Summer scratch

[Chris09]

Most of the game type feeds contain a mixture of grain and some type of pellet (some will have more than one).

One of the more simpler mixes I've seen was --
16% protein mix -

50 lbs Pigeon Grain with Corn
25 lbs Big 4
15 lbs Whole Corn
10 lbs Black Oiled Sunflower Seed

Chris

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

WOW!

I leave for a while and this place blows up with the same old same old.

Chris has done a great job of stating why corn does not increase body temperature in and of itself. During times of heat we need to provide a feed with HIGHER amounts of indgredients because of decreased feed intake due to the heat. The idea that corn is a "HOT" feed comes from ruminant feeding, feeding high levels of corn, or other starchy grains, can lead to ruminal acidosis.

Jim

 

[speckledhen]

The next best thing to Knockout around here is a Gamecock Conditioner, with 13 grains, I believe, but that stuff is around $16 at the county co-op and $19 at ACE Hardware, who carries Nutrena, which I don't want to buy if I can help it (for personal reasons)


An interesting aside comment about corn, and I really don't know exactly what it means, but here it is: my best broody hen doesn't really dive onto the corn in the Knockout when she isn't broody, but when she is sitting, like now, she scarfs down the corn like it's going out of style. It's almost like she knows she will need the extra fat and carbs to keep her weight up, but that's just my wild guess and I could be way off base about that.


Well, bummer! Just heard from Faithway and they won't give:



Quote:

From: Casey

To: XXXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 10:32 AM
Subject: Re: Message from Faithway Feed Co. Retail

Thank you for contacting Faithway Feed Company.

Our special formula is a trade secret! Our ingredient label lists all base
ingredients.

Thank you
Faithway Feed Company

If you are good with IDing grains, you can look at the picture I posted and tell me what you see in there, though. I'd like to know!

Here's the pic again. I know sunflower seeds, corn, popcorn, oats, some kind of wheat or maybe more than one type, milo, barley and what else do you see besides the protein pellets? I should get a new picture and see if it looks different today than it did three years ago. I know the price has gone up by $2 per bag, of course.

 

[Chris09]

Cyn,

Is there only one type of pellet in the or is there two types?
Form the picture there look like two.

Some of them game feed's and pigeon mixes are like you posted trade secrets and only a hand full of people know the mix and they would rather cut off the right arm than give that recipe out.

Chris

 

[Chris09]

Cyn,

I see around 7 grains in that mix from the picture.

Whole Corn
Pop Corn
Wheat
Oats
Millet
Milo
Black Oil Sunflower Seed

Chris

 

[speckledhen]

Chris, there is a long pellet and one that looks squarish like catfish pellets. It's advertised as 11 grains, so there may be several types of wheat or other grains that they count as separate grains, I'm betting, like they count the two types of corn as two grains.

I poured out some from the last bag into a coffee can lid and photographed it to see any differences from three years ago. Seems basically the same to me:




Once the co-op gave me a gamecock conditioner as a substitute when they were out of Knockout for the same price. It was advertised as having 13 grains and it looked like this but had peas and something else I can't recall in it, plus grit, but it wasn't much different than this at all.

 

[Chris09]

Correct,
There could be
Japanese Millet
Yellow Millet

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hard Wheat
Soft Wheat[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There also could be some Canadian Canary seed in there. (in a picture it could look a lot like wheat)
On the pellet, one is most likely a catfish and the other could be a poultry type pelleted feed (like a starter/grower chicken or a turkey grower pellet)[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I wish they had a good gamefowl mix like that up here in N.E. Ohio. We have to mix stuff up like that. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chris[/FONT]

 

[speckledhen]

I just cannot see paying high prices for dusty 90% corn when I can get this for a couple of bucks more. In the long run, if I have to separate my roosters for any reason, they can eat this straight, just like my crippled rooster, Zane, did. He loved it.

It was hysterical when they substituted the white corn for the yellow for the first time. I poured some in Zane's bowl, he got all excited, looked in the bowl and froze and just stared at it, then looked at me, like, "What did you just give me?".

Then he tentatively took a piece and decided it was his same favorite part.

 

[Chris09]

I know a lot of breeders around here that breed and show White Fowl was looking for White Corn to add to there feed mix instead of the Yellow. I don't know if they ever found a mill around here that sell's it or not.

I know at one time Manna Pro had a feed that they call a "Game Bird Conditioner" mix that had Corn, Oats, Wheat, Black Oil Sunflower Seed, and Calf Manna mixed in. I think nearly everyone around here would use that for roosters and also as a scratch grain. It's to bad they did away with that feed.


Chris

 

[dretd]

Wow, you guys have given me a lot to consider. Storey's Book of Raising Chickens is the name of the book, I think. I cannot locate it at the moment for some reason. I have had to rely on books, well, until I found this awesome site, for information since I have zero experience with chickens prior to getting my current girls two years ago. I really don't have a pool of people to draw information from locally, so I am extremely pleased I found you guys.....

...Should I be adding different grains to their diet, such as oat and barley? What benefits will my hens get from adding grains?

Hi bossybetty. I bet you didn't know you were opening such a can of worms. I guess people have passionate opinions about the feeding of their flock!

Amongst many chicken books, like you, I have Story's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow . If I threw out every book because I didn't like one line that was paraphrased, taken out of context not even knowing who wrote it I would have to toss every book I own including my Bible.

Overall there is a lot of good information in Story's guide so don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Just read what is there and take it in to consideration along with other information. Remember what works perfectly for me with my flock and climate and breeds and husbandry etc may be a bad deal for someone else and visa versa. I never say never and always avoid always when it comes to these things cuz you just never know. I enjoy learning new ideas and techniques from those around me, but that's just me.

Here is the quote from the passage you are asking about: "In summer when energy needs go down, reduce the scratch or switch to whole oats. Preliminary studies at Nebraska and elsewhere show that feeding oats to hens minimizes heat stress and improves egg production in hot weather." (Damerow, 1995, pg 47) Note it doesn't say it causes them to overheat, just reduces heat stress. This is a basic book so there are no footnotes, but I am sure she must have read some study coming out of Nebraska that lead to to make such a bold statement

Just FYI for me, I feed a small amount of scratch to my chickens year-round, increasing the amount substantially when the weather is below freezing. I also feed a layer ration that is 20% protein from a local feed mill that has been formulated for chickens that receive scratch. My chickens free-range weather permitting so they get all sorts of grass and bugs especially in the summer. They have access to granite and oyster shell should they choose to eat it. I also feed them table scraps/leftovers as that is one of their jobs at my home. I do balance the starches (noodles or potatoes) by adding greek yogurt, meal worms or other higher protein thing to the leftovers.

Good luck with your flock!