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Mimi 1 said:
Thank you. They will be 14 weeks tomorrow. Is it OK to give them scratch? And if so, should I soak it?
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Yes, they can have scratch and no need to soak it assuming it's chicken scratch. They just shouldn't have a lot of it as they don't get much nutrition they need from it and it takes away from them eating as much of their feed.

If you wanted to get into fermenting it, just fill a quart jar half full of it, top it off with water, stir it daily for 3 more days keeping a bit of water on the top of it to prevent mold. The 4th day you can drain and serve it. That gives them probiotics and prebiotics as well as more nutritional value.
 
Debbie292d said:
Yes, they can have scratch and no need to soak it assuming it's chicken scratch. They just shouldn't have a lot of it as they don't get much nutrition they need from it and it takes away from them eating as much of their feed.

If you wanted to get into fermenting it, just fill a quart jar half full of it, top it off with water, stir it daily for 3 more days keeping a bit of water on the top of it to prevent mold. The 4th day you can drain and serve it. That gives them probiotics and prebiotics as well as more nutritional value.
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Thank you for your response. I tried Google, most of the videos described fermenting feed not scratch. So are you saying I. CAN ferment scratch? I'm only wondering because I want to put them in their coop but I want them to build body heat to aid with warmth during the cold nights, so I read I should give them carbs in the evening like sprouts or scratch. Somewhere I read that fermenting allows for easier digestion. So, somehow, I thought i should ferment scratch. Did I mix up this information?
 
Mimi 1 said:
Thank you for your response. I tried Google, most of the videos described fermenting feed not scratch. So are you saying I. CAN ferment scratch? I'm only wondering because I want to put them in their coop but I want them to build body heat to aid with warmth during the cold nights, so I read I should give them carbs in the evening like sprouts or scratch. Somewhere I read that fermenting allows for easier digestion. So, somehow, I thought i should ferment scratch. Did I mix up this information?
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You don't need to ferment scratch. They don't even need it.
The process of digesting their food creates body heat and they're fluffed up plumage will trap that heat in when necessary. They just need to go to roost with full crops. Having a crop full of a completely balanced feed is a lot better than having a crop full of candy. Scratch is considered a treat and nothing more.
 

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