Scratch and Peck Whole Grain Starter Mash Chicken and Duck Feed - Corn-Free and Soy-Free - 20.5% Protein, Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified Chicken Food - 50 lbs Bag

I've ordered Scratch & Peck feeds 3 or 4 times now and my chickens have gone crazy for it since day 1. You can definitely tell the difference in your flock when you give them a quality feed vs. the mass produced highly-processed crap they sell in most feed stores (the biggest difference that I've noticed is in the smell of their poop - much less potent when on this stuff). I love that you can actually see the grains in this feed, but the downside is that the chickens will pick out their favorites and leave the rest (at least that's been my case). There is some powder in this feed as well, which is more difficult for them to eat. You could add water to the powdery stuff and give it to them as a mash, but what I've been experimenting with recently is fermenting feed. I'm down to the last bit of the bag on their current feed, so much of my experimenting has been with the powder or bits that they "rejected", but you can ferment all the feed if you wish to do so (which I plan on doing with the next bag that I get).If you're not familiar with fermenting feed, here's a quick run-down:There are tons of benefits to fermenting - the process produces what are essentially probiotics (healthy bacteria) that promote digestive health. I've also read that the components of the feed are better utilized by the chickens' bodies after the feed is fermented - they don't have to eat as much to get the nutrients that they need (which saves you money, essentially, because it takes them longer to get through a bag of feed). Since fermentation produces a wet feed, they also don't require as much water. From the first day of offering this feed to them after it had fermented, I've noticed that their poop is well formed for the most part (not runny) and there is nearly no stink to it (yay!). Others have also reported healthier looking feathers and less illness (I haven't been fermenting long enough to see these benefits in my flock yet).The fermentation process is pretty simple - you just place some feed into a vessel/bucket, add a source of healthy bacteria (I use apple cider vinegar with "the mother"), and add enough water to cover the feed. You can also add other things to the mix that you would normally feed them (kitchen scraps, etc), though I haven't tried adding other components yet. Loosely cover the container (so gasses can escape & air can get it - you don't want to leave the container completely uncovered or it'll attract bugs... unless that's what you're going for, lol) and place the container in a location where it is somewhat warm and dark. After a day or two, you should notice the odor change to kind of a sour scent (if you've ever made sourdough bread or worked with a sourdough starter, it's along those same lines) and it'll get frothy - when this has occurred, it's ready to feed to the flock. If your birds are adults, it may take a day or two for them to "accept" it, though mine didn't really have an issue with it. There are tons more details about fermenting in the forum of the Backyard Chickens website - one of the threads on there is over 1000 pages long, lol (just search for fermented feed).From what I've seen, fermenting is definitely the way to go - it keeps the flock happy & healthy and it stretches the feed budget (win-win-win). This feed on it's own is great, but fermenting just takes it to the next level.

Great product, quality ingredients

Our chickens love this feed!For anyone else interested in fermenting this feed to make it even more nutritious for your ladies and increase the quality of their eggs, it is extremely simple.Just add equal parts feed and water to a glass jar and shake it up a couple times throughout the day to keep it mixed. For the lid I use the white plastic Ball lids but you can use any standard lid, just let it vent a little here and there to keep it from getting too carbonated.After ~48 - 72 hrs it will be ready and look similar to what I have shown in the photo for this review.BONUS Tip! If you make your own milk Kefir at home, add ~1/4c of Kefir for every 4 cups of feed + 4 cups of water. This will help speed up the fermentation process, increase the probiotics and bioavailability of nutrients, and also prevent mold from growing on your fermented feed!I had issues with mold growing on top of the feed if I forgot to shake/stir it once per day, but our home made goat kefir completely eliminated the problem! Now we can leave our fermented feed on the counter for weeks and weeks without any issues of mold growing.Making goat or cow Kefir at home is also a very easy process. You can purchase high quality grains on Etsy and make sure to use a small amount of grains m (~0.5 - 1 tsp per 2-4 cups of milk) and unpasteurized milk which you can get from a local farmers market.

Yes this feed is on the expensive side, but it contains no fillers or junk. My ladies like it best if it's "fermented", which in my case means mixing in a Mason jar, 1 1/2 cups of feed with enough water to cover, putting the lid on loosely and letting it sit overnight, or for 24 hours. The grains swell and all the fines are absorbed and when you give it a good stir, it makes a mash my ladies can't resist. That jar full will usually last me for two feedings for my four hens. That's a cup and a half of food for 4 chickens over two days, which is pretty great! So, my kind of expensive feed lasts quite a while and none of it goes to waste, so that's a pretty good value for the money . My hens also free range during the day and do get treats like dried black fly larvae and dried crickets as well. I get four beautiful, hard shelled eggs every day! I do recommend this feed if you use it "fermented", or soaked. Straight from the bag it can seem wasteful because there is some dust and fine particles that aren't easily consumed from a trough feeder, which is what I use.

Have been feeding my five ladies the new food for just under two weeks. The “ladies” appear to like it better when I mix in fresh greens, fruit (apple), squash and cooked rice. Adding warm water to all making a “mash” is their favorite breakfast dish.