I feed my 7-month old hens a complete layer feed with 17% protein. However, I've run out and my local feed store does not open again until Saturday morning. I do not want to purchase another type of feed just for 3 days. Can I feed the girls scratch & mealworms for the two days before I can get to the feed store? Will it cause them harm or upset their tummies?
For three days, it will probably not be a big deal.
Make sure they have plenty of water (like always), and try to make sure they have grit too (because scratch needs more grinding than the usual chicken food.)
Scratch is usually rather low in protein, so if you have any high-protein kitchen scraps, this would be a very good time to give them to the chickens. Check the back corners of your fridge, freezer, and pantry to see if there's anything you want to clean out: cheese, meat, and fish are good protein sources, and cooked beans/lentils/peas are fine too. Chickens do not mind if cheese is dried out, meat is freezer burned, canned fish is past the expiration date, etc.
Mealworms are high in protein but they are also high in fat, plus they tend to be quite expensive, so you might not want to feed large amounts of them. Then again, if you do want to feed large amounts, it will probably not do any real harm for three days.
Scratch (and mealworms) also tend to be low in certain vitamins and minerals. Make sure the hens have a source of calcium (oyster shell and/or eggshells). Various vegetables & fruits can provide some other vitamins & minerals, so it makes sense to offer the chickens some if you have them handy. Chickens are quite happy to eat the outer leaves of things like lettuce or cabbage, if you want to keep the nicer-looking inside leaves for yourself.
If you do not have anything else to add, just the scratch (and plenty of water) will be okay for three days. The other suggestions are just ways to make it better, depending on what you have available.
