Healthy "scratch"?

[speckledhen]

Laying hens need about 16% protein. I would never exclusively feed that scratch to my layers, only my lone rooster who has his own feed bowl. Most layer pellets are 16%, some are 15 (which I do not recommend) and some are higher, but almost all layer feeds are 16%.
When I said we throw some of that out in the a.m. and p.m., that isn't their feed. They have layer feed in the big feeders 24/7. When most are molting, there is a 22% layer pellet that I use every other bag.

Recent studies have proven that corn does not heat up their bodies as many think.

 

[hungryhensfarm]

Thank you Speckledhen. I wasn't really sure that I had that right. Glad you corrected me. That's interesting that some believe scratch raises a chicken's body temperature and others don't. I wish there was more conclusive evidence as to whether or not it does.

BTW - How's your ankle? Healed I hope.

 

[speckledhen]

Ankle is getting much better, thanks for asking!
I think Mac in Abilene posted the study about the corn issue awhile back, if I remember correctly. At least I think it was him. You may want to do a search with his screen name and see if you can find the thread about that.

 

[Chicken Woman]

I give my girls horses oats and sunflower seeds in warm weather as a treat before bed.

I add whole corn in the cold months to help them generate heat while on the perch.

 

[speckledhen]

This discussion thread sets forth the fact that corn does not heat up the bodies of your birds.I used to think that, too, but now have been convinced otherwise and have dismissed it as another old wives tale. Interesting reading. Check it out.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=74876

 

[hungryhensfarm]

Quote:
Wow! I understand how scratch works so much better than before.

I saved it just in case I need to show it to some of my friends. They raise chickens too and believe that corn heats up the chicken's body. It makes alot of sense that it would be energy espended while they are burning calories taken in by eating the corn. That's really interesting stuff there. Thanks Speckledhen! And I'm very glad your ankle is getting better.

 

[tdgill]

yeah, I'm also a believer now too!

 

[lux_interior]

Yeah, I buy mine from a feed store that sells it by the pound... I'm not sure what brand it is, because I buy it out of a huge bucket, but it looks healthier to me, it also has much less corn, and much more other stuff... I still consider it a treat to my girls though, because they go NUTS for it. I figure, if they love it more than their regular feed, it can't be TOO good for them

 

[Andora]

I asked the feed store and they said it has 9% protein, so not enough. The lady I talked to yesterday, when asking the protein percentage, said that you shouldn't feed it to your birds as their entire diet even if they free range. So there ya go. She seemed to actually know a lot about chickens and nutrition. I really love this feed store. I got 75 pounds of 18% protein mash and 50 pounds of the 9% scratch (that will last forever as treats!) and my total was only $20.21. And I had to wait while they made the mash. My birds loooove their feed so much more than when I buy the TSC kind!

 

[dave3877]

Quote:
that is cockfighting food.