how much scratch should i feed

[chickenchalupa]

I recently got scratch for my 7 chickens and i just throw a handful in thier run every morning. Can i give them more or am i giving them to much already?

 

[Equus5O]

Are they eating the scratch?

I've read that you should only give them whatever treat that they'll consume within 10 to 15 minutes. And, I've also read that Scratch is to be considered a treat, not a source of nutrition.

I'll throw out a few handfuls of scratch, and it will lay there for days.

I've had the same bag since mid-May, with 8 chickens.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

Quote:
I have been told that "scratch" is only a treat and not a replacement for layer ration or chick feed. Mine love it, but I use it only as a treat to get them back into the coop every evening (about a cupfull)

 

[toredano]

Mine freerange all day and have full access to scratch all day if they want .They dont eat much now since they freerange all day. Ileave the feeder out and fill it as needed. Seems to me now they only eat a few thinsg then go back to free ranging all day.
Its got alot of stuff in it..I dttn see why it couldnt be a sole feed for them.It has corn and all kinds of stuff in it thats good for them.Plus the freeranging offsets anything they dont get via the scratch
People been feeding scratch for ages all the time and I never heard of chickens gettting to much or died from overfeeding scratch to them.

My 2 cents

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

I give mine several handfuls of scratch every day.

 

[dw_618]

a couple handfuls of scratch in the morning is all we feed as scratch

 

[chickenchalupa]

Thanks for the advice. I've been giving them a few handfulls in the morning and they gobble it up as fast as they can. How much is too much?

 

[wombat]

We put a little scratch in with the morning feed (about 5% scratch, the rest feed), scatter a handful of scratch mid-morning to give them something to do in the run ... they free range in the afternoon, and we give them a cup of scratch (about 4oz per bird from a liquid measure measuring cup we use as a scoop) to get them back to the run in the evening.

I've heard that too much scratch is a poor diet ... and I've found that if we give ours too much scratch, they tend to lay off the feed and get spoiled on scratch and treats ... just like my kids won't eat dinner and hold out for dessert and candy after Grandma's been over for a week to visit.