Creating a homemade chicken scratch recipe is an excellent way to provide your backyard chickens with a balanced diet while saving money on feed costs. My daughter learned how to make chicken scratch from an online homesteading course she took a few years ago, and I'm happy to share it here.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
What is Chicken Scratch?
Chicken scratch includes a variety of ingredients, including grains and seeds, to provide energy and encourage natural foraging behavior in backyard chicken flocks. Scratch grains include whole grains and seeds designed to supplement regular chicken feed. It offers a variety of nutrients that can help keep your chickens active and healthy,
Chicken scratch shouldn't replace regular feed for meat chickens or layer feed for egg-laying chickens. These feeds are carefully balanced to meet chickens' exact nutritional needs.
Instead, chicken scratch serves as a treat or supplement, offering extra nutrients and variety. We fed our 40+ cold-hardy chickens this occasionally to supplement their diet. We also fed them regular chicken feed, table scraps and their fermented chicken feed.
Chicken Scratch vs. Chicken Feed
Chicken feed is the primary source of nutrition for chickens. It's balanced with a specific mix of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, ensuring proper nutrition for egg production and growth.
Chicken scratch, on the other hand, contains more carbohydrates and less protein. Remember, use it to supplement regular chicken feed, not to replace it.
Differences Between Chicken Scratch and Chicken Feed
Chicken scratch contains whole grains and seeds and is a supplement or treat. It often includes cracked corn, oats, flax, chia, or black sunflower seeds.
Chicken feed, on the other hand, is the main diet for chickens. It's created with exact amounts of nutrients and often comes in feed bags from local feed stores.
Why Make Homemade Chicken Scratch?
Making your scratch allows you to control the ingredients and avoid unhealthy fillers in some commercial products. You can ensure more wholesome ingredients by sourcing whole grains and seeds from local farms or bulk suppliers. Creating homemade chicken scratch can save you money and give your chickens a wider variety of trace elements.
When we had a large flock of chickens, we fed them scraps and kept the chicken scratch for special occasions. Sometimes, I'd combine the leftover scratch mix with some bacon fat to up their fat content.
I felt a good diet went a long way to making a good egg layer! We also made flock blocks for them to pick at. I wanted to make sure they were well-fed.
Homemade Chicken Scratch Recipe
Here's a basic homemade chicken feed recipe that uses common ingredients found at local feed stores. It provides a good balance of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to support your chickens' diet.
Ingredients
- 1 part cracked corn
- 1 part whole oats
- 1 part wheat
- ½ part black oil sunflower seeds
- ¼ part flax seeds
Instructions
- Mix the cracked corn, whole oats, wheat, and black oil sunflower seeds in a large container.
- Store the mix in an airtight container to keep it fresh and moisture-free.
- Scatter small portions of the scratch grain mix on your coop floor or in your chickens' yard.
Feeding Guidelines for Chicken Scratch
Feeding chicken scratch in small amounts is crucial to avoid overfeeding and health problems. Limiting chicken scratch to about 10% of your chickens' diet is a good idea.
Offering too much scratch can lead to obesity, digestive system issues, and decreased egg production. For best results, scatter the scratch grains in small portions on the coop floor or yard, allowing your chickens to scratch and forage for the treat.
The Benefits of Homemade Chicken Scratch
Making your own chicken scratch has several benefits. It encourages your backyard chickens to exercise and maintain a healthy body temperature during winter months.
The additional body heat generated from digesting scratch grains can help keep backyard flocks warm during colder weather. Homemade chicken scratch can also be tailored to meet specific nutritional needs, like adding calcium carbonate for stronger eggshells or ferrous sulfate to boost iron intake.
Additional Tips for Homemade Chicken Scratch
To add variety to your homemade chicken scratch recipe, add kitchen scraps. Our girls loved lettuce and leafy greens, fruit peels, and vegetable trimmings, which helped reduce our kitchen waste, too.
If you're concerned about your chickens' health, try mixing in small amounts of chicken scratch with regular feed for a few days. But remember, save scratch grains for special treats to avoid overfeeding. Use a small handful of scratch to reward your chickens for good behavior.
How to Make Chicken Scratch FAQs
Got questions about making chicken scratch that aren't answered here? Leave it in the comments and I'll answer!
Is Chicken Scratch Healthy for Chickens?
Chicken scratch is healthy when used as a supplement to regular chicken feed. It provides extra energy and encourages natural foraging behavior. However, feeding too much scratch can lead to health problems, so following recommended limits is essential.
How Often Should I Feed My Flock Scratch?
Feed chicken scratch in small portions, at most once or twice a week. It should be at most 10% of your chickens' total diet. This will help maintain a balanced diet and prevent health issues.
What Are the Best Ingredients for Homemade Scratch?
The best ingredients for homemade chicken scratch include cracked corn, whole oats, wheat, and black oil sunflower seeds. For additional nutrients, you can add kitchen scraps, like leafy greens and fruit peels.
These ingredients offer a wide variety of vitamins and trace elements, making them a great way to supplement your chickens' diet.
Chicken Scratch for a Nutritional Boost and Treat
Making your own chicken scratch recipe is a great way to provide a balanced diet for your backyard chickens. By controlling the ingredients and feeding in small amounts, you can ensure your chickens stay healthy and active.
Remember to use chicken scratch as a supplement, not a replacement, for regular chicken feed. With proper nutrition, your chickens will reward you with healthy eggs and a happy flock.
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