Correct feed?

[PetesChicks]

Oh, gosh..... scratch is perfectly fine. I give scratch to mine all the time and they are as healthy as can be, full of color and energy!

That doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Scratch is like candy - give a kid a couple snickers bars, and look at how much energy he will have. It will make him hyper and have energy, but it’s not nutritious. We have to be the responsible adults and limit the junk food our chickens eat.

I give my girls lots of treats, mainly veggie scraps, and maybe a few handfuls of BOSS. Right now, I have started sprouting the BOSS (if I had known how easy it was, I would have started a long time ago). Meal worms a few times a week, and once in a blue moon I’ll buy some live crickets. I do use scratch, but they don’t get much. I figure when they are able to free range, they spend the whole time eating, so I try to give them wholesome treats similar to what they would get if they were free ranging more often.

 

[HuffleClaw]

That doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Scratch is like candy - give a kid a couple snickers bars, and look at how much energy he will have. It will make him hyper and have energy, but it’s not nutritious. We have to be the responsible adults and limit the junk food our chickens eat.

I give my girls lots of treats, mainly veggie scraps, and maybe a few handfuls of BOSS. Right now, I have started sprouting the BOSS (if I had known how easy it was, I would have started a long time ago). Meal worms a few times a week, and once in a blue moon I’ll buy some live crickets. I do use scratch, but they don’t get much. I figure when they are able to free range, they spend the whole time eating, so I try to give them wholesome treats similar to what they would get if they were free ranging more often.

That was great advice! Thank you!

 

[lazy gardener]

The big issue with scratch grains and even BOSS is that they are high in fat. Chickens are prone to laying down a lot of visceral fat. This fat can interfere with egg laying, resulting in a hen who can't pass an egg.