Quick Answer: Chicken scratch is a treat, not a feed: a mix of whole and cracked grains (usually corn, wheat, barley, oats and milo) with 7% to 11% protein and no more than about 0.5% calcium, against 16% protein and 3.25–4.25% calcium in a layer feed like Purina Layena. Purina, Manna Pro and Scratch and Peck all cap scratch at 10% of the diet on their own bags, which works out to about one heaped tablespoon per hen per day. The best buy for most flocks is Purina Scratch Grains, $21.49 for 50 lb ($0.43 a pound) on Purina’s own shop; Manna Pro Scratch Grains for a 10 lb bag; and Scratch and Peck Organic 3-Grain Scratch if you want organic and corn-free. Always offer grit with it.
Scratch is the oldest chicken treat there is, and hens come running for it. That’s the reason keepers use it: to call a flock back into the run, to get birds scratching through bedding, or to tame new hens. It’s also the treat most often overfed, because it looks like food and costs a little less per pound than a good layer feed. We read the tags of six scratch grains from the three biggest scratch brands, priced them on the makers’ own online stores on October 31, 2026, and worked out what the 10% rule means in tablespoons, in bag size and in protein.
Chicken scratch by the numbers
- Scratch has about half the protein of layer feed. Purina Scratch Grains and Manna Pro Scratch Grains both guarantee 8% crude protein, against 16% in Purina Layena. The range across the six we checked runs from 7% (Purina Organic Scratch Grains) to 11% (Scratch and Peck Organic Scratch + Seeds).
- Scratch has almost no calcium. Purina’s scratch tag allows 0.01% to 0.51% calcium, and Manna Pro’s 0.01% to 0.50%. Layena guarantees 3.25% to 4.25%, because that is what a laying hen needs to build shells.
- Every maker caps it at 10%. Purina says its scratch “should not comprise more than 10% of the birds’ diet,” Manna Pro says the same, and Scratch and Peck writes “10% or less of each bird’s diet, no matter their age.” Purina’s Layena tag puts the other side of that rule in writing: feed Layena “as at least 90 percent of the diet.”
- Extension services agree. University of Maryland Extension says scratch “should be about 10% of the birds total daily food consumption” and warns that low-protein grains “dilute the nutrient content of the prepared diet.” Oregon State University’s PNW 477 guide allows a little more: as much as hens eat in about 20 minutes, or 10 to 15 percent.
- A hen eats about a quarter-pound of feed a day, according to Purina Animal Nutrition. That makes the 10% cap about 0.4 oz (11 g) of scratch per hen per day.
- Per pound of protein, scratch costs more than layer feed. On Purina’s own shop, 50 lb of Scratch Grains is $21.49 and 50 lb of Layena is $26.99. Scratch is 11 cents a pound cheaper, but at half the protein that works out to about $5.37 per pound of protein against $3.37 for Layena, roughly 60% more.
- Scratch has a use-by window. Scratch and Peck tells keepers to use its scratch within 9 months of the manufacturing date printed on the bag.
What is chicken scratch?
Chicken scratch, also sold as scratch grains or scratch feed, is a blend of grains thrown on the ground so that hens scratch and peck for it, which is where the name comes from. The usual base is cracked corn and whole wheat, with barley, oats, milo (grain sorghum) or millet added; some mixes add black oil sunflower seeds for fat. Manna Pro’s Scratch Grains, for example, list seven: corn, wheat, milo, barley, oats, sunflower seeds and millet. Scratch and Peck’s Organic 3-Grain Scratch is barley, wheat and oats with no corn at all.
The important word on every scratch tag is what isn’t there. Scratch has no added vitamins, minerals, amino acids or calcium. Manna Pro’s tag says plainly that its scratch “is not fortified,” and Purina calls its scratch grains “a grain supplement, not a complete feed.” A layer feed, by contrast, is a complete ration: the grains are only the base, and the bag adds protein meals, limestone for shells, vitamins and trace minerals.
| Chicken scratch | Layer feed | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | Purina Scratch Grains | Purina Layena |
| Crude protein | 8% min | 16% min |
| Calcium | 0.01–0.51% | 3.25–4.25% |
| Fortified with vitamins and minerals? | No | Yes |
| Role in the diet | 10% or less, as a treat | At least 90%, as the main ration |
| Needs grit? | Yes (whole and cracked grains) | Not on its own |
| Form | Whole and cracked grains | Pellets or crumbles |
Guaranteed analysis from Purina’s product pages, October 31, 2026.
6 chicken scratch grains compared
| Scratch | Grains | Protein (min) | Fat (min) | Calcium (max) | Bag sizes | Price per lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purina Scratch Grains | Grain blend (ingredients not listed online) | 8% | 1.5% | 0.51% | 25, 50 lb | $0.43 (50 lb) to $0.56 (25 lb) |
| Manna Pro Scratch Grains | Corn, wheat, milo, barley, oats, sunflower seed, millet | 8% | 2% | 0.50% | 10, 25, 50 lb | $0.61 (50 lb) to $1.30 (10 lb) |
| Purina Organic Scratch Grains | Organic grain blend | 7% | 2% | 0.51% | 35 lb | $0.86 |
| Scratch and Peck Organic 3-Grain Scratch | Barley, wheat, oats (no corn) | 10% | 1.5% | Not listed | 10, 25, 40, 50 lb | $1.57 (40 lb) to $2.50 (10 lb) |
| Scratch and Peck Organic Scratch + Corn | Barley, corn, wheat | 9% | 1.5% | Not listed | 10, 25, 40, 50 lb | $1.45 (40 lb) to $2.50 (10 lb, out of stock) |
| Scratch and Peck Organic Scratch + Seeds | Barley, wheat, black oil sunflower seeds | 11% | 5.3% | Not listed | 10, 25, 50 lb | $1.90 (50 lb) to $2.80 (10 lb) |
Tags from purinamills.com, mannapro.com and scratchandpeck.com; prices from each maker’s own online store (shop.purinamills.com, mannapro.com, scratchandpeck.com) on October 31, 2026, before shipping. Farm stores often charge less for the big bags.
Farm-store house brands. Tractor Supply’s own scratch is cheaper still: its Instacart storefront listed Producer’s Pride Scratch Grains at $15.49 for 50 lb ($0.31 a pound) and DuMOR 5-Grain Scratch at $21.79 for 40 lb on October 31, 2026. We couldn’t read Tractor Supply’s own tags for either, so check the protein on the bag. Nutrena’s Country Feeds Scratch Grains lists 7.5% protein and the same 10% cap, and two independent feed stores we checked had the 50 lb bag at $15.95 and $16.99.
1. Purina Scratch Grains — Best Value
Purina Scratch Grains
- The cheapest name-brand scratch per pound we found on a maker's own store: $0.43 a pound in the 50 lb bag.
- Purina labels it for adult chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, so one bag covers a mixed flock.
- Tag caps it at 10% of the diet and calls it a grain supplement, not a complete feed.
If you already buy Purina Layena, Purina Scratch Grains is the scratch on the same shelf, and on Purina’s own online shop it is also the cheapest name-brand scratch we priced: $13.99 for 25 lb and $21.49 for 50 lb. The tag is the standard scratch profile: 8% protein minimum, 1.5% fat, up to 4.5% fiber and up to 0.51% calcium. Purina’s feeding note is the useful part. It says scratch can go to adult chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys “to encourage natural pecking and feeding instincts,” and that consumption will vary with the season and with how much else birds can forage. In other words, a free-ranging flock in summer needs very little, and a confined flock in winter is where the 10% cap gets tested. The one gap: Purina’s product page doesn’t list the grains in the blend.
2. Manna Pro Scratch Grains — Best Small Bag and Most Grains
Manna Pro Scratch Grains (7 Grains, Non-GMO Corn)
- Seven grains (corn, wheat, milo, barley, oats, sunflower seeds and millet) give hens more to pick through than a corn-and-wheat mix.
- Sold in a 10 lb bag, the right size for 3 hens who would let a bigger bag go stale.
- Tag says not fortified, 10% of the diet at most, not for birds under 8 weeks, and offer grit and oyster shell.
Manna Pro’s Scratch Grains list all seven grains on the tag, and the mix is the same 8% protein with no more than 0.5% calcium as Purina’s. Its advantage is the 10 lb bag at $12.99, which a three-hen flock will finish in about four and a half months. The pricing is odd: the 25 lb bag is only $3.50 more at $16.49, which halves the price per pound, so buy the bigger bag if your flock will use it within the shelf-life window. The tag is unusually clear about what scratch is. It says the scratch is not fortified, caps it at 10% of the diet, and tells you to put out grit and oyster shell next to it. Manna Pro also makes a 7-Grain Ultimate Scratch at 9% protein with propionic acid as a mold inhibitor, listed at $15.49, though its store doesn’t show the bag weight.
3. Purina Organic Scratch Grains — Cheapest Organic Scratch
Purina Organic Scratch Grains
- Certified USDA Organic, for flocks that need an organic treat to match an organic feed.
- $0.86 a pound, a little over half the price of Scratch and Peck's organic scratch in its 40 lb bags.
- The lowest protein of the six at 7%, so it's a strict treat, not a supplement.
If you feed an organic layer ration and want the treat to match, Purina’s Organic Scratch Grains is the cheapest way to do it: $29.99 for a 35 lb bag on Purina’s shop, or about $0.86 a pound, against $1.45 to $1.57 a pound for Scratch and Peck’s organic scratch in its 40 lb bags. The trade-off is on the tag. At 7% protein it is the leanest scratch we found, so it adds calories and foraging fun but even less protein than standard scratch. Purina recommends it for adult chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys as a treat alongside a complete feed. A 35 lb bag lasts six hens nearly 8 months at the 10% cap, just inside a 9-month window.
4. Scratch and Peck Organic 3-Grain Scratch — Best Corn-Free
Scratch and Peck Organic 3-Grain Scratch
- Corn-free: organic barley, wheat and oats with a little sunflower oil.
- 10% protein, a couple of points above the corn-based scratches.
- Scratch and Peck says to use it within 9 months of the date printed on the bag.
For a keeper who would rather skip corn, Scratch and Peck’s 3-Grain Scratch is the pick. It is certified organic and non-GMO, built on barley, wheat and oats, and its 10% protein is a couple of points above the corn-based scratches. It costs much more, though: $42.99 for 25 lb and $62.99 for 40 lb on Scratch and Peck’s store, or $1.57 to $1.72 a pound in the bigger bags, three and a half to four times the price of Purina’s standard scratch in its 50 lb bag. Scratch and Peck markets this mix for hot weather, saying its slow-digesting grains help birds avoid overheating. We’d treat that as marketing rather than science (see the section on scratch and body heat below); the real reasons to buy it are organic certification and no corn.
5. Scratch and Peck Organic Scratch + Corn — Organic Corn Scratch
Scratch and Peck Organic Scratch + Corn
- The classic corn-and-grain scratch in a certified-organic, non-GMO version.
- Cheapest per pound of the Scratch and Peck scratches: $1.45 a pound in the 40 lb bag.
- Scratch and Peck suggests it for birds 9 months and older. The 10 lb bag was out of stock on October 31, 2026.
This is the organic version of the scratch most people picture: barley, corn and wheat, 9% protein. It’s the cheapest Scratch and Peck scratch per pound, at $57.99 for 40 lb, but still well above Purina’s organic scratch. Scratch and Peck recommends saving it for cold weather “because corn generates heat within the bird’s body,” and suggests feeding it at bedtime. That is the most repeated piece of scratch lore, and the nutrition research doesn’t back it the way it’s usually told. More on that below. As a treat it’s fine. Just keep it to the same tablespoon per hen as any other scratch.
6. Scratch and Peck Organic Scratch + Seeds — Highest Protein and Fat
Scratch and Peck Organic Scratch + Seeds
- Black oil sunflower seeds lift protein to 11% and fat to 5.3%, the highest of any scratch here.
- Corn-free and certified organic.
- The most expensive scratch we priced: $1.90 a pound even in the 50 lb bag.
Adding black oil sunflower seeds to barley and wheat gives this mix the best numbers of any scratch we checked: 11% protein and 5.3% fat, more than twice the fat of the plain grain mixes (1.5% to 2%). That makes it the most calorie-dense scratch per handful, which is the one thing scratch genuinely adds on a cold day. At $47.99 for 25 lb it costs more than three times Purina’s 25 lb bag, so it makes most sense for small flocks that use a 10 lb bag at a time. Even at 11% protein it is still well short of a 16% layer feed, so the 10% cap applies.
How much scratch to feed your chickens
The 10% cap on every scratch bag is a share of what a hen eats, so it helps to turn it into a scoop. Purina puts a laying hen’s intake at about a quarter-pound (113 g) of feed a day, so 10% is about 11 g of scratch. Using standard USDA bushel weights for corn and wheat (56 and 60 lb per bushel), a corn-and-wheat scratch weighs roughly 0.7 g per milliliter, which makes 11 g about one heaped tablespoon.
| Flock size | Scratch per day at the 10% cap | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hen | 11 g (0.4 oz) | 1 heaped tablespoon |
| 3 hens | 34 g (1.2 oz) | 3 heaped tablespoons |
| 6 hens | 68 g (2.4 oz) | A little under 1/2 cup |
| 10 hens | 113 g (4 oz) | About 2/3 cup |
| 12 hens | 136 g (4.8 oz) | A heaped 3/4 cup |
Our calculation from Purina’s quarter-pound-a-day figure. Volumes are approximate: oats and sunflower seeds are lighter than corn and wheat, so a seed-heavy mix takes a slightly bigger scoop for the same weight.
That is a ceiling, not a target, and it covers every treat, not just scratch. If your hens also get kitchen scraps or mealworms and other treats, the scratch has to shrink to make room. A practical check from University of Kentucky poultry specialist Jacquie Jacob: give scratch in the afternoon, after the hens have eaten their complete feed, and only as much as they finish in 15 to 20 minutes. Anything left on the ground overnight is food for rats and mice, and it is the first thing our rat-proofing guide tells keepers to stop doing.
What too much scratch does to a hen’s diet
Hens don’t eat scratch on top of their feed; they eat it instead of some of it. As Jacob puts it, “Chickens eat to meet their energy requirement and will eat less of the complete feed.” Every extra handful pushes out the same weight of layer feed, and with it the protein and calcium. Here is what happens to the whole diet when a flock on a 16% layer feed gets more and more of an 8% scratch.
| Scratch share of the diet | Protein in the whole diet | Calcium in the whole diet |
|---|---|---|
| 0% (layer feed only) | 16.0% | 3.75% |
| 10% (the cap on the bag) | 15.2% | 3.40% |
| 20% | 14.4% | 3.05% |
| 30% | 13.6% | 2.70% |
| 50% | 12.0% | 2.00% |
Our calculation, assuming a 16% protein layer feed at the middle of Layena’s 3.25–4.25% calcium range and an 8% protein scratch at the middle of its 0.01–0.50% calcium range.
At the 10% cap the diet stays close to the bag’s numbers. Past that, calcium falls fast, and calcium is what eggshells are made of. That is why Manna Pro’s scratch tags tell keepers to offer oyster shell to laying birds, and why thin or soft shells in a flock that gets a lot of scratch are a sign to cut back. Protein matters most during the molt, when hens regrow a full coat of feathers. Purina’s Layena tag tells keepers to switch to its 20% protein Flock Raiser during molt, the opposite direction from a 9% scratch. If your flock is molting, it’s a time to cut scratch back, not add more.
Does scratch keep chickens warm at night?
The most common advice about scratch is to feed it at dusk in winter so that digesting the corn keeps hens warm overnight. Scratch and Peck’s Scratch + Corn bag says the same: save it for cold weather “because corn generates heat within the bird’s body.” The same company sells its corn-free 3-Grain Scratch for summer, saying slow-digesting grains help birds avoid overheating. Even some extension writers repeat a version of it: a 2024 University of New Hampshire Extension blog says late-afternoon scratch “will help them generate some body heat overnight as they digest.”
The nutrition research tells a simpler story. All digestion gives off some heat, called the heat increment, but grain starch isn’t a special source of it:
- Protein makes the most digestive heat. A review in World’s Poultry Science Journal (Musharaf and Latshaw, 1999) found the heat increment “is much larger when protein is a source of energy than when carbohydrate or fat are the sources of energy.”
- The numbers in broilers: a 2019 Poultry Science study (Cerrate, Ekmay, England and Coon) found birds kept about 68% of the energy in digestible carbohydrate as net energy, against 86% for fat and 59% for protein. That means about 32% of starch energy is lost as heat, against 14% for fat and 41% for protein.
- That’s why hot-weather feed works the other way round. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that reduced-protein diets “can also reduce the heat increment of the diet and help to reduce heat stress in hot conditions.” No nutritionist adds corn to warm birds up.
University of Kentucky poultry specialist Jacquie Jacob put it most plainly in an Ask Extension answer: “Corn itself does not raise a chicken’s body temperature.” What corn and scratch provide is energy, and a hen burns more energy staying warm in winter. That is a real benefit, but it isn’t special to scratch: hens also eat more of their regular feed when it’s cold, and that feed brings the protein and calcium scratch doesn’t. We found no controlled study that measured hens’ overnight body temperature after a bedtime feed of scratch.
So an evening handful of scratch does no harm, and a full crop at roost time is a reasonable habit in a hard frost, as long as it stays inside the 10% cap. For a real difference in winter, start with a dry, draft-free, well-ventilated coop. Our winterizing guide covers it step by step.
How long a bag of scratch lasts
Bigger bags are cheaper per pound, but scratch doesn’t keep forever. Scratch and Peck says to use its scratch within 9 months of the manufacturing date, and any grain stored warm and damp can grow mold. Moldy corn is one of the real feed hazards for hens. Our corn guide explains why the FDA sets a stricter mold-toxin limit for corn fed to laying hens than for corn fed to meat birds. Here is how long each bag size lasts at the 10% cap.
| Flock size | 10 lb bag | 25 lb bag | 50 lb bag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 hens | About 4.5 months | About 11 months (too long) | About 22 months (too long) |
| 6 hens | About 2 months | About 5.5 months | About 11 months (too long) |
| 12 hens | About 1 month | About 2.7 months | About 5.5 months |
| 20 hens | About 3 weeks | About 1.6 months | About 3.3 months |
Our calculation at 0.025 lb per hen per day (10% of Purina’s quarter-pound figure). “Too long” means past the 9-month window Scratch and Peck prints, which counts from the manufacturing date, not the day you bought it.
So the 50 lb bag only pays off for about 8 hens or more: at 8 hens it lasts a little over 8 months. For 4 to 7 hens the 25 lb bag is the right size (Purina’s is $13.99), and for 3 hens a 10 lb bag, such as Manna Pro’s at $12.99, is the size you’ll actually finish. Whatever size you buy, decant it into a sealed feed storage container rather than leaving it in the bag, where mice will find it.
How to feed chicken scratch
- Feed the main ration first. Scratch is best given in the afternoon or evening, after hens have filled up on their layer feed. If you scatter it first thing in the morning, they fill up on grain instead. University of Kentucky Extension’s Jacquie Jacob compares scratch to french fries for chickens.
- Use it as a tool. A shake of the scratch can is the quickest way to call a flock back into the run, to move hens into the coop at dusk, or to get them turning the bedding in a deep-litter coop.
- Always put out grit. Whole and cracked grains are ground up in the gizzard, which needs small insoluble stones to work. Hens that free-range pick some up, but Manna Pro, Scratch and Peck and University of Maryland Extension all tell keepers to offer insoluble chicken grit with scratch. Oyster shell is no substitute: Oregon State University Extension notes it is too soft to work as grit.
- Keep oyster shell out for layers. Scratch has almost no calcium, so any hen eating it needs a source on the side.
- Wait until they’re grown. Manna Pro says scratch is generally not for birds under 8 weeks, Purina labels its scratch for adult birds, and Scratch and Peck suggests its corn scratch from 9 months. Chicks should stay on a complete chick starter feed.
- Don’t leave it lying around. Scatter what the flock clears in 15 to 20 minutes and nothing more, so rats and wild birds don’t get the rest.
- Throw out anything off. Manna Pro’s tag warns against feeding anything spoiled, moldy, rodent- or insect-infested, or abnormal in look or smell.
The bottom line
Chicken scratch is a grain treat, not a feed: 7% to 11% protein, almost no calcium and no added vitamins, capped at 10% of the diet by every brand that makes it and by extension guidance. That cap is about one heaped tablespoon per hen per day, or whatever the flock finishes in 15 to 20 minutes. For most backyard flocks Purina Scratch Grains is the best value at $21.49 for 50 lb or $13.99 for 25 lb; Manna Pro Scratch Grains has the most grains and a 10 lb bag for small flocks; Purina Organic Scratch Grains is the cheapest organic option at $29.99 for 35 lb; and Scratch and Peck Organic 3-Grain Scratch is the corn-free pick if you’ll pay $1.57 to $1.72 a pound. Feed it in the afternoon after the main ration, put out grit and oyster shell, and buy a bag your flock will finish within 9 months. Corn doesn’t raise a hen’s body temperature; a dry, well-ventilated coop does more for her in winter than any scratch.