stand at the “ snack bar ” in a local urban feed fund looking at an variety of specialty grain might leave you scratching your head . Which are effective for your hens ? How much should you offer to your flock on any devote Clarence Shepard Day Jr. ? And what mixture is nutritionally healthy ?
Chickens inscribe the ground every solar day look for for seed , worm and other tasty dainty . Offering them dough grains , such as snap , ramble or whole grains ( corn , barley , oat or wheat ) , stimulates that behavior while providing them with added food resource . Scratches are a source of mental and physical stimulation — particularly during the winter months when weather conditions reduce the bearing of born kickshaw such as dirt ball , supergrass and seeds . Understanding the content of pelf admixture can help you determine what to take from the buffet at your local feed - supply store .
A countersign of cautiousness : Scratch grain are not mean to be the primary source of alimentation for your muckle . Think of scratch as a limited goody — something hen relish but should not consume in large quantities . Feed mixture are nutritionally balanced resource your hens need for healthy living . They contain nutritionary elements including calcium and protein that support ontogeny and egg production . Chickens need those resources much more than tasty scratch offerings that they will inevitably enthusiastically eat . Shutterstock
Diet Matters
According to Laura Harper , owner of The Urban Chicken store in Raleigh , North Carolina , the fair hen eats about a quarter pound of food a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . Scratch should make up only about 10 percent of that . Any more will affect their nutrient balance .
“ Scratch is so crushed in protein that it does n’t support hen wellness , ” Harper enounce .
As with humans , too much of a well thing is n’t necessarily a respectable affair .
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Robert Litt , owner of the Urban Farm Store in Portland , Oregon , say Gallus gallus eat on for energy , and if you provide cracked corn with untied accession alongside stratum feed , they will eat all their calories in corn . And maize offers only 7 percent protein while prepared chicken provender offer 16 percent protein with corn in the mix .
Chickens that are consuming too much incision can experience extended moulting because of the low-toned amount of necessary protein . A lack of nutritionary balance can also touch egg production and cause birds to become unhealthily fleshy . When hens choose between their regular feed and scratch , the feed lingers unmoved in feeders , attracting mice and rat to your run .
With nutritional penury in mind , Litt and Harper civilise people about the use and offer of pelf . Scratches should not be the only reference of food a small flock receives . Scratches are always treats , and empathise their cognitive content can improve the health of your bird .
Scratch Advice
Here is what Dr. Jacquie Jacob , domestic fowl extension projection manager at the University of Kentucky , suppose about chicken moolah , in “ fertilise Chickens for Egg Production . ”
“ Scratch grains are like Gallic fries ; chickens that run through too many scratch grain have less of an appetency for more nutrient feed , ” Jacob writes . “ If you are using scratch grains , give them to chickens in the good afternoon after birds have rust consummate provender , and then provide only as much scratch grains as chickens can finish up in 15 to 20 minutes . ”
Cold-Season Scratch
During winter months , crack corn whiskey is a good summation to any clams recipe . Cracked corn is a in high spirits - energy saccharide made of starch and sugars . volaille love it . Fed before nightfall on cold days , the corn leave a thermic effect creating heat as it ’s stand . This helps hens stay warm on longsighted wintertime night .
Scratches can also aid bore hens during the winter . frigid months often circumscribe hen activity level , keeping them inside the coop and more sedentary than during other season . During these times , flocks become more turbulent , pecking at one another when boredom sets in . Scratch provides mental and strong-arm stimulation for a small lot .
“ During the wintertime , I propose that citizenry offer wampum in the mannequin of a flock stop or in a plaything that make the girls work hard for the food , ” Harper allege .
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Toys that ask the hen to work hard to obtain the treats promote activity , fight down tedium and keep hens busybodied . Rather than picking on one another , hens will vex out how to get their preferred goody . Shutterstock
Summer Scratch
During the spicy days of summer , eliminate corn from scratch . Because Zea mays stimulates metabolism , it can cause hotness - touch focus for birds . The summer is a time to add alternatives that supply nutrition , such as calcium and protein .
“ summertime incision can contain whole oats to help with heat stress , ” Harper say .
It , along with dried soldier fly larva , which adds calcium , is an splendid resource during the apex egg production Day of summer . harpist sees people mixing their own summer scratch blends by let in flax seed and raisin along with the whole oats . hen that have some innocent - range time in a backyard each day hit the benefits of nature ’s own moolah : new grass , insects , seeds , weeds and more . These fresh local nutrient are great for flock health because hens must work hard to find oneself them .
Mix & Match
Litt and Harper offer their own special blends of premixed , seasonally sore scratch line . Each workshop owner also provides scratch bars with resources for customers to make their own portmanteau word .
Harper intimate a wide compass of ingredients when blend your own . She utilize mealworm , dried soldier vanish larva , oats , barley , straw , flax source — which is mellow in omega-3 for egg laying — helianthus seeds , raisin , kelp and a vitamin / mineral supplement . Harper also intimate making sand usable on a free - provender basis .
Scratch Cautions
chicken — like homo — can become addicted to their favorite scratch food items . Litt pronounce that these hens become pushy , grumpy and demanding , carry and choosing useable scraping over the feed they need for a balanced diet .
Employ a tough - love approaching ; give hen limited admittance to scratches , with their health and well - being in mind . Too much gelt can induce wellness problems including weight gain , longer molts and summer stagnation in egg production .
Litt and his wife , Hannah ( a nanny accoucheuse ) , work to see natural resource for hens that advance better health and egg production . The pair atomic number 27 - wroteA Chicken in Every Yard(2011 ) and have research the habit of natural options for feed and scratches . For instance , Hannah Litt distinguish that inglorious cumin ( nigella sativa ) semen could brook egg production and size . The Litts offer it in a mash so that none of the tiny black seeds are knock off . Their interest includes muscularity for hens . For instance , amaranth is another chicken feed ingredient that can add protein energy .
Robert Litt observe that people often put up henskitchen scraps , such as alimentary paste and lolly . These too have dispirited nutritional value because they do n’t contain much protein . Small meat scrap are a good protein option from the kitchen table .
Some people have begin growing their own scratch . This includes set up fresh fish by sprouting seeds that are fresh and inviting . Litt intimate a windowsill fodder system .
wimp also like ensilage , fermented Green leave from the summer season . ensilage offers helpful probiotic flora that are partially bear and enable chicken keeper to offer greens throughout the wintertime .
Overall , scratches offer benefits in moderateness ; just like us , hens need care and attention when it get to choosing a diet . Seasonal offer can help your biddy have successful molts in the drop and winter and begin the outflow and summer season with secure egg output . Experiment with make your own scrawl by mention what your hen do and do n’t opt .
This story originally seem in the January / February 2018 issue ofChickensmagazine .
