I decided to try constant feeding my mixed flock of 23 hens. Surprisingly, they eat very little pellets but feed constantly on the scratch mix. Maybe I should dole out the scratch on a day-to-day basis? Hens going on 7 months old, yet I am getting very few eggs with penned birds. What the heck?
Yup, pretty much everyone's experience. Since most scratch is only 1/2 the nutrition of layer, it isn't a complete diet. Given a free choice, chickens will eat junk food, just like kids or teenagers, I guess. Scratch is merely a handful tossed per day to relieve boredom. It isn't feed, in a balanced sense. Yes, it absolutely effects egg production.
Scratch should be fed as a treat not part of their regular diet. Try taking the scratch away forcing them to eat the layer,this is not only better for them but should improve the amount of eggs your getting.