Ok I have the baby chicks, chicken feeders, waterers, lamp, feed, grit etc and the chix seem to be doing fine. I have a question though. What purpose does scratch really serve (with the corn etc). Do they eat it or do they just kick it around? I'm going to be moving my chicks to an outside brooder soon where there will be ample small pebbles, grass, dirt, etc. Plus, the floor of their coop where they will eventually be is chicken wire so the poop will fall through to the ground below (ez clean up and fertilizer pickup). The main question is...do I need scratch? Will it be useful? What do I need for my chicks other than feed, grit and water when they're outside for them to be healthy & happy?
