Part of the problem I have in getting what I want is because I only use pellets. Crumbles and smaller just get ground into the dirt and half of it wasted. The pellets will at least survive being buried until they are scratched back up again. I found this out by trial and error against tradition.
We use crumbles but we feed out of a feeder. The only thing I put on the ground are meal worms, bread, veggies etc. Although Purina now has mash in pearls which I tried and liked but it sells out fast.