Alternative to Scratch feed???

[cubalaya]

the cheap 3 grain scratch and the cheap wild bird seed, i would not risk feeding it to my birds. i use southern states poultry feeds. they have 5 and 7 grain scratch feeds with whole corn and whole popcorn, wheat, milo, red milo ... this is not a treat but can be fed everyday. i like mixing the rockin rooster scratch with layer pellets and oyster shell. in the fall when moulting, i feed them whole corn, sorghum, sunflower seeds and turnip greens. in late dec to january, when breeding season is about to start, i use the rockin rooster scratch. summer they get a lot of garden scraps. the rest of the time it is the layer pellets or pellet, scratch, oyster shell.

 

[jenndk]

Our chickens free range and they won't hardly eat laying pellets but they LOVE scratch, cracked corn and all. I usually throw out a few handfuls in the evening along with some BOSS, which they are starting to eat a little better but I think some of it gets left for the wild birds. Is it typical for free range birds not to eat laying pellets? should I quit giving any scratch and just do laying pellets and BOSS? will they eat it if its all they get? they also get fruit and veggie scraps which they eat up.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

In warmer weather they tend to ignore the corn. They may or may not instinctively know that it raises their body temp when they eat it. My birds tend to leave the corn for last, but they will eat it too. On the days that they ignore the corn, the wild birds pick up after them, and I don't mind that, because I've noticed a lot more song birds lately. I had tried all sorts of bird feeds that were supposed to attract songbirds and / or colorful birds with no success. Turns out all I had to do is give my girls scratch and other birds love to clean up after them!!!

 

[Davidlonghair76]

i use game bird feed as a treat and they dont like the corn thatis mixed in with it but for $2 a bag they love the rest of it now they all come running when they see the bag in my hand.I have noticed they love canned corn.and it is a special treat they tear that stuff up when i break it out.

 

[gooselady]

Hi there. I quit giving mine the scratch and started giving them the Game Bird Conditioner. It has more protein and it doesn't cut down on my egg production. I only give it as a treat. They have laying pellets in their feeder at all times. They love the GBC.

 

[IceAngel]

I have this barley and oat mash that I feed to our "Miss Piggy". It is 1/3 cheaper than scratch. Also I get some sweepings from neighbours who are wheat farmers. I think the important thing to remember is the age of the birds. Young chicks need scratch till they are about two months old, after that they can eat other grains. Make sure you throw in some sandy grit or tiny gravel to replenish the grinders in their crop.

 

[ShannonW]

Thanks for the ideas, everyone! Now I know what BOSS is, can I clarify the Milo- as in the milk flavouring?

I only have 4 bantams, and with a full household, we get over half a bucket of vegetable scraps a day. So, added with weeds, I am not buying anything else right now. They have a lot of leftovers. However I have switched from white bread to multigrain bread... For the chooks' benefit!

Every few months I would take the kids to the beach and ccollect cuttlebones, the hard white ovals washed up on the beach from squid. Used to pass them to my Mother, who keeps hens, but will have to keep a few for me She has been using these for years in lieu of shell grit, and reports no bad side effects.

As she has chooks in large amounts, she buys feed in large amounts. Since the arrival of my four bantam ladies, she has promised to give to me a small cobtained of wheat for the cuttlefish. This helps us both out- she lives in the country and buys several sacks of wheat at one time, and I live in the city near the beach. Perhaps others could do something similar?

 

[grizlyadams3]

I've just picked up 700#s of feed from our local feed & grain that custom mix my feed for me about every 4 - 5 months. I have them mix Blk. oil sunflower seed , Golden Flax seed , Calf Manna , 18% layer , scratch , Feed Grade Kelp , food grade Diatomaceous Earth , and I also feed them fruits and vegies that I get every day from the local market that they save for me. I also will feed them couple day old breads that the bakery gives me twice a week. I feed them the fruits and vegies along with bread scraps every morning and give them the feed mix in the evening just before they roost for the night. So they get a good range of food to keep them big and healthy . I have not found any of my birds wasting any of their feed or not eating it. So they get some scratch in the feed mix but non other then that. I have at any time between 40 - 50 birds from spring until after the local county fair where I take all of my culled birds to sell for eggs layers or meat birds.

 

[Lisasfeathers]

Sure you can feed them a wild bird seed mix as a treat.

 

[Cdur]

I feed my girls layer crumbles and as a treat I give them a mix of black oil sunflower seed and cat food. They always eat the sunflower seeds first and then they will eat the cat food. ( I heard that cat food is high in protein and will help when they are molting. during the summer I pull weeds from the yard and they love that. Over the winter when there wasn't any thing green, I would go out and pull the dried up pig weed with the seed pods on it they liked that too.