what is the importance of SCRATCH in a chickens diet??

[mitchell3006]

Scratch serves the purpose of giving the birds something to do. Fowl normally don't stand in one spot and eat their fill from a trough. In a more natural state, they normally spend most of their day searching for food. This involves scratching for seeds and bugs. Scratch replicates this. It is normally given as a treat and not the main meal.
Use the scratch to get your birds to turn over their litter and as a treat to get them back in the evenings if they range. Use smaller amounts of corn than most commercial mixes and stay with whole grain. Think of it in stimulating their natural instinct and not so much as a food source, and it will work better for you.

Mark

 

[Hinotori]

I mix dry COB with BOSS for a scratch. They get a little bit at night to encourage them into the run earlier. They will probably get a little more and more scattered come spring when I can't let them free range because the eagles come back for nesting.

 

[lorain's fids]

Quote:
What is BOSS?
And also since all these grains are hard-do they need to be put in the food processor-and I seen adding corn --is that the same type of loose corn that we buy for popped corn, or is it a special corn for animals.

Thank you everybody for the info you supplied about scratch!!

 

[LarryPQ]

Black oil sunflower seeds.

 

[PHILMAN]

Quote:
Shell on or off ?

 

[allpeepedout]

I feed whole oats for scratch, for higher protein other health benefits compared to corn-based scratch. Oats are a super health food, and I always have them on hand for horses, so it's simple. I didn't start feeding scratch until my chickens were about 3 months. Nothing seems to be "cheap," especially BOSS. Wish it were.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
Shell on. They just swallow them whole.

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

All my chickens are in portable pens, so I throw them scratch in the mornings to get them scratching through the grass. It also supplements their diet so they don't eat as much expensive mash, although they still eat plenty of mash for their nutritional requirements.

I feed whole oats and wheat most of the time because that is what the mill has, and sometimes whole corn if it is cold (though rarely, it is very easy to pick up and gives them little to do. Cracked corn is good).

Scratch is also great if your coop litter is damp or getting compacted because it encourages the chickens to scratch it all up looking for food.

MW

 

[darkmatter]

A bag of scratch lasts me forever, I place a scoop of scratch in my "chicken bucket" which resides in the kitchen. All day long kitchen fixins such as peels, cooking liquids, and leftovers get added to it. The scratch absorbs cooking grease/liquids etc. In the morning I toss it out in the chicken run when I let the chickens out of the Coop. Put another scoop in the bucket and repeat. I occasionally toss a scoop into the coop to encourage them to turn over the deep litter compost------not that they need much in the way of encouragement.

 

[mitchell3006]

I prefer whole grains to make up scratch. You can buy them at the feed store where you by your chicken feed. Popcorn costs too much. Just buy whole feed corn. Chopped corn looses what little nutritional value it has too quickly unless fed soon. Looking at your signature line says that shouldn't happen because you haven't been bitten yet. Wait till you have a couple hundred to feed.
The grit takes the place of the food processor. If you have ever felt a gizzard then you realizes it is one massive crushing muscle. It will take the whole grain and grind it well for the bird.