Chicken feed

[GentleOtter]

Our chickens are fed on mixed grain and we are just introducing layers pellets again as the hens are all 'rested' from laying over winter.
Does anyone know about which grains are 'hot' grains ie more for fattening and extra energy as opposed to just feed grains?
I get really confused about this but was told to feed the geese only on wheat for example.

oh i am not sure. we have always used growers after crumbs and then layers pellets from around 20 weeks. no experience of geese tho will ask broter in law this faternoon. he has flock of around 35 geese, about 25 ducks and countless chickens. 4 peacocks and quails and guinea fowl too! I suspect he feeds them the cheapest thing he can find

whoops plus we throw corn in teh afternoon when we collect the gss, about ahandful for each hen

We give mixed corn in the afternoon.

I've never been able to get mine to eat layers pellets. I feed them a handful of mixed grain each in the morning when I let them out and again in the late afternoon before they go to bed.
I also have an area where I throw any kitchen waste.
They are totally free range and seem to get what they need from foraging and scratching about.

we use layers pellets al the time, plus they get a fair amount of table scraps- it says on the pellet bag if you pellets are a complete feed, so if you feed anything else, you need to add extra stuff to rebalance, calcium I think, so we give ground up egg shells (recycling)- ours won't eat corn when we give it, strange as they eat everything else!- off to work now, will see what everyone says later!

As much mixed corn as they want to eat and they are free range so forage around the garden all day. Like Oggsfrog, I have always found layers mash/pellets a waste of money as I have never had chickens that eat it.

layers pellets, mixed corn and kitchen scraps and at the moment cavolo nero in the bloody veg garden!

our chooks eat layers mash and kitchen waste, plus they have grass and as much foraging as they like... we used to give them organic mixed grain... but nothing would eat it!

This is based on my horse feeding knowledge...

Oats - hot, hot, hot! Oats produce masses of energy - so I suppose if the energy is not burned off then it's fattening.

Barley - Short on nutrition and quite fattening.

Maize - Fattening.

Wheat - Good (though it's rarely available as horse feed except as bran which doesn't have much nutritional value).

Linseed - Very fattening.

Our chickens eat mixed corn through the year though I may try mixing it with pellets.

I've no idea about geese. What does your local farm supply shop have?