Summer scratch

[halo]

The question from newbies has never been about corn having energy or carbs, is that corn HEATS BIRDS UP. It does not, it never has, and it never will. As was stated, most all poultry feed is basically ground corn with vitamins and minerals and protein added. If oats were so much better for them, then poultry feed would be ground oats. It isnt.

My birds eat the same corn based poultry layer mix winter and summer. They eat far less in the summer, not because it heats them up, but because they are outside for the majority of the day and fill up out in the fields. I dont have a single bird that eats so much that they are fat. They eat what they need.

I make a scratch mix similar to what speckledhen has. I buy a local scratch mix, which is cracked corn, millet, and wheat berries. Ill add whatever I can get cheaply, the cheap wild bird mix at Tractor supply that is filled with millet that the wild birds wont touch, whole oats, sunflower seeds, and some Calf Manna pellets. I dont feed a lot of it, maybe a scoop or two morning and evening. They get their CORN BASED layer mix free choice.

I have yet to have a bird self combust, even in the hottest days.

 

[Chris09]

I have yet to have a bird self combust, even in the hottest days.

It like the "you cant feed raw rice to chickens" wives tail.
Neither one of the two wives tails will die.


Chris

 

[Kikiriki]

Excellent article that specifically studied oats versus corn in egg layers

http://japr.fass.org/content/3/3/253.full.pdf

Conclusion: oats are better than corn especially if you live in an area where your animals are heat stressed in summer

 

[Kikiriki]

Halo, the main reason corn has been selected is because of how inexpensive it is. I cant count how many articles in which I've seen that as an introductory comment. Commercial interests have a goal of profit and the route to profit is cost cutting. It is an economic decision with a benefit of rapid fat accumulation when percentage is increased.

I agree that when given a choice to free range the chickens will not overeat. My pullets have not increased their feed intake in six weeks and are healthy, well feathered, and dont feather pick. But all the cracked corn in their blend is laying on the ground under the feeder (with the whole sunflowers they have not figured out they can eat! I gather em and crack them for them.. )

Lots of people on here dont get free range their chickens, though, or can only do so for very limited times each day. Their chickens do not equate to yours (or even mine that get three to eight hours).

I'm in FL, too and it is already so bloody hot and humid my three girls have sat panting, so I am very concerned how they are going to handle August. I tried putting out a bottle of ice and you would think it was the grim reaper from the way they avoided it! I left it for days with water so they could get used to it... No joy. Shallow (4 inch high) tote with 2 inches of water got the same reaction.

They are handling the heat better since I took them off grower and started giving them grains, but it is early days yet...

So advice on dealing with heat from a fellow Floridian would be much welcome!

 

[halo]

Advice on handling the heat? Simple. Live oak trees. Its like air conditioning sitting under them.

I dont believe that corn is that much more inexpensive than oats anymore. Last time I checked, cracked corn was $10 a 50#, field oats were $12 a 50#.

 

[speckledhen]

Sorry, corn is not inexpensive, certainly not here! Plain old dusty corn scratch is almost as expensive as my 11-grain Knockout.

Where on earth are you finding cheap corn??

I pay $2 more per 50# bag for Knockout than I do for regular scratch here. There is much more than a $2 difference in nutritional value between those two products.


Yes, good shade trees and cool water are the best ways to handle the heat. I do not change the diet of my birds in summer over winter, even here in Georgia.

 

[Clay Mudd]

Advice on handling the heat? Simple. Live oak trees. Its like air conditioning sitting under them.

I dont believe that corn is that much more inexpensive than oats anymore. Last time I checked, cracked corn was $10 a 50#, field oats were $12 a 50#.

+1 on the oak trees. My portable coops move under the oaks for the summer, and my "real" henhouse is under a huge oak, with a crape myrtle nearby for more shade.

Sorry, corn is not inexpensive, certainly not here! Plain old dusty corn scratch is almost as expensive as my 11-grain Knockout.

Where on earth are you finding cheap corn??

I pay $2 more per 50# bag for Knockout than I do for regular scratch here. There is much more than a $2 difference in nutritional value between those two products.


Yes, good shade trees and cool water are the best ways to handle the heat. I do not change the diet of my birds in summer over winter, even here in Georgia.

I've never brought scratch as such. Even the cheaper brands are usually just corn, wheat, and oats, and cost as much as wheat. Since I mix most of my own feed what "scratch" I use is either a carefully selected mix of grains I have on hand anyway, or whatever I randomly grab, depending.

 

[Chris09]

Halo, the main reason corn has been selected is because of how inexpensive it is. I cant count how many articles in which I've seen that as an introductory comment. Commercial interests have a goal of profit and the route to profit is cost cutting. It is an economic decision with a benefit of rapid fat accumulation when percentage is increased.
I agree that when given a choice to free range the chickens will not overeat. My pullets have not increased their feed intake in six weeks and are healthy, well feathered, and dint feather pick. But all the cracked corn in their blend is laying on the ground under the feeder (with the whole sunflowers they have not figured out they can eat! I gather em and crack them for them..

)
Lots of people on here dont get free range their chickens, though, or can only do so for very limited times each day. Their chickens do not equate to yours (or even mine that get three to eight hours).
I'm in FL, too and it is already so bloody hot and humid my three girls have sat panting, so I am very concerned how they are going to handle August. I tried putting out a bottle of ice and you would think it was the grim reaper from the way they avoided it! I left it for days with water so they could get used to it... No joy. Shallow (4 inch high) tote with 2 inches of water got the same reaction.
They are handling the heat better since I took them off grower and started giving them grains, but it is early days yet...
So advice on dealing with heat from a fellow Floridian would be much welcome!

I don't know about in FL but there is only about a 3 cent difference between Corn and Oats.

As for you birds handling the heat better that would be because you dropped the protein intake.



Chris

 

[bossybetty]

I am glad to see so many of you have so much information to share. That is why I like this site so much, and check it often. But I feel terrible that my question seems to have started a big argument over feed.

I'm sure everyone has a tried and true method or formula that they have found to work for them, and I am sure many of you have a few tips and tricks that have been passed down to you from your relatives or family friends. Its yet another reason why this site is such a wealth of information for rookies like me.

If this line of discussion is a topic that causes discord, then please, by all means, lets talk about something else.

 

[bossybetty]

I don't live in Florida, but I do have a nifty way of cooling my girls.

I have several gallon or half gallon jugs from milk that I wash, and then fill with water and freeze. Then I hang a box fan in the ceiling of their coop and tip it towards them. After the jugs freeze, I stick a frozen jug behind it (or in front depending on your set up), and the fan blows the cooler air on the hens. I set frozen jugs in their shady spot, and they all sit closely to them and keep cool outside. I also dump ice in their metal water dispenser from my freezer, and they love it.

I cant afford to a/c the coop, and this is the best method I have come up with so far. This was after losing bossy betty, by big girl buff, from heat last year.

I would love to hear if anyone else has better ideas!