Scratch and Peck Feed

[EmeraldSkye]

What do you all think of the Scratch and Peck feed? It's whole grain based, non-GMO, no soy, there's a no-corn option. I know all of the latter is good. I was mostly wondering what you think about the whole-grain-ness of it all, rather than pellets or crumbles.

Here's a link to their website: http://www.scratchandpeck.com/products/poultry

 

[SavageDestiny]

I was wondering why my chickens were loosing weight! The powder clogged everything and with the price the waste is way to much. I will never buy this food again because of the price and the fact my birds were actually starving ! I used a colander , when i screened the holes were very small. The powder is ridiculous and when i talked to many folks on facebook they saw this as a reason they stopped buying it also. I will seek else where to buy a better product.. My girls deserve a real food with out trying to get past the dust, the powder , and work through all that to find the grains.

You can't get around having the the powder when the company is not grinding grain, mashing it together, and cooking it into a pellet. The powder is fish meal and vitamin/mineral premix, which is essential. Other companies process the food more by grinding, cooking, and smooshing it all together into a pellet. A whole grain, unprocessed feed simply CANNOT get rid of the powder- otherwise the feed wouldn't be complete. The food IS real food- much more real than any pellet or crumble that has been so processed! I don't think you are understanding the process or why the powder has to be there.

If you don't want to feed it- fine. But don't badmouth a product because you don't personally like the texture.

As a side note, I don't even FEED Scratch and Peck. I make my own whole grain feed. And guess what... I have to add in a lot of powdered supplements! I ferment my feed so it all sticks together.

 

[EmeraldSkye]

Bump.

 

[barkinghills]

Hi Emerald,

I tried Scratch and Peck late last summer. The texture of it is not a problem--I served it in smaller quantities in flat-bottomed plastic bowls, rather than a gravity feeder. My flock would finish almost all of it each day, leaving behind a fairly small amount of powdery feed and sometimes the little "kibble-type" pellets. If you mix this last bit with some water or liquid they will eagerly finish it. I also tried serving the whole amount moistened, which they ate eagerly also but is more trouble. The chickens certainly would go crazy for it every day.

I did seem to notice a drop in egg production, as a few others have mentioned. But in my case I think they dropped off production before heading into a hard molt, so it is impossible to say of the decrease in egg production was really related to the feed.

There is another thread in this category for Scratch and Peck if you search for it, with more detailed info. Here is a link for it:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/684324/scratch-and-peck-non-gmo-organic-anyone-use-this

 

[flickerloo]

If you sift out S&P mash, you basically have only scratch. It is really a food designed to be moistened, soaked, or fermented. I ferment it, and my hens eat nearly every last bit of it every day. They are far healthier than when I got them (at 18 months old), and every one of them had grown up on pellets. They are laying like crazy, and they couldn't be happier.

If you don't like feeding mash, then stick to pellets. But don't trash a company that makes an amazing product just because you have unrealistic expectations.

 

[EmeraldSkye]

I sent a note to Scratch and Peck, this is the reply I got:

Quote:
I invited him to contribute to this thread.

I'm willing to try fermenting and as a matter of fact I have a perfect glass crock-type jar that has been waiting for a purpose for years. So I have a batch started already and will see how it goes. I'd like for the hens to get all of the nutrients that's in the food, and if it's in the powder then this is a way to get them to eat it. Also I've spent some time (mostly on this forum, but elsewhere too) reading up on fermented food today and it seems it works better with whole grains, so with that in mind, the Scratch and Peck feed does seem well suited for this, especially since I won't have to add anything additional since it is formulated as a complete feed for the chickens. I only have four hens so this should be pretty easy for me to do.

 

[Scratch and Peck]

Hi folks! Matthew from Scratch and Peck here. I just wanted to say that we appreciate the discussion and are always able to talk about our feed with anyone that has concerns. For me, fermenting the feed is really the key to success with Scratch and Peck. Not only does it stick all the fine ingredients (which are your protein and minerals) together to the whole grains, but the feed required for an adult hen goes down to 1/4 pound a day versus an average 1/3 pound; the feed is more digestible, so the birds get more out of what you are feeding; and the process of fermentation actually raises the protein and nutritional content. For more information on our feed, feel free to call us at the mill - (360) 318-7585. A great resource for information on fermenting is http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html . Thanks again! ~ Matthew

 

[Beazles]

My girls are absolutely crazy over this feed! I like that it is closer to what they would be eating in nature, and I plan on taking whatever powder is left in their bowls and mixing it in with some warm cooked oatmeal during the winter. I will also try fermenting. Thank you to EmeraldSkye to looking into this and posting Scratch and Peck's reply.

 

[KristinaE]

I love Scratch n Peck! I used to feed it to the hens in their hanging hopper but it was too much of a pain to dig out the accumulating fine powder and mix it with water. Now I have a different method.

My girls get a hopper full of organic layer pellets to eat free choose, but their main food is S&P. I mix up several scoops in the morning with enough warm water to hold the grains and the fines together. The hens wait anxiously for me to bring this out every morning. They eat the mash during the first part of the day, and if they get hungry later they reluctantly eat the layer pellets. I like using both because there are days when I might not be there in the morning to mix their mash, and I know they can eat the pellets. But they are incredible healthy on Scratch n Peck; they are shiny, active, and lay plenty of strong-shelled and beautifully orange-yolked eggs.

 

[Bridebeliever]

I've been feeding my flock Scratch & Peck for months now and love it! They all look so healthy. I'm a newbie so I have never heard of fermenting. I'm very excited to try it! If it's healthier and also stretches the feed it sounds like a win win! Thanks everyone!

Your chickens are going to love it even more wet! Plus, you won't have any powdery waste! (And that powder has a lot of nutrients in it.)