I’m so confused HELP!!!!

[usaf1997]

Well unless you post us the recipes and ingredients I'm going to say it's probably not feed.

 

[AGeese]

Which one of these? https://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/collections/all-flock

 

[usaf1997]

Which one of these? https://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/collections/all-flock

Non gmo

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I think if we're going to talk about feed we need someone knowledgeable to help us out.
@U_Stormcrow, will you help here please?

 

[nuthatched]

A recipe I found online that is soy and corn free.

Can you link the page? 95% of diy "feed" recipes are a joke.
Homemade feed will not be cheaper, easier, usually not healthier than bagged feeds.

 

[Debbie292d]

if they both contain the same thing isn’t the same product aside from all the additives and high processing in the actual feed? My home made feed has the same ingredients as the scratch you and I use plus a couple more grains, so why is there a difference? Why bcz “they” want to make us Believe that feed and scratch are not the same? Bcz if you make your own feed it is literally the same components as SCRATCH.do you get why I am confused?

I'm confused with why you're comparing your own homemade feed with Kalmbach's scratch as your homemade feed shouldn't be the same as scratch, so I can't answer this. Maybe @NatJ or @U_Stormcrow can.

 

[Debbie292d]

How is your recipe the same as Kalmbach's scratch? It's not even close so you have me confused.

 

[NatJ]

I just feel like this is just a marketing plow on behalf of the feed companies bcz home made feed and scratch literally have the ingredients aside from the molasses .

If you are talking about this scratch:
https://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/colle...ucts/soy-free-5-grain-premium-scratch-non-gmo

The feeding instructions on that page, and probably on your bag as well, say "Designed to be fed as a treat to mature poultry. Feed at a rate no more than 10-15% of the diet, in addition to a complete feed."

The nutritional info says it has 8% protein.

The problem with that scratch and any other scratch: it is not a complete feed. It does not contain everything a hen needs.

One of the biggest issues is the amount of protein. That company sells complete feeds (layer, maintainer, grower, etc) that contain 16% protein and up. 15% or 16% is usually considered the minimum level of protein for laying hens. Growing chicks need higher protein than that. A scratch feed at 8% protein is way too low.

Other details matter too, but the protein is the one I can most easily point out and explain.

Your chickens can be healthy if they eat a complete feed, with no scratch at all. They cannot be healthy if they eat just scratch. If your homemade feed is the same as the scratch, then you can use it as scratch (limited amount only), but you cannot use it for the main food and expect your chickens to be healthy.

 

[Slothinc]

Looking at the non gmo premium scratch it has corn as the first ingredient, and no black oil sunflower seeds. Your recipe doesn’t appear to have corn at all. So I don’t think that it would work. I’m guessing you were wanting to use the scratch as your base and then just add in the other ingredients. But since this looks to be mostly corn, I don’t think it will be at all similar to the recipe you are wanting. Unless I’m looking at the wrong thing.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Use a commercial layer feed, they spend millions getting it right. These "homemade" feeds are just delusional. Maybe if the chickens were free range in a tropical location with lots of natural food available but for most backyard flocks, it is just foolish.