Would 5-grain Scratch help with warmth?

[Trazom]

This is so odd, NatJ!

I’m sitting here reading your words about heated mash. Hubby, across the room, says to me ‘I wonder if the chickens would like warm water added to their pellets tomorrow?’

Um….. hmmmmm…..

We use All Flock type pellets, as we have a rooster as well. Hubby mistakenly bought layer pellets today at TSC. Will we need to take that back?

I believe the added calcium in layer feed can be toxic to roosters and pullets because they aren’t making egg shells.

 

[Trazom]

I use scratch in a hanging game feeder. Our flock ranges during the day, and I use the scratch to keep them straying too far or at least get them to come back to home base a couple of times to keep them close.

Currently, the coop is opened at 10am; the feeder goes off at noon for two seconds and again at 3pm for two seconds. They know the sound of the feeder, so they come running from wherever they are.

I’ll adjust the times as the seasons change.

 

[Nyhillbillies]

I use scratch in a hanging game feeder. Our flock ranges during the day, and I use the scratch to keep them straying too far or at least get them to come back to home base a couple of times to keep them close.

Currently, the coop is opened at 10am; the feeder goes off at noon for two seconds and again at 3pm for two seconds. They know the sound of the feeder, so they come running from wherever they are.

I’ll adjust the times as the seasons change.

Fascinating! Do you have a picture or video of your feeder in action? I would love to see it. How big is your flock? Ours free-ranges too, most days. 1 rooster + 5 hens.

They don’t go far from the house, even though they could (5 acres). Hubby trained them to stay near by setting “boundaries “ by sprinkling feed in certain spots along our tree lines.
He then shakes the feed can and calls to the rooster when its time to go back into the run (large fenced-in pasture where the coop is) about an hour before dark.

Our RING camera inside the coop lets us know when everyone is in, then we go close the popdoor and wish them all a goodnight.

 

[NatJ]

We use All Flock type pellets, as we have a rooster as well. Hubby mistakenly bought layer pellets today at TSC. Will we need to take that back?

One bag of layer pellets (lasting a month or two), when the rooster is already an adult, should not kill him and will probably not even cause problems that you can notice. Some people have roosters that eat layer pellets for their entire adult life and appear to remain healthy.

But of course there are no guarantees, and some other people with roosters DO see problems if the rooster eats layer pellets for an extended length of time.

In general, extra calcium is more likely to cause trouble with young chicks rather than mature chickens, and it is more likely to cause trouble if the layer pellets are the only food available (so a rooster that ranges freely might fare better than a confined rooster, because he has more other things available to eat.) The calcium damage also tends to be cumulative, so it builds up over time rather than appearing immediately.

If you tend to worry about your chickens, you might be happier if you just exchange the feed. I don't know how much trouble that might be for you, or how much you worry about the health of each individual chicken, but both of those will affect what is "best" for you to do.

 

[Trazom]

Fascinating! Do you have a picture or video of your feeder in action? I would love to see it. How big is your flock? Ours free-ranges too, most days. 1 rooster + 5 hens.

They don’t go far from the house, even though they could (5 acres). Hubby trained them to stay near by setting “boundaries “ by sprinkling feed in certain spots along our tree lines.
He then shakes the feed can and calls to the rooster when its time to go back into the run (large fenced-in pasture where the coop is) about an hour before dark.

Our RING camera inside the coop lets us know when everyone is in, then we go close the popdoor and wish them all a goodnight.

16 hens. No roosters. I’ll update with details tomorrow. Really simple setup.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

One bag of layer pellets (lasting a month or two), when the rooster is already an adult, should not kill him and will probably not even cause problems that you can notice. Some people have roosters that eat layer pellets for their entire adult life and appear to remain healthy.

But of course there are no guarantees, and some other people with roosters DO see problems if the rooster eats layer pellets for an extended length of time.

In general, extra calcium is more likely to cause trouble with young chicks rather than mature chickens, and it is more likely to cause trouble if the layer pellets are the only food available (so a rooster that ranges freely might fare better than a confined rooster, because he has more other things available to eat.) The calcium damage also tends to be cumulative, so it builds up over time rather than appearing immediately.

If you tend to worry about your chickens, you might be happier if you just exchange the feed. I don't know how much trouble that might be for you, or how much you worry about the health of each individual chicken, but both of those will affect what is "best" for you to do.

^^^ entirely correct. You will NEVER notice any difference in an adult rooster which consumes layer pellet with the rest of the flock for a month or two.

How do I know? because (for reasons) I don't feed my birds they way I recommend for the typical BYCer. I'm not the typical BYCer. If you look in my now 100+ page "making Lemonade" thread, you will find pictures of birds I've culled from time to time. Feeding layer for a month to an adult Roo closely approximates my feeding of a higher calcium blend to young males between about 10 and 16-20 weeks. There are no visible differences, to the unaided eye, internally or externally, though my young Roos should be more affected (based on the research), or at least, more likely to be affected. The differences are sometimes obvious to my practiced eye when the rooster hits 16 months +/-.

Save yourself the gas money, relax about the one bag, and try not to do it again.

 

[Nyhillbillies]

Thank you, Nat & Storm! We will keep the bag I think hubby wants to mix it with the scratch & corn and still feed them our leftover all-flock.
The next trip to Agway we will get more all-flock type pellets.

 

[Sally PB]

Are you fermenting or just mixing the scratch with warm water and serving?

I just mix their feed with warm water for the mash. Cold water in the summer, when they need a cool treat.

Another advantage to this is that it makes it easy to mix in things that they could use more of, like protein during molting. I know they'll eat the mash, so I add either calf manna or canned fish during hard molts. Like about a month ago, when they looked really scraggly. It was 2-3 times a week, not every day.

 

[aart]

We will keep the bag I think hubby wants to mix it with the scratch & corn

Not a good idea as it will reduce the already minimal nutrition in the layer feed.

 

[NatJ]

We will keep the bag I think hubby wants to mix it with the scratch & corn and still feed them our leftover all-flock.
The next trip to Agway we will get more all-flock type pellets.

So you are currently feeding free-choice all-flock, plus some scratch and corn?
And you are planning to add the layer pellets to the scratch & corn, while still offering free-choice all flock?

That's sounds fine to me. Layer pellets are more nutritious than the scratch or the corn, so using them like scratch should not cause any problems.