Scratch for main source of Feed?

[speckledhen]

Scratch that is mainly corn is only 8% protein. Layer feed is from 16-20% protein, sometimes higher. The layer pellets I'm using right now during their molt is 22% protein. Feather production requires much higher protein than scratch provides.

The "scratch" I use is 11 grain Knockout Game Bird feed and is 12% protein (used to be 13%, but they upped the corn content recently). That would be infinitely better than the normal scratch folks usually give their birds since it's basically a rooster feed, but not for molting birds. Birds do not molt only during a certain period of the year. I have many birds who are post, pre, and mid-molt right now, so someone is usually in need of the higher protein content.

 

[RedfogsFlock]

Now ours free range all day too. I feed em oatmeal on mondays, and we have sunflower plants growing like mad! So they get them too. Fresh fruits & veges 5 days a week too. I use one coffee can scratch to 2 of their feed. Now our farm store offers layer mash & layer feed, but we don't get it due to cost.

But when I open our scratch bag it is only cracked corn, nothing else? I didn't know there was other kinds of scratch that contained oats & such? So I'm not seeing how that would be healthy for them if that was their main diet?

I don't use oyster shell either, I take the used egg shells dry em & ground em up. Then I add em back to their feed works great!

 

[LALASD4]

The grains that we use to feed chickens were many different kind of seeds, I don't remember what is in them since it was long time ago.

I just took a look at the bag of scratch that I have, it is mostly corn. Maybe I should eat more corn and lose some weight since the protein value is so low.

 

[Cindy in PA]

As far as the feed store saying to mix 50-50 scratch & layer, there are some feeds that are meant to be fed that way. Agway Egg Producer is 21% protein & it says to mix with scratch up to 50%. This is meant to save money by letting a farmer use local grains & the protein would then work out to the bare minimum of 15%. So there are instances where layer feed is supposed to be mixed 50-50 with scratch.

 

[Chris09]

I posted this in another thread but I thought I would post it here also.

I think this whole, is Scratch Grain good or bad thing is getting as bad as the DE conversations on here.

We need to look at what a Scratch Grain is. Scratch Grain can be a single grain or a mix of grains that is meant to be pitched on the ground to encourage poultry to scratch.
Scratch grain can be a good sores of Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals, Fat and Amino Acids. Carbohydrates as we know are a major source of energy so with out a good sores of Carbs.
Amino acids play central roles both as building blocks of proteins and as intermediates in metabolism.

As far as Scratch Grain being "Candy, Crack, or having no nutrition" I see nothing feather from the truth.

There is a lot of Grain Mixes out there that make a excellent Scratch Grain with a good amount of Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals, Fat and Amino Acids one of the best I have found is a All Grain Pigeon Feed in has a good assortment of grains and usually above 12% protein.

Here are 2 examples of a all grain mix that I have used in the past as a scratch grain.

• Racing Pigeon - 21.5% Protein - NO CORN
Contains: Canada Peas, Maple Peas, Safflower, Austrian Peas, Whole Wheat, White Kafir, Red Milo, Vetch.
Crude Protein (min) 21.5% Crude Fat (min) 4.0% Crude Fiber (max) 8.0%

• Breeder/Conditioner - 16% Protein - NO CORN
Contains: Canada Peas, Red Milo, White Kafir, Maple Peas, Oat Groats, Austrian Peas, Whole Wheat, Safflower Seed, White Millet, Red Millet, Canary Seed, Vetch, Buckwheat, Rice.
Crude Protein (min) 16.0% Crude Fat (min) 3.5% Crude Fiber (max) 8.0%

Chris

 

[eggbuster]

Quote:
I agree with this. One should not automatically say scratch is bad or good. The first question should be "what is in it?" Commercial feed is just ground up something or other and scratch is just the whole grain version depending on the length of the ingredient list. In fact, a good "scratch" has more variety in it then a commercial feed.

If one wishes to feed a non soy diet then mixing it yourself is required. This mixed feed is essentially scratch by many people's definition and yet the chickens do very well on it. There is no need to have the 20 different grains (loosely stated) in a home feed mix which some popular on-line recipes call for although there is nothing wrong with it unless you are feeding a boat load of chickens and need something a little more practical. My feed mix contains wheat,peas, boss, corn and kelp. (bone and fish meal is illegal in Canada and cannot be obtained) I change out whole corn/peas for adults and use cracked corn/peas for chicks. My chickens free range and get clabbered milk. If I didn't free range or have plenty of raw milk I would be using a meat or bug supplement but haven't found it necessary for my situation. To replace free range in winter I get good quality alfalfa.

Honest mistakes are made and learned from; that is how one improves. Since an expert is someone who has made 3000 mistakes, this site allows us to jump ahead in the line by pooling our mistakes. Sometimes chickens or many other animals don't do well because of too many good intentions. When one endows animals with human rather than animal needs and emotions, things go awry.

 

[halo]

Quote:
Interestingly enough, your dog would probably be healthier with road kill than what you feed now.

 

[eggbuster]

Quote:
Interestingly enough, your dog would probably be healthier with road kill than what you feed now.

Don't under estimate your dog. My dog won't eat dog food of any kind. He eats my chicken feed. (he is free range too and does have good quality dog food available but only the geese eat it). So for my feed needs, I have wheat, peas, corn, boss, kelp, milk hay always in stock. I have chickens (chantecler,buckeye,partridge plymouth rock, cornishx meaties) geese, turkeys, cows, horses, 1 dog, 9 cats, and pigs. They all eat something from the above list as per what is best for them at any given time. I have some of the best looking healthiest animals around. (yes I am bragging). I know because people come down my driveway to get a better look and this is farm country.

Is my particular scratch bad with all the evidence to the contrary? Regarding the meaties, it is interesting that on same scratch, they are very clean, active, and don't poop or smell any worse then regular chickens. So far I haven't lost a single one for any reason other then the neighbor's dog who is a purebred and votes fresh; if they don't keep him controlled it won't be the chicken that does him in.javascript:insert_text('

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[elmo]

[he layer feed I use is 17 percent protein. Scratch is about 9 percent protein. If you're trying to keep chickens healthy on a scratch diet, they're going to need to be able to make up the difference in protein ...that's a lot of bugs.

 

[halo]

Quote:
Maybe not as many bugs as you think:

Quotes Ive found from various articles:

Insects have a high protein content. A small grasshopper or giant water beetle has nearly as much protein per gram as lean ground beef. Many bugs have a lot more iron than beef; and they're loaded with calcium. But do avoid caterpillars and grubs if you're watching your diet — they're high in fat. Large grasshoppers, June beetles and ants are all low fat.

“If you want to feed a lot of people, insects are the best choice in terms of getting the biggest bang for your buck.” Insects, he claims, are nutritious. Although they typically contain less protein by weight than beef or chicken—100 grams of giant water bugs or small grasshoppers, for example, have about 20 grams of protein, compared with 27 grams in the same amount of lean ground beef—they do have other benefits. For instance, grasshoppers contain just one-third of the fat found in beef, and water bugs offer almost four times as much iron. A 100-gram portion of the cooked caterpillar Usata terpsichore has about 28 grams of protein. In their dried form, as they are commonly sold in Africa, insects such as grasshoppers may contain up to 60 percent protein.

Insects are the true “Eco-protein” — the most environmentally-efficient animal protein on the planet. This is because many food-insects, such as crickets, convert food and water much more efficiently into usable nutrition than cattle or other livestock. For instance, insects require up to 20 times less food than cattle, meaning that per pound of food they are given, they produce several times the amount of protein. Also, up to 100 times less water is required per pound of usable protein. As David Gracer of SmallStockFoods puts it, “Insects can feed the world. Cows and pigs are the S.U.V.’s; bugs are the bicycles.”