What should scratch contain or not contain?

[Vincentville farm]

My daughter and I were looking at all the different scratch options on the market. I want to feed my chickens a good scratch without breaking the bank. What should a good scratch contain? What things should I make sure it doesn't contain? I have been feeding one from our Grange Cooperative: ingredients - cracked corn and whole wheat. My daughter is feeding Red River Commodities Pecking Order 5 grain scratch chicken feed: ingredients - corn, wheat, milo, black oil sunflower seeds, flaxseed and boonworms. Which items are a 'must' and which are 'window dressing'?
I feed black soldier fly larva separately.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Scratch in itself, regardless of ingredients isn't a MUST. The more they get the more the entire nutritional profile of their intake is diminished. Almost all chicken feeds are complete feeds providing all the nutrients they need to be egg layers, generally speaking. Scratch grains are desired by chickens but they don't need them. They are always quite low in protein and especially some of the essential amino acids. Perhaps adequate levels of B complex vitamins and a few others but possibly low in some minerals. The bottom line is that since chicken feed is adequate, feeding scratch will reduce some necessary nutrients if they get more than 5% of their intake in that form.
To answer your first question, as with almost all food stuffs the greater variety of seeds, potentially the greater variety of nutrients in the mix.
In the one she feeds, the boonworms and the flax will have several nutrients not in the other things. While black oil sunflower is higher in protein, the high level of fiber tends to negate that advantage.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Apart from the rare days when I am super low on feed for a day, my birds rarely get much scratch at all. But the one I get has 6 or 7 different things in it, depending on if you count whole amd cracked corn as 1 or 2 things. I figure while it's not a good staple, odds are that the more variety, the less bad it is for them

 

[saysfaa]

All of it is window dressing.

I use oats and/or wheat and/or rye sold at the local feed store for planting fields. It costs about $7 for 50 pounds, if I remember the numbers correctly, something like that anyway. Since the chickens don't get enough to unbalance their diet, I don't worry that the nutritional profile might (or might not) be better with more elements.

If I wasn't planting grains then I'd use any of these or other grains. Except corn, because their feed has so much corn in it. I also like the smaller grains for tossing out as scratch - more pieces for them to hunt for so more value as scratch.

 

[SueT]

Red River Commodities Pecking Order 5 grain scratch chicken feed: ingredients - corn, wheat, milo, black oil sunflower seeds, flaxseed and boonworms.

That sounds good. I like DuMor 5 grain scratch. It has corn, wheat, sunflower seeds, barley, and milo. My chickens like it. It’s not dusty like some of the others. It has a lot less milo than than the cheaper kinds that only have 3 grains. (My chickens don’t like the milo very much.)
Any scratch feed is a treat and should not be more than 10% of their diet. It’s easy to start throwing in handfuls and exceed that 10%…and then wonder why they aren’t eating their regular feed…

 

[Penpal]

Go to an elevator/feed mill to get your grains. It will be much cheaper. Scratch corn has had the germ removed, making it a no protein food. I wouldn't feed it. If your chickens like corn, buy a bag of whole corn. Add to that whole oats or whole wheat. Sunflower seeds are nice but pricier. Don't give them much. Use it as a reward for coming to you when you call them.

 

[K0k0shka]

Scratch is chicken candy. They don't need it and it can be harmful in large amounts (chicken obesity leads to fatty liver disease which can kill them). So when they get it it should be infrequently and in small amounts, and since it's candy (a treat) and not real nutrition, then it doesn't really matter what's in it. I like to go for more variety, for reasons already mentioned, but I don't feed scratch regularly at all. Maybe a few times a month, for bonding and socialization purposes.

 

[Vincentville farm]

Scratch is chicken candy. They don't need it and it can be harmful in large amounts (chicken obesity leads to fatty liver disease which can kill them). So when they get it it should be infrequently and in small amounts, and since it's candy (a treat) and not real nutrition, then it doesn't really matter what's in it. I like to go for more variety, for reasons already mentioned, but I don't feed scratch regularly at all. Maybe a few times a month, for bonding and socialization purposes.

Thanks for the guidance.

 

[EddieSalita]

Take the $20 you would have spent on scratch and buy 50 tins of sardines. Feed one or two a week. Or a bunch of walnuts. You chickens will love you more, and be healthier for it.
The longer I keep chooks, the more I realise the people here are correct. Scratch is just kinda pointless. Spend the money on a more premium proper feed. Or something that will ultimately add to your chickens health.