Chickens Won't Eat Corn or Milo

[Ridiculous]

My chickens won't eat corn or milo. Promise!!! What can I offer for scratch??

 

[Al Gerhart]

Asking the wrong question. Ask why you would feed scratch and harm your birds.

 

[Debbie292d]

My chickens won't eat corn or milo. Promise!!! What can I offer for scratch??

We buy Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve for scratch. It's actually a layer feed but they waste too much when I fed to them as feed. We have them on Kalmbach's Flock Maker, an all-flock that they don't waste so much, but sure love this for scratch!

 

[fldiver97]

I don’t usually feed scratch. When the weather is bad or they have to stay in the coop and big run for a few days they get one flock block, takes them a while to go through that. I also hang a head of cabbage in the run for those days.They get all flock feed, free range for part of the day and they get some fruit and veggie scraps. In the winter I give them some mealworms, occasionally they get black oil sunflower seeds. They love BOSS but I don’t give too much - I always keep some in a bigger mason jar and shake it, they will follow me in the coop or run. It’s my low stress (for me) way to round them up if I need them confined

 

[Echelontheory101]

My chickens won't eat corn or milo. Promise!!! What can I offer for scratch??

Mine dont like cracked corn either i believe you! Haha. Some just have preferences. On very cold nights where I want to give them a fat and protien boost I give them black soldier fly larvae, black oil sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds mixed together. But just a handful or 2, you dont want treats to be more than 10% of their food.

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC! If you want to treat them try something more nutritious. Mine love it when I give them a little chopped spinach and pumpkin seeds.

 

[Echelontheory101]

Welcome to BYC! If you want to treat them try something more nutritious. Mine love it when I give them a little chopped spinach and pumpkin seeds.

Mine are OBSESSED with collard greens I feel you! One morning last week it was -20° F so I wanted to give them a little bit of a energy boost so I actually brought out two scoops of a fresh baked pumpkin pie on a plate and my typical weekly handful of collards to hang and they could care less about that pumpkin pie until every scrap of collards were gone

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I haven’t fed scratch in years. It isn’t necessary. It can be a good training tool or a lure to get them into a run or something but so can black soldier fly larvae, black oil sunflower seeds, a clump of clover, an apple core…on and on. So, in short, I wouldn’t worry about it and would save my money. Chickens are expensive enough without the feed store scamming us into buying old corn lol

 

[MysteryChicken]

My chickens won't eat corn or milo. Promise!!! What can I offer for scratch??

They don't technically need scratch, it's basically candy for them.

I do give scratch on occasion, only as a treat about once a week. But I mostly just use it for as a finisher for birds I plan on butchering. Puts a good amount of fat on them.

 

[janiedoe]

Mine are OBSESSED with collard greens I feel you! One morning last week it was -20° F so I wanted to give them a little bit of a energy boost so I actually brought out two scoops of a fresh baked pumpkin pie on a plate and my typical weekly handful of collards to hang and they could care less about that pumpkin pie until every scrap of collards were gone

They must be southin' gals