Can't find Flock Raiser- Would "Scratch" be ok?

[A.T. Hagan]

Flock Raiser is 20% protein. If you can't find a local dealer now I'd ask at your preferred feed stores what other brands of poultry feeds they carry. Unless they've simply stopped carrying poultry feed altogether chances are they'll at least have some type of layer feed. If you can find some sort of game bird feed in addition you can mix about three or four parts of layer feed to one or two parts of game bird feed and get by with that.

If you're just feeding laying hens then simple layer feed will likely get the job done.

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

I had the same delima before tractor supply opened up here, NOT all scratch is the same, to remidy my problem before, I got scratch recommended by the feed mill ( they make their own) which had more milo and wheat, as the feed store just had chopped corn and oats. I also noticed the corn that was in the feed mill version, was more finely chopped, ( my spoiled chickens dont like big pieces of feed). Next, I bought some gamebird crumbles, which are full of protien to mix in with the scratch. When my birds got to laying age, i put them on laying crumbles with the good feed mill scratch mixed in. They also get free choice oyster shell, cooked rice, and other treats. One other thing i had to do, was use an old hand grinder my lovely grandmother passed down to me( it looks like a handcranked meat grinder) to grind up layer pellets because i had trouble finding the crumbles at first......... on a different note, u might use an old blender, or food processor for small quantities if needed, and one person on there said she puts the chick starter in a coffee bean grinder for day old chicks!!! GOOD LUCK.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

If your feed store has suddenly stopped carrying any all purpose poultry feed, you need to complain to the manager. That is rediculous. I could see changing brands (esp because I read recently that Land O Lakes bought them out) but not carrying anything but scratch??? I would guess that it's an oversight and could be easily remedied.

 

[Chris09]

To the OP,
What are you calling Scratch grain? Do you know the protein amount?

This may sound like a dumb question for all of you that jumped right in there saying the "Scratch" is bad, "Scratch" has no nutrients but it should have been the very first question asked to the OP.

There are a lot of different types of "Scratch" Grains and or grain mixes that can be and are considered "Scratch" Grain. Some start as low as 8% protein and others are up to 21% protein.

What I consider a "Scratch" may be totally different from what someone else my consider a "Scratch" Grain.
I think that "Scratch" fed correctly is very good for chickens it has Vitamins, Minerals, fats, good Carbs, good sores of energy and some have a fair to good amount of proteins/ amino acids.

The other thing you may want to keep in mind is different breeds do have different nutritional requirements. Some breed cant handle a high (20%) protein feed and they will have health and leg problems.


The scratch I use is a 14% protein and that is all my free range get in the summer time on good pasture..

Chris

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
I run gamebird food through an electric coffee grinder for my button quail and coturnix quail chicks! It works very nicely. (Plus I got it way back when online shopping was brand new and the companies were battling with each other by giving away $20 coupons...so my coffee mill was FREE to me...)

 

[dgh1973]

Wow thanks for all the responses. I stopped by my feed store to ask about why they didn't carry the flock raiser any more and they said they are just simply out. The girl on the phone was misinformed.. They were out of all chicken feed of any kind except scratch but were awaiting a delivery by next week. Problem solved. I did drive to the next town over and got layer pellets. I will look tomorrow and see how much protein it has in it. I wish I could have seen all the replies before I went to the feed store... I should have picked up a bag of scratch just for treats. My girls do fine w/ the pellets. I have a hanging feeder in their coop that they are accustomed to. 2 of my girls are barred hens and the other 2 are red (not sure what they are actually). I need to dig around on here and research more. We got them back in April at our feed store for my daughters to raise. My 5 yo actually has alot more interest in them than my 14 yo but they are our pets. We have been so excited about them beginning to lay last month. I posted last night that our one hen hasn't been laying and she laid a huge egg that had another egg in it! We did get a 4th egg today so we're fairly certain she is laying normally. I was hoping she wasn't hurt from laying that huge egg! We give them kitchen scraps a few times a week and even have some neighbors that save their scraps for them (potato peels, carrot peels, etc). I appreciate all the advice. I had no idea what all went into having chickens... my grandmother made it look easy!!