Whole Corn Vs Cracked Corn, What do you use?

If you really want to see them lose their minds, give them some canned corn.

AmericanMom said:

My clucks are used to getting a cup or two of a 5 grain mix (which includes cracked corn) tossed to them every morning, The other day I was a bit late in getting out there and they were all standing around the door to the feed room waiting for me

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I have 15 chickens that are now 7 months old, how many cups of scratch should I give them and once a day or twice? they have layer feed available all day everyday, plus a cabbage ball that hangs up for fun..lol. I have been giving them about 5 cups evenings when they come in from free ranging, spread all around their run and coop and about 3 cups in the morning...i see most posts say 10% of daily feedings of snacks...im not good with %s ...am I giving too much scratch,or not enough? It's getting cold here in North Central PA!

pamonarch said:

I have 15 chickens that are now 7 months old, how many cups of scratch should I give them and once a day or twice? they have layer feed available all day everyday, plus a cabbage ball that hangs up for fun..lol. I have been giving them about 5 cups evenings when they come in from free ranging, spread all around their run and coop and about 3 cups in the morning...i see most posts say 10% of daily feedings of snacks...im not good with %s ...am I giving too much scratch,or not enough? It's getting cold here in North Central PA!

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thats maybe to much scratch
for 15 hens, i give my 70 hens about that much in the late afternoons 6 to 8 cups only once a day since you want them to eat more layer feed, but in summer , instead of the corn mix scratch i feed them wild bird seed for a scratch its a cooler scratch ,then the corn mix scratch , because the corn will make them over heat in the hot weather & mine all free range to , so remember any corn makes animals hot ,but if its getting cold over your way..? i would switch it up a bit by adding whole corn & oats into your scratch , or just use the whole corn & oats as your scratch..? which ever but i make a mix of that with what ever other extras i have around at the time added in as their treat every day , so this week im heading out to pick up some whole corn & oats getting ready for winter.

speckledhen said:

Game feed is higher protein, I believe. I can't recall the exact percentage, I think 20%, would have to look it up, but I used to feed Game Bird Layena to my guineas. Technically, it's called Game Bird Breeder, not layer. Guinea keets should start out on game bird starter which is a good bit higher protein than chick starter, for optimal growth, but they can do okay on chick starter, I suppose. It's too high protein for chicken chicks at 28-30%.

Okay, here is the link for you.

http://wildlife.purinamills.com/products/ECMD2-0017384.aspx

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I am feeding my hens and ducks All flock feed. it is 20% protein. Is that to high for laying hens?

Ibchduckin said:

I am feeding my hens and ducks All flock feed. it is 20% protein. Is that to high for laying hens?

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No, that's good. My feed is 22% protein, called Super Layer. Most heritage breeds, who tend to be larger bodied, need more protein. I think that's as high as 99.9% of all birds need as adults, though.

speckledhen said:

No, that's good. My feed is 22% protein, called Super Layer. Most heritage breeds, who tend to be larger bodied, need more protein. I think that's as high as 99.9% of all birds need as adults, though.

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Thank you. This is my first time with chickens and I am loving it. I am very worried about winter coming. I just want to get everybody through alive! I have been adding oats and sunflower seeds along with garlic powder and D.E. to their feed too but had to stop because they are picking out the goodies and leaving the feed. Brats! Its like having 2 year old children all over again.lol

Ibchduckin said:

Thank you. This is my first time with chickens and I am loving it. I am very worried about winter coming. I just want to get everybody through alive! I have been adding oats and sunflower seeds along with garlic powder and D.E. to their feed too but had to stop because they are picking out the goodies and leaving the feed. Brats! Its like having 2 year old children all over again.lol

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Yeah, they'll do that, which is why I never add it to the feeders. They may get a handful of scratch thrown out, which contains the sunflower seeds and about 12 other grains, but not in the feeders. They are brats for sure, LOL. Watch adding DE to the feed. Too much is a bad thing. Necropsies of dead birds found dessicated intestines (plus loads of worms, which throws the myth of DE being a wormer out the window), in birds who had been fed a liberal amount of DE in their feed. It's fine to mix in a cupful in a 50# bag to kill any weevils that might take up residence, but other than that, it doesn't have a lot of benefit other than adding some minor trace minerals and too much can harm them.

Happy you're enjoying your birds!

Ibchduckin said:

Thank you. This is my first time with chickens and I am loving it. I am very worried about winter coming. I just want to get everybody through alive! I have been adding oats and sunflower seeds along with garlic powder and D.E. to their feed too but had to stop because they are picking out the goodies and leaving the feed. Brats! Its like having 2 year old children all over again.lol

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I suggest you put out to feed containers; one with complete diet (ideally a more nutrient dense flock raiser or grower), and second with the scratch grains. You will notice that initially they will preferentially consume the scratch, but over a couple days they will split attention between the two bowls. It may take a little more time as they learn to balance intake so their nutrition is balanced. As temperate drops with mine, the scratch intake increases and decreases as temperature increases.

In fall I feed a regular kind of scratch of any brand, then I change it to whole corn for a scratch In winter with sun flower seeds & oats , but no corn based scratch in summer , because from what I read corn is a heat producing feed. and so by doing this it works out nicely for all my 75 birds in my egg business ,but I always feed a complete feed of 20 to 24 protein , plus I always feed oyster sells to help keep the egg shells good & strong.

pamonarch said:

I have 15 chickens that are now 7 months old, how many cups of scratch should I give them and once a day or twice? they have layer feed available all day everyday, plus a cabbage ball that hangs up for fun..lol. I have been giving them about 5 cups evenings when they come in from free ranging, spread all around their run and coop and about 3 cups in the morning...i see most posts say 10% of daily feedings of snacks...im not good with %s ...am I giving too much scratch,or not enough? It's getting cold here in North Central PA!

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you can try some whole corn to help keep your birds warm in winter, just keep feeding the way you are , you are learning to read your birds ..!!!!