Animals hate change: How to Introduce new ingredients.

Sometimes our animals don’t get what they want. Chickens are notorious for resisting change but sometimes it’s inevitable (see our post about peas). In that case, here are a few tips for getting your animals to accept the change. (And yes, we’re channeling our years as parents and throwing in some tough love that works.)

Animals are quick to notice tiny changes in feed formulations. Here are some tips to get them past any initial refusal. :)

Animals are quick to notice tiny changes in feed formulations. Here are some tips to get them past any initial refusal. :)

When we adjust a formula, as we did for peas, some animals will resist and temporarily refuse to eat the ‘new and improved’ version. Our message? Don’t worry and do give it time. Unless the change is huge (change of shape, for example), they’ll get over it and eat when they’re hungry. To speed things along you can try dampening the feed. Chickens are creatures of habit, but they have poor memories and will soon forget that this isn’t their favorite dish. They’ll be back to giving five-star ratings in no time.

Bonus random fact: Chickens have only 24 tastebuds! By comparison, humans have 10,000 and pigs have 19,000. We know pigs will eat just about anything, so you can imagine how rigid that makes chickens. :)