When your hen’s laying begins to slow down as they near the autumn molt, a tasty treat can keep them laying just a little bit longer. With some healthy, whole grain ingredients that you can pick up at the grocery store, you can craft this cute blend in mere minutes for your backyard flock! Here is our scrumptious candy corn chicken scratch recipe:
Candy Corn Chicken Scratch
When I walked past the vibrant orange “red” lentils at my grocery store one day, I had the idea to make my hens an absolutely beautiful fall scratch treat. The autumn slow down in laying generally corresponds with the time of year that I enjoy being in the kitchen baking something cinnamony. I really need those fresh eggs from my flock! I’ve discovered that offering a new treat packed with plant-based phytonutrients helps the girls lay just a few more eggs. (Just about anything new and exciting that they greedily devour helps eek out a few more eggs before they hit the height of their molt.)
Candy Corn Chicken Scratch Recipe:
The recipe is given in parts so you can make as little or as much as you want. Simply use the same measuring scoop for each “part”. Amazon affiliate links to products.
1 part whole or cracked corn (non-GMO available)
1 part red lentils
2/3 part pearled barley (sold as pearl or pearled barley)
Directions for Making Candy Corn Scratch Blend: Pour all the ingredients in together and then stir to combine well. Scatter on the ground for your hens or add to the top of their feed for a treat. Store in an airtight container.
Candy Corn Chicken Scratch Layered Jar
Directions for Making a Layered Jar: Place the corn first, add the red lentils, which you may need to increase to 1.5 parts to create the right “candy corn look” and then top with the pearled barley.
Using Up Everything at Once
Since pearled barley and lentils tend to come in 14 to 16 ounce packages (1 pound or about 2 cups), you can use everything up at once by mixing 2 cups of each ingredient together. There is no need to be super strict with the measurements; this is chicken scratch – it will work out! If you’d like to use some of the same colorful ingredients in a different autumn scratch mix, check out our other natural chicken scratch recipes.
Storing Candy Corn Scratch
Because all of the ingredients are shelf-stable, dry whole grains, this scratch blend will keep for up to 4 months. Simply store in an airtight container and feed as needed.
Wholesome, Real Foods from the Grocery Store
This scratch recipe is especially beginner-friendly because everything can be found at most local grocery stores. The red lentils and pearled barley are human food ingredients from the bean & rice aisle while whole corn or cracked corn can be found on the wild bird seed aisle. Chickens will eat both whole and cracked corn but they prefer cracked. Lentils in all colors and barley are both non-GMO foods and non-GMO cracked corn is available. (Afflink)
Do Chickens Eat Lentils?
Yes they do! Red lentils are naturally “soft” in that they are easy break and digest, even when uncooked. Go ahead, nibble on one while you make this scratch blend to see how easy they are to consume raw!
Autumn Fun for Kids!
This is an easy fall activity for children to help with! They will love the vibrant colors and relish tossing this candy corn blend to the hens. This is a lovely item to bring when visiting the family farm at Thanksgiving. Just be sure to double check before feeding GMO corn from the bird seed aisle since many flock keepers feed exclusively non-GMO feeds to their laying hens. (You’ll need to order the non-GMO corn or substitute freeze dried non-GMO corn, dried yellow peas, or non-GMO, unflavored popped popcorn, which ingredients are also available at many grocery stores.)
‘Tis the Season to be Fall-y
This simple scratch recipe makes a fun and festive gift for a chicken keeping friend! Simply layer the ingredients in a glass jar and tie with autumn colored baker’s twine. I used orange and kraft baker’s twine. (Afflinks)
What if My Hens Waste Some of the Scratch?
The best part about using whole grains is that anything spilled will sprout when exposed to moisture. All colors of lentils (including the red used in this recipe) and even pearled barley will develop roots and produce microgreen shoots. Cracked corn will not sprout but whole corn kernels will. Your hens will eagerly gobble up the swollen, sprouting grains as soon as they find them so don’t worry if they seem to be ignoring one of the ingredients. It will be readily eaten once it sprouts!
Balanced Feed + Scratch Blend
If your hens are penned and you’re worried about them getting too many treats, here is an easy solution! Combine 1 cup of the candy corn scratch with 9 cups of their commercial feed. This creates a blend that is only 10% treats, which is the recommended amount of scratch for always-penned hens who get no free range time. You can find more info in our article on mixing balanced feed + scratch recipes.
Tell Me What You Think!
My flock of colored egg layers devours all my homemade scratch and feed blends. They LOVE when I’m experimenting in the farmhouse kitchen with some new creation for them! The feathered piggies in my coop don’t seem to be too picky, but they insist I never add enough meal worms. If your flock loved this treat or you have a blend you love, let us know in the comments below!
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Old-Fashioned Chicken Feed Recipes from Antique Books
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