Scratch Grain- Why it's useful in flock management and nutrition

[ChickenAl]

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Thank you Resolution. I always learn a lot from reading your posts!

So what hes saying is that even in Countryside Organics there is potential for Chinese products?

Lazy J Farms made that statement, and he's right about the potential existing. But, Countryside is an organic feed and the standards of Organics apply. I would guess even if parts of the feed were from China that they would have to meet OMRI or some other standard.

 

[cottagechick]

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find ANYTHING that doesn't have parts made in China.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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You got that right. And sorry I got the quotes mixed up.

 

[Midwest Lizabeth]

This is a great topic. Rambling thoughts. . .

Some chicken food crumbles are a mix of out-of-date human & pet foods that are reprocessed to feed our chickens. There are supposed to be regulations in place for livestock feeds (I'm guessing that poultry could be considered livestock, but I wonder). There aren't regulations in place for "petfood", yet some manufacturers smash up these products to become crumbles for chickens. Some of the organic petfood sites have some horrible photos/information as to what might go into pet food.

Feeding natural products is a dream of mine. This discussion is educational. I try not to eat processed foods and try to eat whole grains. So, feeding my chickens scratch with traditional grains and real protein (animal based) sure makes sense. I never thought about grinding up fish carcasses. We do a little fishing. . .that's a great idea.

I personally believe that some of these big corporate producers genetically altered "franken" products may well be dangerous for us and our animals. We do not yet know what these products are doing to our planet. No more honeybees. . .maybe heading for potential disaster. The link provided to the CG feed site did not appear to have a list of the exact products in the feed which I found interesting. I'll admit to using these products even though they scare the heck out of me. The discussion of what traditonal food was fed to chickens is most informative.

Look into the various Universities that have vet programs and most list a bunch of sponsors. . .most are corporate giants that sell products that are so genetically messed up that they will not reproduce. Look at a farm field the next year after some of these crops (from grain spills/or sloppy combine) have sprouted. . .they don't look anything like "corn" or "soybeans" that our ancestors grew. Farmers jailed because they held back seed to replant the next year like their grandparents did. . .only to be sued and loose the family farms. These corporate giants maybe setting us up for a worldwide food shortage with their franken, mono culture crops. Yes, food for the masses, but at what cost? We continue to loose genetic farm animal/plant diversity at a rapid rate--much more rapidly than tigers or trees or other wild things. There are alternatives and some crops that have built up natural resistances but they can't be patented--so they don't make money on the products. It's a world wide issue. The corporate lobbists have been trying to make it illegal for us to save heirloom seeds. They are buying up small seed companies at an alarming rate to control the market place. Educate yourselves. I do what I can to save heirloom seeds and have some heritage livestock. Please do what you can to maintain genetic diversity. . .in animals and plants. Hang on to a breed listed by the ALBC or try to get one of those breeds.

Now that my chickens have trashed parts of my landscaped yard, I let wild bird seed grow and produce seed heads. Millet, milo, sunflower, etc. in a small area. The chickens love it. I'd like to let more grow, and after reading this thread, I think I'll try harder. Some of the posts that I read make "scratch" sound like junk. I'm beginning to think that "crumbles" may be the junk. And scratch, with other nutrients from natural products may be a better route. If only I had more time. . . . .I'll know doubt continue to feed both and boost it with other goodies.

Another good source of protein would be organic puppy food. I bought high dollar dog food (no kidding, called solid gold) that my dogs wouldn't eat and I've been feeding it to my tropical fish. My dogs do like our catfish food. . .need to read label and see if it's made with soy or meat, or if it's just listed as "protein". The difference in the price of catfish food may well be the protein source.

Resolution: thanks again for a great topic!

 

[Resolution]

These are some really fine thoughts. I tend to think that scratch grain is all produced in the USA- regardless of who is selling it. That's one of the main reasons I encourage its utilisation. As I mentioned earlier, by purchasing scratch grain we are supporting small family grain farmers that often sell their crop in cooperatives. Ostensibly, these cooperatives bag their own grain and sell direct to distributors. This cuts down on how many times the crop is driven around before it reaches the consumer and more often than not, the scratch grain is fresher than what goes into some of the soft feeds. I don't know that this is a rule by any means but from my limited dealings with local grain mills where I have my own feed mixed (supplement into scratch grain and tiny amount of sorghum molasses), this has been the case. I don't have a favorite scratch grain though now that Countryside has nationwide distributorship that certainly seems to be the best quality out there. I don't think that that is necessarily feasible for the game bird breeders or peacock hobbyists that raise hundreds if not thousands of birds a year It may not be affordable for many households either. I would suggest for those with more conservative economics invested in livestock maintenance that they mix their own scratch grain. This is what our farms do. Proso Millet, Oats and Milo make up equal portions of the scratch. The rest is wheat, corn and oystershell- even for non breeding birds regardless of species- we always have oystershell (not other forms of pulverized calcium- only oystershell) added to the mixture. Kelp is another fine contribution and during the weeks leading up to breeding we will always add kelp to the scratch mixture. When in season, peas would be fine addition. For a long while I stupidly thought peas were legumes and didn't use them. I don't know why I thought that. My ignorance kept me from utilising a valuable source of nutrients.

In my opinion, soft feeds are the junk food -even though they are so convenient- if you really pay attention to how much of it you must feed out- how much the birds consume- how much ends up disintegrated into the soil- how much ends up as poultry smut - that disease vector whereby fecal material, atmospheric dust, feather dander and fines from soft feed combine- that's the disease vector that ends up coating every chicken house wall- every perch and of course every captive bird-it's that sour smell- you know it- and you can also see the heavy wet droppings of birds maintained solely on soft feed- that's mostly undigested material the birds cannot utilise - they have to eat all day to gain enough nutrition- hoppers are left out all day- filled with feed-

Anyone in driving distance to a dollar store is also capable of purchasing spices- black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, curry- add this to your feed whenever possible- volatile oils.

 

[Carolyn252]

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Can you please define "soft feeds" ? I'm not sure what that means.
-Carolyn252

 

[Resolution]

Soft Feed
=processed feeds made from pulverized ingredients, which disintegrate in ambient moisture, create dust and move through the body of a bird so rapidly it must eat constantly
a. mash
b. crumbles
c. soft pellets


Volatile Oils
= Essential Oils in Poultry Nutrition

 

[ChickenAl]

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Which volatile oils, specifically?

 

[Miss Lydia]

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Please clarify what you mean by soft foods? and volatile oils. Thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wow that was fast.