Soy and Corn? Whole Grain Layer Feed

[saltnprepper]

I have to much waste with crumbles and my girls are close to laying age. I was thinking of going with the Scratch and Peck Whole Grain Layer Feed. They have a soy free and a corn and soy free. Tell me why would I avoid corn in the feed? It is more expensive then the pellets but I dont like the mess of the crumbles and this feed just looks good. It looks like real food. Any info would be helpful. There are some links below. I found a local market that carries it, they also have a bakery and they will give me free buckets for gardening. This is a plus for the drive to the market.

http://www.scratchandpeck.com/products/poultry
http://www.scratchandpeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Poultry-Labels-8-29-113.jpg
http://www.scratchandpeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Poultry-Labels-8-29-112.jpg

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

There is a market for soy and corn-free feeds due to folks avoiding GMOs.

Also, if you are showing your white chickens, corn can make their feathers a little yellowish.

I feed organic corn...corn is fine in chicken feed.

 

[pkzman]

Hey SaltnPrepper,

Was going to ask if anyone else had tried Scratch and Peck. I used it as my initial layer feed, but thought that the leftover 'sawdust' was wasting vitamins and minerals. It is suggested on the packaging to use this leftover in milk or yogurt to use it up, but I found it kind of a hassle and seemed like I was wasting more. I switched to a commercial pellet feed thinking they would get a better 'balanced' diet, but I swear the girls liked the organic whole grains better, and might switch back to it when this bag is gone. I also like the idea of supporting a local small business.

Let me know what you decided - thanks!

Z

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Hey SaltnPrepper,

Was going to ask if anyone else had tried Scratch and Peck. I used it as my initial layer feed, but thought that the leftover 'sawdust' was wasting vitamins and minerals. It is suggested on the packaging to use this leftover in milk or yogurt to use it up, but I found it kind of a hassle and seemed like I was wasting more. I switched to a commercial pellet feed thinking they would get a better 'balanced' diet, but I swear the girls liked the organic whole grains better, and might switch back to it when this bag is gone. I also like the idea of supporting a local small business.

Let me know what you decided - thanks!

Z

You can just wet it with a little water, just enough for the day's worth so it doesn't go moldy on you.

 

[pkzman]

Thanks!

Also saw where someone mixed in some fruit, milk, water, and baked it into a cake for a treat. Now that's chicken love!

 

[Nambroth]

I used it as my initial layer feed, but thought that the leftover 'sawdust' was wasting vitamins and minerals. It is suggested on the packaging to use this leftover in milk or yogurt to use it up, but I found it kind of a hassle and seemed like I was wasting more.

I don't use this brand, but a similar mash that has a lot of powder after the girls eat all the whole grains. I find the thought of dumping out and wasting all that expensive, nutritious powder to be a lot more hassle than adding a little water! Here's what I do, and it only takes me a few minutes once a week. I only have 7 chickens.. if you have more you may need to do it more often.

After a week I will take their feeder before I add any new feed in the morning and dump the powder into a cheap dog bowl. In the summer I'll just use the hose to dump in a bit of water, in the winter I just take a cup of warm water out with me, and stir it all up. Just add enough water so the powder sticks to itself, like a dry dough. They act like this is the best treat in the world and finish it all within a few hours!

If yours turn their beaks up at it at first, just mix something they like in a few times (cooked oatmeal, yogurt, whatever), and they'll realize it's the treat bowl. Then you can switch to plain water and they'll still go nuts, I bet. Mine did.

 

[pkzman]

Thanks Jennifer!

Like this idea, and am going to switch back to Scratch and Peck Layer and give your idea a try. I think the hens like it more, and it even smells better than the commercial pellet feed I've tried!

Z