how much scratch do you recommend for my flock?

[johndeerelover]

I have 9 Golden Comets with a coop and attached hoop house run. I've been giving them what would equal roughly 1.5 quarts of scratch a day in the morning with a handful of mealworms. Their run is full of leaves which I throw the scratch into, often mixing it in a little so they have something to do all day.

We give them scraps from lettuce trimmings, anything non-spoiled, non-moldy that is ok. Not all days they get scraps, probably every other day, and it can be a quart or two in size. Usually in the afternoon or early evening.

When it's cold I give them a little corn in early evening.

They have access to purina layena pellets at all times as well as water which is new twice a day.

They are in the run for the most part. If we are outside, then they get to free range, but with the muddy weather and snow they haven't been out too much.

Egg production seems to go up and down a lot. Some days we get 3 or 4, others 7. The last few days were 5 or less.

Does their diet sound ok or am I over feeding scratch etc? Feeding at the wrong time etc? We enjoy getting a good supply of eggs, but we also want them to be healthy and do what's best. thanks

 

[foreverlearning]

They say treats should be no more then 10% of their diet. Watch the corn intake really good. Corn puts on fat and too much fat can make them unhealthy. Also, for people that have really hot summers and continue to feed a ton of corn to their flock can suffer from heat stress or even stroke because chickens cannot sweat. Now this is a do what I say and not what I do thing. I personally do not keep track of the amount I give my girls. It consists of all table scraps (except chicken), corn in late fall/early winter, and seeds the rest of the year because I live in a very hot area. They get handfuls here and there, they free range, and they are perfectly healthy. When I process extra roosters I see exactly what I wanted to see in all the organs and just the right amount of fat per the time of year for processing. It's like a persons healthy diet (their feed) vs a persons healthy sweet intake (scraps and treats).

 

[realsis]

I agree with above post. I would cut down or cut out the scratch and offer nutritional treats instead. If your looking for a good place to find nutritional treats go online and go to www.treatsforchickens.com. The company is called treats for chickens. They have a wonderful variety of unusual but nutritional treats. They are all organic and wholesome. I order my girls treats from there. I used to mix scratch with my feed too but I stopped completely when my girls started coming down with vitamin defiency. I'm not certain if it was related to the scratch but the same thing happened to a friend of mine who was also supplementing with scratch. So I can't help but think it had something to do with the defiency. As above post said the corn is not very nutritional and only adds fat which leads to other problems. I would stick with a good complete food and give nutritional treats instead. Do take a look at the website treats for chickens. They offer a special every month if you look under in the categories where it says "cheap" and you will find a two for one special of the months treats. I recommend March treats as they have lots of goodies in them, even crickets that are dried mixed into the treats! The chickens love it! They have funny names for each treat but if you read the ingredients you will see they are all wholesome and nutritional. They aren't the average treats they have mixes of really great things like marigold petals, crickets, bee pollen, sea kelp, and much much more! I think you will really like what they offer. And you can be certain your giving the best nutritional treats for them. Much better than scratch! I hope this helps out. I wish you the best for you and your flock.

 

[johndeerelover]

Thanks for the responses. Looks like maybe I've been over-doing it with the corn & scratch? I wasn't really sure how much scratch or corn per chicken would be ok. All I've read is 10 percent of chicken's diet, but since I have grain always available I don't really know how much per day a chicken actually eats. I guess if I kept track somehow I could have figured it out!

Thanks for the link for chicken treats. They look a little expensive to me. I mainly want to give them something to dig around for, but I will look that site over some more. If I do give scratch or corn, how much per chicken is a good amount? I was only doing the corn since I read it helps keep the warm in the winter. Is there any rough measurement on what is ok like table spoons per chicken to give me a rough idea?

 

[foreverlearning]

Try black oil sunflower seeds as a great healthy treat. People that make their own feed add this in as a protein and vitamin boost. You can find big bags of it cheaply at walmart and feed stores. I can't advise on exact measurements because I do not measure mine. Knowing how much feed is consumed a day is crucial to proper management of your flock. Chickens are great at hiding illnesses until it is too late to treat but feed reduction is always the very first sign. I free range and have free choice feed. Everyday when I close up the coop I look in the feeder to see how much has been consumed to make sure there is not a problem. Penned chickens are very reliable in consumption where free range depends on the time of year and how many bugs there are out there. I know my flock well enough to know what to expect each day. After a while of looking you will know too just by eyeballing the feed. Too much feed left means that everyone needs a more thorough check over then normal whereas too little feed left means fecal float test and if it is negative then look for what else is getting in the coop and eating the feed (in my area it's squirrels and rabbits...yum dinner...).

 

[pdirt]

1.5 quarts of scratch does sound like a lot for 9 chickens. Perhaps try half of that and see how it goes.