Making a homemade chicken scratch recipe is an easy way to give your backyard chickens a simple grain treat while saving money on store-bought scratch. 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.
Quick Answer: What's in a Basic Chicken Scratch Recipe?
A basic chicken scratch recipe includes cracked corn, oats, wheat, barley, millet, and sunflower seeds. Mix the grains together, store them in a dry container, and feed a small handful per chicken as a treat after they've eaten their regular feed.
Chicken scratch gives hens something to scratch, peck, and forage for, but it doesn't replace balanced chicken feed.
Table of Contents
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.
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. Before you mix your own grain treat, read my guide to fermented chicken feed if you want another way to stretch feed and support flock health.
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.
When we lived off the grid in Canada's far north, chicken feed took planning. We couldn't just run to town every time the bag got low, so I paid close attention to what our hens ate, how they laid, and how much scratch they got.
Scratch helped keep them busy in winter, but I quickly learned not to treat it as their main feed. A small handful went a long way, especially when the birds had balanced feed, clean water, and grit available.
I felt a good diet went a long way to making a good egg layer. We also made chicken 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 gives your flock a simple treat for scratching and foraging, but it doesn't replace balanced chicken feed.
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.
Dr. Jacqui Jacob of the University of Kentucky warns that scratch grains can dilute a complete feed, so offer scratch only after your chickens have eaten their regular ration.
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 the winter months. The University of Minnesota Extension notes that scratch grains may help reduce boredom and encourage activity in winter, but they still recommend feeding them only in moderation.
The additional body heat generated from digesting scratch grains can help keep backyard flocks warm during colder weather. Don't add mineral supplements to scratch unless your vet or poultry feed specialist recommends it.
For most backyard flocks, balanced layer feed, clean water, poultry grit, and free-choice oyster shell cover the basics. And for more winter flock ideas, see my notes on raising chickens for meat and keeping birds healthy in rough weather.
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. If you keep chickens through long winters, a simple chicken first aid kit also helps you spot small flock problems before they turn into bigger ones
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!
What exactly is chicken scratch?
Chicken scratch is a grain and seed treat for chickens. It gets its name because chickens scratch at the ground to find the scattered grains.
It is not the same thing as chicken feed. Chicken feed gives hens balanced protein, vitamins, minerals, and calcium, while scratch mainly gives extra energy and activity.
What are the ingredients in chicken scratch?
Chicken scratch usually includes cracked corn, oats, wheat, barley, milo, millet, or sunflower seeds. Homemade scratch can also include flaxseed or black oil sunflower seeds in small amounts.
Keep the mix simple. Your hens still need regular chicken feed, clean water, and grit.
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.
What is the best scratch for chickens?
The best chicken scratch is a simple grain mix fed in small amounts. Look for whole or cracked grains such as corn, oats, wheat, barley, and sunflower seeds, without mold, dust, or a stale smell.
For laying hens, use scratch as a treat after they eat their layer feed. Don't use it as the main ration because it doesn't provide complete nutrition.
What are the ingredients in Hi-Pro Chicken Scratch?
Hi-Pro Chicken Scratch ingredients vary by product and market. One Hi-Pro product lists cracked corn, whole milo, and whole wheat, while a Canadian Hi-Pro laying hen scratch listing includes wheat, barley, oats, and corn.
Where Can I Buy Chicken Scratch?
In Canada, you can get Hi-Pro products in-store at Princess Auto stores in Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. If you're shopping online for chicken scratch in the United States or Canada, give (affiliate link) Manno-Pro 7-Grain Ultimate Chicken Scratch a try.
Check the feed tag on your own bag before buying. Chicken scratch is still a treat, even when it comes from a feed store.
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 simple way to give your backyard chickens a useful treat. By choosing clean grains and feeding scratch in small amounts, you can keep your flock active without replacing balanced chicken feed.
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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