How to make a better scratch grain mix?

Hello fellow chicken tenders, how do you do?



I have just finished up on my first bag of generic bagged scratch grains and have found value in having available 'treats' to entice my hens to do my bidding when they would rather be out at pasture. A little bit goes a long way, but I am troubled not knowing the source of the grains or how they were processed. I am now embarking on a mission to make a 'better' scratch grain mix that I can source locally.

At its basic elements, scratch grains seem to be made up of corn, wheat, and oats.

What are your favorite 'scratch' ingredients? Are there any healthier alternatives that can be incorporated?

Hi Timothy,
My chickens sure liked sunflower seeds.

I would start with what is available to me locally where i know the source and I like the way it is grown.
That is what I am going to do when we finally get to Georgia.

I have a whole garden that I call the bird garden to supplement feed for my chicken, duck and quail flocks.  I grow sunflowers, wheat, oats, dent corn, pumpkins and beets.

Aimee Bacon wrote:I have a whole garden that I call the bird garden to supplement feed for my chicken, duck and quail flocks.  I grow sunflowers, wheat, oats, dent corn, pumpkins and beets.

That sounds amazing. I want to give this a shot but my local wildlife make me wary. Perhaps I just need to plant enough for both the birds and for furry woodland creatures.

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi Timothy,
My chickens sure liked sunflower seeds.

I tried to grow sunflowers for my chickens this year but the local squirrels made quick work of the seed heads. I can obtain local sunflower seed easily enough luckily.

Timothy Norton wrote:

At its basic elements, scratch grains seem to be made up of corn, wheat, and oats.

I have heard form several people that corn is no better for chickens than it is for humans, so that would be the first thing I would try to replace. Our commercial feed has no corn in it, and they have a bird nutritionist on staff who seems very knowledgeable.

My chickens certainly feel that Russian Kale is an awesome treat!

I supplement my Khaki ducks with soaked wheat as they need more B vitamins. Their wheat goes in the bottom of a water bucket so they have to dunk for it, which also ensures they clean their eyes and nares. However, it takes no time at all for the chickens to realize what's up and want in on the action. They haven't yet gotten up the nerve to dunk their heads to get it, but I sprinkle a little on the ground and they hoover it. I understand that soaking the wheat for 48 hours improves the nutrient value and digestibility, but I honestly don't know if that's just an urban legend.

Yes, anything you can grow, the wild animals will likely want a share of. One year when I actually got some sunflowers to mostly ripen, I hung them under a tarp shelter and the birds still found them!

I made a mix based on locally grown stuff. I ferment mine before serving it, which makes the legumes more palatable I think.
It's roughly something like this:
2 parts wheat
1 part barley
1 part lupins
some peas
around 1 part sunflower seeds
shell grit and kelp

If I were just making a dry scratch mix, I might just do wheat, or a mix of wheat and sunflower.

growing up the mix of choice was mostly ground barley with a bit of whole oats mixed in.  Wheat and corn sometimes added depending on need.  Table scraps.(what I would call the compost bucket today)

I think that nutritionally, the bigger the variety, the more they get of various nutrients. I have basically no compost, as chickens get all my scraps, peels, weedings and various grains and peas that I can source.