Am I feeding too much scratch??

[Toi-toi]

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Ohhhh, we got 40F's during night time so I thought that's cold.
But you are right, my cold is not their cold.

 

[pascopol]

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Nice to hear a voice of wisdom in a sea of anti scratch hysteria.

Chicken feed IS made of grains as a main ingredient.

Scratch (depends on brand) contains 8-12% protein, layer pellets or crumble contains about 16%, it is not much of a difference is it?

I feed my birds some scratch with some wild bird mix every evening, so they go to sleep filled up and happy. They get a wide variety of grains and seeds this way, they love it and they thrive on it.

Diet like this closer to the nature than feeding crumble only.

 

[Toi-toi]

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I know! They run to me like puppy, too.

It's a happy moment.

 

[Toi-toi]

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Nice to hear a voice of wisdom in a sea of anti scratch hysteria.

Chicken feed IS made of grains as a main ingredient.

Scratch (depends on brand) contains 8-12% protein, layer pellets or crumble contains about 16%, it is not much of a difference is it?

I feed my birds some scratch with some wild bird mix every evening, so they go to sleep filled up and happy. They get a wide variety of grains and seeds this way, they love it and they thrive on it.

Diet like this closer to the nature than feeding crumble only.

I still have the bag so I will check what's in it.

I want to make them happy and I want to be a happy mommy with them, too.
Talk (or watch) them to find out what's best amount and time for them.

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[Olive Hill]

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Well, to be precise it's 25% - 50% less protein, so yes, it's "much" of a difference. Next week, eat only 75% of the protein your body requires. Let me know how you feel. The week after that eat only half. Let me know how you feel. You'll live through it. But I can guarantee you you will not perform to the best of your ability.

When people warn that scratch compromises the nutritional integrity of the diet they're not just talking about protein however, fortified chicken feeds contain vitamin and mineral supplementation on top of the grain base they're made with. Scratch does not. This too can lead to a compromise in the flock's health as well as their ability to produce.

Diet like this closer to the nature than feeding crumble only.

No one is suggesting you cannot feed anything but crumble, but replacing a portion of the diet with scratch whether to save money or because of some perceived benefit because it's "whole grains" is misguided and potentially detrimental to the health of the flock. If you want to feed whole grains, that's great. Order a custom mixed whole grain feed from the local mill and have it fortified with a quality poultry nutri-balancer.

The OP wasn't feeding the scratch as a treat, she was trying to use it for a portion of the main part of her flock's diet. I raise hundreds of chickens free range and I can assure you this doesn't mimic a diet "closer" to nature. Sure it's seeds and grains and all the things chickens would find and eat themselves given the opportunity, but there is one HUGE difference. You're pouring a large amount of it in a concentrated area. Chickens "in nature" do not eat THAT much seeds and grains and goodies in a day and most certainly not in a setting. They spend all day searching high and low for those things -- picking and choosing through which ones look most appetizing that day -- and after a full day they will have only eaten a small amount overall for the work they put in finding it.​

 

[Chris09]

I think this whole, is Scratch Grain good or bad thing is getting as bad as the DE conversations on here.

We need to look at what a Scratch Grain is. Scratch Grain can be a single grain or a mix of grains that is meant to be pitched on the ground to encourage poultry to scratch.
Scratch grain can be a good sores of Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals, Fat and Amino Acids. Carbohydrates as we know are a major source of energy so with out a good sores of Carbs. you can have lazy birds and lazy birds tend to get fat and over weigh. Amino acids play central roles both as building blocks of proteins and as intermediates in metabolism.

As far as Scratch Grain being "Candy, Crack, or having no nutrition" I see nothing feather from the truth.

There is a lot of Grain Mixes out there that make a excellent Scratch Grain with a good amount of Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals, Fat and Amino Acids one of the best I have found is a All Grain Pigeon Feed in has a good assortment of grains and usually above 12% protein.

As far as how much to feed, Here is a quote from Buckeye Nutrition (Buckeye Feeds)

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Gold Standard Crumbs is a 20% protein feed

I myself feed a 28% protein Game Bird feed mixed with a 14% pigeon grain and black oil sunflower seed and my birds are doing quite well.


Chris

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I too give scratch to the birds. I make sure they get enough feed - still adjusting this with the ducks so I know I have more thinking on how much. But I want the chickens to "fluff" up the beds in their coop so I throw a bit down plus I think it helps with the fighting.