Suggestions on feed for first winter

[Borregochicksx7]

Hello everyone
need some help, so approaching my first winter with chickens so right now I have a mixed flock of hens that just started laying and some roosters they are currently eating Purina flock raiser now
I know I should start giving them corn for warmth since temp are getting cooler and snow isn’t too far off so, I am not sure what to get with the corn in it to give them warmth at night, need suggestions and would scratch grains work ?
Any advice will be appreciated
Thank you

 

[rosemarythyme]

They don't need corn and scratch. That's just making them fatter, and it's their feathers that do the bulk of the work in keeping them warm. Unless you're in an area with arctic type conditions, they'll stay perfectly warm if they have a dry, draft free coop to sleep in and a draft protected run to use in the day.

 

[saysfaa]

If you feed them extra corn (or scratch grains), then the feed as a whole will not have enough protein, vitamins, or trace minerals. Corn is short enough in these things that is doesn't take much extra corn to make a significant difference in things like their immune systems and, as rosemarythyme said, getting too fat.

It helped me to see how little it can take to be "much" when I realized how little a chicken can eat in a day. What is a barely noticeable couple of bites compared to the roughly four pounds (about 16 cups) a typical person eats in a day, can be a quarter or a third of all they can eat in a day.

Feathers are very effective at keeping chickens warm.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I feed scratch every day of the year which includes corn. I feed 1 cup for 16 birds, or 1TBSP/bird. I now am feeding about 18.5% feed & the scratch is 9%. They don't need corn to warm them, but they enjoy it. I am not so uptight about exactly what my chickens get every day. I just watch them & the # of eggs I get to judge their health. Good luck.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

What are your temperatures? I feed Kalmbach's 20% protein Flock Maker year round, but when it gets in the negative digits I use Kalmbach's 22% Game Feed mixed in that way I am not sacrificing nutrition. However, the most important thing for our winters here is to offer a separate waterer with electrolytes to keep them hydrated when it gets below zero. While the coldest my thermometer has read since being here was only in the -20's our problem here is the almost daily 20-40mph icy winter winds coming across the river in our open valley. It gets to the point where -20F actually feels warm when we get lucky and have a day without strong icy winds billowing across the river at -40 wind chills. At the end of the day how you need to prepare for winter really just depends on where you live. When we lived at our old house simply feeding 20% Flock Maker was sufficient because the coldest it ever got was 10F.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I would normally jump into this conversation, but I don't have winters - so rather than deal with the inevitable rejections of my opinion based solely on my location, I will volunteer only that the research does not support extra corn (or scratch, which is often 50%+ corn) in winter (or pretty much any other time).

If you care about the research, its easy to find. If you don't, my opinion about it's findings is even less authorative.

 

[Nyhillbillies]

I would normally jump into this conversation, but I don't have winters - so rather than deal with the inevitable rejections of my opinion based solely on my location, I will volunteer only that the research does not support extra corn (or scratch, which is often 50%+ corn) in winter (or pretty much any other time).

If you care about the research, its easy to find. If you don't, my opinion about it's findings is even less authorative.

Always humble….

I value your opinion, Storm, and your willingness to offer it, even if you suspect the outcome!

 

[WthrLady]

We get brutally cold here, so I do add cooked veg first thing in the morning and sometimes again in the evening. We use scratch in the afternoon, but only sparingly. And their food and an apple in the morning. As always fresh water.
We put fresh food on ropes and hanging baskets, this makes them work for their food and not only helps with boredom but gets them up and moving.
Our high was only 22'F today, and we're near 0F at night (not including the wind).
We get down to -18F not including the wind in the winter.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Always humble….

I value your opinion, Storm, and your willingness to offer it, even if you suspect the outcome!

For those who want to look at the research, the brief answer is that a chicken actually generates more heat converting carbs to energy than in converting fat to energy. and yes, fat does have an insulating effect (to a point) in that it protects more water rich tissues from the effects of more direct exposure - but as all of us who have butchered our own chickens know, chickens don't put on fat like we (and other mammals) do, most fat is stored around the organs, not in the muscles or big subcutaneous levels (like around my waist).

So if insulation and heat management is your goal, you want your chickens eating fatty foods like corn and seeds summer and early fall to put on fat (most of which won't actually insulate the body, just the organs), and you want them eating lower fat, higher carb feeds during winter and early spring for heat production.

Of course, turning protein to energy generates even more heat than turning carbs into energy, so the best thing you can do is avoid low protein, high fat feeds like corn and offer a higher than minimal protein ration year round....

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I would normally jump into this conversation, but I don't have winters - so rather than deal with the inevitable rejections of my opinion based solely on my location, I will volunteer only that the research does not support extra corn (or scratch, which is often 50%+ corn) in winter (or pretty much any other time).

If you care about the research, its easy to find. If you don't, my opinion about it's findings is even less authorative.

Here in CT winters, I offer BOSS, and I will add some warm water and oatmeal to their feed on really cold mornings and evenings. Electrolytes to the water as well.