Chicken scratch can provide your flock with an alternative form of layer feed, helping them become more relaxed and developing trust between each other and you. Furthermore, it can serve as a treat.
Chicken layer feed should only constitute a small proportion of your flock’s diet. Its scientific formulation ensures it provides them with all of the essential vitamins and minerals.
Contents
It is a treat
Scratch is a high-calorie, low-protein treat that can help chickens stay healthy and increase egg production. But, too much scratch can dilute your flock’s main meal of pellet or mash feed, leading to less nutrition being provided and ultimately leading to problems such as depressed demeanor, dirty eggs or lack of energy in your flock.
Early farmers would often give leftover grains and seeds to their chickens as a means of reducing waste and stretching their regular chicken food supply, keeping the birds busy in cold weather conditions when roaming outside was impossible. Today, homesteaders can purchase ready-made scratch mixes containing organic non-GMO grains; or alternatively they can make their own using ingredients from home or local feed stores – saving both money and providing an opportunity to supplement daily meal needs with this cost-cutting tactic.
It is a supplement
Scratch can be useful in keeping your flock warm during frigid winter nights or for an occasional treat, but should never form part of their daily diet. Chickens require an appropriate and well-balanced diet in order to remain healthy and produce high quality eggs and meat production; without enough nutrients, chickens may stop laying or produce inferior-quality eggs altogether, as well as display changes in behavior or demeanor.
Scratch mix (chicken scratch) is a mix of small grains like cracked corn and oats with added ingredients like sunflower seeds that is fed free-choice to your flock. While this food may resemble bird seed or muesli, its nutritional profile does not compare favorably with commercially fortified chicken feed; too much scratch mix could dilute their diet and cause health issues in your flock.
It is a source of energy
Historically, farmers would feed their poultry flock leftover livestock grains mixed with grass clippings and insects from pasture, known as scratch. As scratch feed doesn’t provide many essential proteins or essential dietary elements like calcium or protein, its use should be limited and its higher carb content could result in lower egg production.
However, poultry feed remains an effective means of providing extra energy and nutrition to your flock of poultry. Furthermore, it helps stave off boredom in the coop while simultaneously decreasing problems like pecking feather plucking or egg eating.
A top quality scratch mix should contain no additives, chemical flavorings, or GMOs; rather it should include ingredients like cracked corn, rolled or hulled wheat, barley, oats and sunflower seeds. You could even create your own mix for greater control of its contents.
It is a source of protein
Scratch mixes are made of cracked corn and other grains that provide additional calories and proteins for chickens, providing extra calories and proteins they may otherwise lack. As it’s unbalanced, however, so it should only be given on occasion; just like feeding children too much candy! Originally developed by early farmers who fed any extra grain or seeds to their flocks so as not to waste any. These mixes can now be purchased from most farm supply stores.
Scratch mix typically consists of cracked corn, millet, barley, wheat oats sunflower seeds milo or rye for chickens to enjoy as treats and provide extra proteins fiber and fat for them. You may also add vitamin and mineral supplements in powder or pellet form but these often sink to the bottom and end up wasted; so only feed this mix as part of 10% of their diet after they have had their regular layer feed has been eaten up by your flock.
