what is your cold weather scratch mix?

[vjbakke]

We will be mixing our own organic scratch mix. I know it is still summer but I like to know what to buy to mix now to plan for later. We order thru azure standard. We are thinking of using these for our winter mix. ( we live in MN )

organic corn, BOSS, organic whole oats, organic barley

Any suggestions?

 

[vjbakke]

anyone? Do you mix equal parts? What will help keep them the warmest when is cold? ( -15 or more)

 

[Fred's Hens]

Honestly? The elephant in the room here this. The whole "corn keeps them warm at night" thing is considered a myth or old wives tale.

I'm quite sure some scratch recipes are better than others, nutritionally speaking, but typically aren't complete anyhow, so ...... But I do I hope you get some good scratch recipes. Making feeds is fun, I agree.

 

[Chris09]

I use the same Scratch Mixture in the winter as in the summer.

When I used to mix a Scratch it was.
50 lbs Whole Oats
25 lbs Whole Corn
25 lbs Whole Wheat

As of now I just use a pigeon grain mix that is.
Canadian Peas, Popcorn, Austrian Peas, Wheat, Oat Groats, Milo, Red Millet, Maple Peas
Crude Protein, not less than 17.00%
Crude Fat, not less than 2.00%

Chris

 

[Amethyste]

There's a cold weather version ? lol

I just give them same I do all the time but just add a bit more corn and BOSS. So they get horse oats, steel cut oats, 3 grain scratch, cracked corn, raisins/cranberries, dried veggies <crumbled >, and BOSS all mixed together. I get a harvest mix from the feed store I mix in that has all kinds of seeds and dried fruits and veggies added in, so I will often add one of those bags into the mix as well.

And in the winter, I will often mix this with yogurt or warm water to make it into a warm mash type thing and add in crushed peas and cooked beans for protein.

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
I like this recipe. Our scratch is pretty close to this.

To comment on Fred's mentioning of the myth surrounding corn, I believe the carbs in the corn do supply energy to keep the chickens warm throughout the night, but do not actually raise body temp.

 

[mjohnston]

What is BOSS?

 

[galanie]

Quote:
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. I had to ask too at first

 

[vjbakke]

I don't make my own feed, we also don't feed " scratch" in the summer. We give some boss for a snack sometimes flax seeds. Mainly grass and greens are their snacks. Just looking for ideas on what to mix up for them when I gets cold so they have something else besides their pellets. I had read that some whole grains could help them stay warmer? I will be ordering the grains to mix up in the next few months.

 

[Nicole01]

I'll give them what I make now. It's cracked corn, sunflower seeds, dried oats and peanuts. We may buy a flock block for winter for something to pick at. Our run will be designed for winter where snow can't get in and they can use all year round. Our coop is 100% insulated and we are buying a 250 watt ceramic heat emitter for the coop. This should keep the girls warm. Our coop is also inside our garage, so I don't have to trek through the snow to get there.