Ought I feed chicken scratch feed thru the feeder or cast it around the run?

[amiachicknorwat]

Isn't that why they call it "scratch", cuz they scratch and peck it off the ground? Plus there's the opp some of it might germinate, go to seed, then I'd get some scratch back, if play my cards right. Tho I've heard said not to cast food on ground cuz the chickens might eat their poo, if I happen to toss it in wrong place. I'd give chickens more credit than that. Would not y'all?

 

[Dipsey]

I would throw it on the ground. If the chickens eat there own poo it would probably happen anyway. Mine sometimes eat there feathers when they fly across the ground.....guess they think its a big bug? Hard to tell what they are thinking when they do some things.

 

[amiachicknorwat]

Done. And I'm now watering part of it. No, I don't live in California. Tho drought is taking hold way up here in BC too, not to the point of gov placed restrictions. Still we're sparing with our use, water rights aside. I agreed already. Just calming my partner's concerns. She heard from some authoritative voice only to feed them from a feeder lest we cast the food on some poo. Ugh, authoritative voices, blech. They leave a bad taste in my...ear

 

[Fentress]

also, if mixed in with other feed in the feeder, they will sort through the feed, to eat the scratch and make a big mess.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I do both, ground and a bit in the layer, they do pick around, it depends on your feeder, I put mine in a trough feeder, they can't pull it out, in my dishes they stand in it sometimes and pull it out, but it gets cleaned up by the end of the day, as I only feed as much as they eat. On the ground I throw mine everywhere.