my guess is that you aren't actually loading the same amount of feed.  Pellets are larger and so there is more air space in your feeder.  I believe if you loaded X pounds of crumbles vs X pounds of pellets into the feeder that they would feed your chickens as long.

Cujo Liva wrote: I'm not 100% certain, but my guess is that you aren't actually loading the same amount of feed.  Pellets are larger and so there is more air space in your feeder.  I believe if you loaded X pounds of crumbles vs X pounds of pellets into the feeder that they would feed your chickens as long.

Yeah, that makes terribly obvious sense now that you have spelt that out to me. I feel embarrassed haha! Thank you

I feed crumble to everyone, but the chicks get dry chick crumble.
I add water to a bagged layer feed crumble for the older birds and let it sit for a day.

Different feed, different birds, different techniques. I use the crumble for the adult birds because it does soak up the water better. I have used pellet, but I seem to get more actual feed as crumble. The pellets take up more space, and they weigh out the same, but there is more dust and powder in the bag than I see with crumble.

In my climate, during the summer, it only takes an every other day soak to get the fermentation going enough that the feed smells like weak beer. The soaking helps the birds to get the water they need during the hot times, and the wet feed is easier for me to feed in the winter, though it doesn't get to that "extra flavor" point when it's cold.

I have tested it multiple times to see what the birds prefer - wet versus dry, one day fermented versus two, crumble versus pellet.
My adult birds really have a marked preference for the every other day "soaked" feed. I add enough water to the feed to cover it by a good inch or two, and it soaks up the water. Basically, it doubles in weight/volume with the soaking.

Last vote in apple poll was on February 9, 2024