Feeding extra grains

Ideally, poultry should get access to a balanced, quality feed before scratch grains or food treats.

Scratch grains include wheat, barley and maize (corn) and are the traditional image of feed for chickens.

However, grains are very low in essential nutrients and are a poor source of protein.

Barley is poorly digested by poultry. It is used in commercial feeds but they add special enzymes to aid its digestion and absorption.

Whole maize is not as useful to a bird as kibbled or cracked maize. These quite large, very hard kernels often pass through the digestive system whole. It is the lowest protein content of all grains but highest in energy terms.

New Zealand-grown grains are also deficient in necessary micro-ingredients like selenium and biotin (due to our soils). These are always added to commercial feeds to avoid deficiencies.

Ideally, scratch grains should be limited to 10g per bird per day. The best way to use them is as an enticement to get your flock home to roost.

Free range birds which are only fed wheat or other grains in addition to what they can forage will often lay at a much lower level than what they are capable of. It can stunt their annual production to less than 100 eggs, when most breeds can lay two to three times that on a quality diet.

Birds fed a diet of 50-50 mix of pellets and scratch grains that aren’t producing well will respond if the ratio of pellets is taken up to near optimum levels (90 per cent) or if they are supplemented with high protein and fat.