Scratch

So winter suddenly showed up. Thanks, buddy, for the warning! It's been freezing at night which requires a trip to the feed store to stock up mealworms, sunflower seeds and scratch. Or, we could just make our own.

The compost bin is filled with mealworms. Since we use an old trash bin riddled with holes for our compost, scooting it a few inches very couple of days allows a handful of worms to be feasted upon by the girls. They get hopeful everytime I go near the bin. Its rather cute, and frustrating, to be stirring the muck with four birds staring at your ankles!

We always have sunflower seeds in the cupboard of per food. I found a 2 pound bag of black sunflower seeds next to the outdoor birdseed at Albertson's for a couple bucks and give those to the girls every morning as a treat. Lately they've been trying to fly up to the bird feeder to get more!

As for scratch, well I happened across a homemade recipe at Fresh Eggs Daily who's ingredients I happened to have around the house.* So I mixed up a batch and the girls LOVE it!! It's been an hour and they keep looking for that last hopeful bit!

So what did I put in the scratch? Store bought oatmeal, pearl barley, sunflower seeds, raisins, and a multi-grain hot cereal mix no one in the family likes made of flax, soy, wheat bran and wheat germ.

I only give the girls a handful in the morning to warm them up an another handful (about2/3 - 3/4 of a cup) just before bed to help keep them warm on these cold nights.

------------------------------

* More on the benefits of scratch and the original Fresh Eggs Daily recipe here