Scratch - how much is too much?
- Thread starter wild chick
- Start date
Firstly, you need to think of hens as top level athletes. With most breeds, their bodies are productive beyond what nature intended. Their internal systems are working at maximum capacity and therefore a balanced diet is much more important than perhaps other pets or even you are I. Feed companies have studied their nutritional needs and formulated feeds to meet these demands.
Like us, chickens love carbohydrates and will usually eat corn and wheat in preference to higher protein pulses or layer feed. They will only eat a given amount in a day, so if they fill up on high carbohydrate scratch, they will not eat much of their higher protein layer feed or all flock. The surplus carbohydrates get laid down as fat deposits unless the birds burn them off foraging..... penned birds will therefore be more at risk of these excessive fat stores than free range and because their feathers disguise their real size, we are almost always unaware that they are getting obese.... or even understand what obese looks like. Supermarket chickens are so plump we perhaps don't even appreciate that layers and even hatchery dual purpose birds should be lean. These fat deposits develop between the legs and around the vent area as well as on and around the internal organs and can cause a multitude of health issues, many of which do not show until things are too far gone and we all know how hard it is to lose weight, especially when health issues kick in, so it is difficult to save them once we realise the problem. Reproductive issues like prolapse, salpingitis and even internal laying and or Egg Yolk Peritonitis can be caused by these fat deposits as well as the Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome, which can cause sudden death without any prior indication of ill health...... so saying that you feed lots of scratch and your birds are healthy is probably fooling yourself as well as dangerously encouraging others to risk their birds health.
Chickens love scratch and I freely admit that I treat my birds to a little on a regular but not daily basis.... a little is 2-3oz between 9 birds once a day, but not every day. Having just weighed and measured it, it works out about three quarters of a tablespoon each. Alternating their treats on a day to day basis with other more healthy things like mealworms or cottage cheese or fermented feed means that they get a variety without getting a large quantity of treats every day. Free ranging is in itself a treat, so don't feel the need to give them so many extras on top of that. It is important to be quite disciplined with treats and for me the mental image of a necropsy I did on my neighbour's hen that was fed a diet of almost 50/50 scratch/layer pellets and developed ascites and haemorrhaged, keeps me from being too generous with them. The thick layers of yellow fat were totally shocking. I subsequently butchered his other hens for him as they had never laid well and he was sick of feeding them for no gain. Sadly, it was his feeding regime of too much scratch which caused them not to lay due to the fatty deposits. For info, my neighbour is a kindly man and had one favourite hen that he would take in the house when she was sick and sit and watch tv with her, but these particular hens were never people friendly and he had no emotional attachment to them. I took photos of the necropsy I did on the bird that haemorrhaged and I can post them if anyone is interested although I appreciate that a photo of one hen with hick yellow fat is not going to convince the majority of people that scratch is unhealthy.
Like us, chickens love carbohydrates and will usually eat corn and wheat in preference to higher protein pulses or layer feed. They will only eat a given amount in a day, so if they fill up on high carbohydrate scratch, they will not eat much of their higher protein layer feed or all flock. The surplus carbohydrates get laid down as fat deposits unless the birds burn them off foraging..... penned birds will therefore be more at risk of these excessive fat stores than free range and because their feathers disguise their real size, we are almost always unaware that they are getting obese.... or even understand what obese looks like. Supermarket chickens are so plump we perhaps don't even appreciate that layers and even hatchery dual purpose birds should be lean. These fat deposits develop between the legs and around the vent area as well as on and around the internal organs and can cause a multitude of health issues, many of which do not show until things are too far gone and we all know how hard it is to lose weight, especially when health issues kick in, so it is difficult to save them once we realise the problem. Reproductive issues like prolapse, salpingitis and even internal laying and or Egg Yolk Peritonitis can be caused by these fat deposits as well as the Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome, which can cause sudden death without any prior indication of ill health...... so saying that you feed lots of scratch and your birds are healthy is probably fooling yourself as well as dangerously encouraging others to risk their birds health.
Chickens love scratch and I freely admit that I treat my birds to a little on a regular but not daily basis.... a little is 2-3oz between 9 birds once a day, but not every day. Having just weighed and measured it, it works out about three quarters of a tablespoon each. Alternating their treats on a day to day basis with other more healthy things like mealworms or cottage cheese or fermented feed means that they get a variety without getting a large quantity of treats every day. Free ranging is in itself a treat, so don't feel the need to give them so many extras on top of that. It is important to be quite disciplined with treats and for me the mental image of a necropsy I did on my neighbour's hen that was fed a diet of almost 50/50 scratch/layer pellets and developed ascites and haemorrhaged, keeps me from being too generous with them. The thick layers of yellow fat were totally shocking. I subsequently butchered his other hens for him as they had never laid well and he was sick of feeding them for no gain. Sadly, it was his feeding regime of too much scratch which caused them not to lay due to the fatty deposits. For info, my neighbour is a kindly man and had one favourite hen that he would take in the house when she was sick and sit and watch tv with her, but these particular hens were never people friendly and he had no emotional attachment to them. I took photos of the necropsy I did on the bird that haemorrhaged and I can post them if anyone is interested although I appreciate that a photo of one hen with hick yellow fat is not going to convince the majority of people that scratch is unhealthy.
HenOnAJuneBug
Crowing
- May 20, 2015
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I think a lot of what constitutes too much scratch depends on chickens' daily activities. Chickens cooped up in a run don't get much exercise. Mine free range from dawn to dusk on very hilly terrain. Some of it is at least a 45* slope, but that doesn't stop them. They are up and down and all around all day long.
CCUK
Free Flying
Me too. A bowl of warm mash should still be OK though. Right?
Spinach actually is not good for Birds it blocks the body from absorbing calcium.
I give scratch once or twice a week and really toss it far so they look for it.
I give scratch once or twice a week and really toss it far so they look for it.
HenOnAJuneBug
Crowing
- May 20, 2015
- 2,719
- 5,788
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I carry a couple of small, plastic vitamin containers full of scratch with me in my pockets for those times when chickens run up to me begging for a treat. I swear it reminds me of Mardi Gras: "Throw me something, mister!"
A chicken on a good feed as their only feed will eat .2 - .25# of feed/bird/day according to the producer of the brand of feed I buy. Some folks say up to .3#/bird/day. That's assuming that no other ration is fed, and there is no waste, and no rodent issues.
A diet heavy on scratch is not doing the bird any favors b/c she will fill up on the scratch and miss out on the vitamins, protein, and minerals in the blended feed. Sunflower chips are high fat, and can contribute to fatty liver, increased visceral fat which can cause the hen to have difficulty passing an egg.
You might consider switching to fermented feed to help cut the loss to winged pests.
It's fallacy to assume that birds should get more scratch in cold weather IMO. Simply let them fill up on their regular feed. A calorie is a calorie, so it might as well be a calorie that is packed with nutrients.
A diet heavy on scratch is not doing the bird any favors b/c she will fill up on the scratch and miss out on the vitamins, protein, and minerals in the blended feed. Sunflower chips are high fat, and can contribute to fatty liver, increased visceral fat which can cause the hen to have difficulty passing an egg.
You might consider switching to fermented feed to help cut the loss to winged pests.
It's fallacy to assume that birds should get more scratch in cold weather IMO. Simply let them fill up on their regular feed. A calorie is a calorie, so it might as well be a calorie that is packed with nutrients.
CCUK
Free Flying
What is the best way to make fermented feed?
There is an excellent article in my signature line.
CCUK
Free Flying
I can't select it on mobile app. I'll crank up the pc and have a look. Thanks
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