⠀ scratch

[Castle Rock]

Can I feed my chickens just scratch?

 

[LRH97]

Scratch isn't designed to be a staple in the diet. More of a treat type feed. If you only want to feed a single type of feed, go with a layer feed if you're raising laying hens or an all-flock type feed. These will provide the necessary nutrients for healthy birds.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've known people to do that but if one feeds scratch only, they'll eventually quit laying eggs, become too heavy and have serious health problems from a lack of essential amino acids, needed vitamins, minerals and fats.

Chickens, like humans, are omnivores - not strictly grain eaters.

Here's a list of all the nutrients chickens are known to need at various ages.
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G8352
no blend of grains can supply those.

 

[bigt447]

Giving chickens only scratch is like giving children only candy....it's tasty but should be a treat given in moderation.

 

[DrPatrickBiggs]

I wouldn't suggest feeding your chickens a diet of just scratch. Scratch is not a nutritionally complete diet. It is lacking almost every nutrient the hen needs with the exception of energy. A laying hen needs a diet with 16% protein. Most scratch grains are going to be around 8% protein. Calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and several other minerals play a key role in egg production. Scratch does not provide the necessary nutrients to suppost egg production. Scratch should be paired with a complete laying hen feed and limited to less than 10% of the hen's total diet.

 

[MorganC]

I am not a advocate for feeding pure scratch, however I do have to say something to keep a snowball from happening. My grandmother has been raising chickens for 60 years and has ONLY fed scratch. Please note, she has never had any healthy issues in her birds other than leg mites occasionally and all of her chickens lived passed the age of 7 in every batch of chickens she had.
Just a thought....
Would I feed pure scratch.....? Probably not.

 

[bigt447]

Most likely,those were free ranging chickens were they could get lots of protein from insects, worms, grubs, grass, etc.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Grandmother may have fed only scratch but I assure you, they foraged in a barnyard with lots of insects to be scratched from cow flop and adjacent pristine pasture in which to find other protein, vitamin and mineral sources. If she lived where insects die off in winter and tender greenery wasn't available, production fell off dramatically and probably no eggs produced through winter at all.
If one is keeping chickens in a backyard and they feed scratch only, no matter what grandmother did, they won't get many eggs at all.
Grandmother had 20 or 30 chickens and was satisfied with enough eggs to feed the family.
People want good egg production from their 4 or 5 hens and unless they put the raw ingredients in, eggs won't come out.
A neighbor saw me at the feed store and asked if he could buy some of my birds. He said his were defective. They were under a year old and all stopped laying. I asked him what he was feeding. He said, "scratch". I said, "yeah, but what else?" He said, "Just scratch". I said, "well, you're starving them. They need chicken feed."
He started feeding a complete layer ration and they resumed laying a couple weeks to a month later.

 

[MorganC]

She has ever had free range birds (so they would only get what bugs and vegetation that was in a 12 by 12 dirt yard) and has always had a plethora of eggs, so many that she would give them to us all the time.

Reminder, I'm not an advocate of only scratch diets. Just pointing out facts.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That is a mystery to me. Plethora of eggs from chickens only eating scratch is magic. Very little input and wonderful things coming out.
I suggest preserving their genetics for the commercial industry.

I've heard of people claiming their chickens all laid 2 or 3 eggs a day each. I recommended they sell them to the commercial industry and make a million.