Chicken weeding: My free range chickens love scratch grain,

[hedgehog]

2. If you go to your local farm store, you will find 50# bags of chicken feed.

Some varieties are balanced with all the vitamins, minerals and proteins your chickens will need. These are divided into types for chicks (which may or may not also have medications added!), fast growing broilers (they need special feed to support that fast growth) and laying hens.

These varieties come in the form of extruded pellets, extruded crumbles or mash; a simple mix of ground grain with the vitamins and minerals added. I would recommend using a product like this as the basis of your flock's diet to ensure proper nutrition. I find my birds prefer the mash, but some say the use of pellets or crumbles means less waste.

Scratch grains are mixtures of un-ground field corn, oats and wheat kernels. No vitamins or minerals are added. My birds are pastured in the summer, eating grass, weeds and bugs mostly. I scatter some grain on the ground and they enjoy "scratching" to eat it. In the winter, I make sure the bulk of their diet is layer mash to ensure they are getting all they need. I supplement with food scraps and a bit of scratch grain to give them some entertainment. This may or may not be why I've never had any problem with hens picking on each other.

Now - I have NO training in poultry care. Take this with a grain of salt and check with your local Extension or a good guide book for advice. What I do works for me. I would consider the scratch grain to be a treat rather than the basis of a good diet for chickens.

Have fun!