22 Reviews

Organic Starter Mash

Suitable for:

  • Chicken 0-8 Weeks
  • Duck 0-4 Weeks
Organic Starter Mash is a fantastic formula for baby chicks and ducklings. It contains all the essential nutrients young birds need to grow strong muscles, healthy bones, and perfectly fluffy feathers. A bonus with whole grain mash: its ability to ferment for better digestibility and improved hydration!

Why does my chick need starter feed?

Can I ferment the chick starter feed?

What is grub protein?

What supplements should I give my chicks with their Starter Feed?

What is the shelf life of your whole grain mash feeds?

Organic Wheat, Organic Barley, Organic Peas, Organic Flaxseed Meal, Fish Meal, Ground Limestone, Organic Sunflower Oil, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal, Organic Dehydrated Kelp Meal, Salt, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Organic Vegetable Oil, Hemicellulose Extract, Organic Origanum Oil, Organic Cinnamon Bark Oil, Organic Thyme Oil, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Active Dry Yeast, d-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Selenium Yeast, Organic Wheat Flour, Penicillium Funiculosum Fermentation Product, Copper Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, and Sodium Selenite

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein MIN|20.5%
Crude Fat MIN|4.0%
Crude Fiber MAX|6.0%
Calcium MIN|0.9%
Calcium MAX|1.4%
Phosphorus MIN|0.6%
Salt MIN|0.2%
Salt MAX|0.7%
Ash MAX|8.0%
Lysine MIN|1.0%
Methionine MIN|0.4%

Feed Organic Starter Mash as a complete diet to chicks (0-8 weeks) and ducklings (0-4 weeks).

Additional Notes
  • Keep feeders full.
  • Offer free-choice Starter Grit to support nutrient digestion.
  • Feed dry, moistened, or fermented.
  • Always provide clean, fresh water.
Feed Details
  • 20.5% Protein
  • Soy & corn free
  • Non-medicated
  • Seamless support from fluff to feather
  • Ferment for beneficial probiotic bacteria
  • Recyclable, compostable packaging
PDF Guides - Coming Soon!

Organic Starter Mash

Reviews

We are proud to be the first feed manufacturer to be both certified organic and non-GMO verified.

  1. My chicks love this food! Whenever I feed them, they come running (or flying!) to get it! They are 4 weeks old and they really are growing and looking so healthy!I love the fact that it is corn free, soy free,(and organic. I also love the fast and free shipping!

    mission214 (verified owner)

  2. Great starter feed for my hatchling chicks! Mama hen likes it too. It’s much more interesting than the dismal grey crumbles from other feeds. There’s so much variety in the feed it encourages the littles to learn to scratch too!

    Pamela Herron (verified owner)

  3. I’m currently using the chick starter for my third batch of chicks in five years. I have never had anything but positive results with this feed. I picked it specifically because it’s organic and soy and corn free.

    EP (verified owner)

  4. Couldn’t be happier with the quality and timely delivery. My chicks love this feed. I was happy to get the request to review because I need more feed! My chicks are thriving as are all my birds on the different age feeds. I have starter, grower and layer feeds. I ferment for my grower and layers. Thank you for a great product! My chickens say YUM!

    Misty Turner (verified owner)

  5. I liked the idea of this feed, but there are several problems with it;

    STARTER FEED
    1. DO NOT GIVE THIS TO NEWLY HATCHED CHICKS. I had 8 shipped standard chicks and 10 incubator hatched bantams and (I think) because they are able to pick and choose the parts they want to eat, they eat what they want and not all parts (like picking out all the marshmallows out of a box of Lucky Charms). This gave all of them diarrhea, which turns into pasty butt. As soon as I changed the feed to crumble that is all processed and stuck together for even nutrition as they ate, no more pasty butt. I w anted this feed to work, as I thought that the processed Purina started crumbles were not ideal, but they got balanced nutrition because they eat a balanced diet with each bite. I have given this to chicks that are several weeks old with no problems, but I don’t think it is ideal for newly hatched chicks.
    2. The paper packaging split during shipping – twice – the second time was more severe and I contacted the company and included photos. The paper is subject to splitting. I understand that it fits with their organic branding, but it is not practical and by “twice”, I mean all 4 bags from two shipments).
    3. The feed is expensive. This is expected because it is organic and high quality, but there is a lot of waste when my chickens eat it, which makes it more expensive. They stop eating it at a certain point and a significant portion of the very fine parts of the feed are ignored.

    LAYER FEED
    1. Bags split, as they do for starter feed
    2. There is a lot of waste, but less so than with starter feed
    3. I haven’t had any problems with pasty butt or other digestive issues with the older chickens. I generally mix the layer feed with the Purina Layer Crumbles. This works well, and mitigates the high cost of the Scratch n Peck. Also, based on the experience I had with the newly hatched chicks, I feel better blending both feeds so that I am certain they are getting proper nutrition from feed.

    Gina Bowen (verified owner)

  6. I am adding to my current flock of White Leghorns, one Rooster & 5 hens, who eat the S.P. Layer Pellets. I have received 6 Brow Leghorn chicks and will be receiving this week 5 Red Leghorns and 2 White Orpingtons.
    The BL chicks have been eating S.P. Starter all week. They are doing great!, They all have their wing feathers and most have started tail feathers. I love buying local! I love knowing where the ingredients come from.
    Thank you!
    Becky, Wa. State

    beckysdekorte (verified owner)

  7. I started a new flock last year and put in a lot of time researching the best organic and soy-free chicken feeds. I decided to try Scratch and Peck and I couldn’t be happier with the quality of the feed and the positive impact it has had on my hens. With the shipping backlog due to Covid and weather, I did have to buy a bag of organic layer pellets from the feed store until the Scratch and Peck feed arrived. My girls refused to eat it. I always keep an extra few bags on hand now. I recently hatched out a new batch of chicks and also have them on Scratch and Peck Starter feed as well as Chick Grit. They are doing fantastic and are very healthy and active. I highly recommend this feed!

    Rebecca Latimer (verified owner)

  8. We just got baby chicks so we wanted to start them out right this time for several reasons. I had become sensitive to store bought eggs and wasn’t eating them at all. I have a friend who has pasture raised chickens and she gave me some to try. Wow the difference, but I knew that you must have a good feed as a base for them to be healthy and thrive, and it must be something that wouldn’t cause a reaction for me. I found your products and rejoiced!! I have been feeding them the started feed and they love it!! I do too because I know that they will be able to give me healthy eggs that I won’t be sensitive to. I ran out of the food and, even though Scratch and Peck is THE FASTEST at getting the feed to me, I didn’t order it in time and had to use some that said it was organic. I noticed it had soy in it and then found diarrhea in their pen. Soy doesn’t agree with them either. LESSON LEARNED!! My poor chicks!! I will endeavor to never do that again. Thank you Scratch and Peck for such a wonderful product that has everything you could ask for in a food

    Lisa Harris (verified owner)

    • Thank you Lisa. My girls LOVE our feed. The shells are hard. They laid all winter without heat, and never suffered a hard molted. As a chicken lover myself I could not be more thrilled.
      We love our customers, your stories, and pictures. So Thank you!
      Customer Advocate

      Joni Brown (verified owner)

  9. I began using these wonderful products with my new baby chicks in April 2018. They have grown up with Starter and now Grower. I began fermenting the feed about 2 months ago and they just LOVE it! I know I am feeding my chickens the best organic food available and for even better health fermenting it provides yet another health benefit. Not to mention cuts food bill in half! I will continue using Scratch and Peck and recommend it to all my chicken friends. Thank you so much Scratch and Peck for making such a wonderful product. We are what our chickens eat!

    Audrey Morris

  10. Our chicks just turned 4 weeks old. We received this starter three days ago and yesterday morning I began fermenting it in a quart jar. They went crazy for it this morning, like they did when I would let them eat a treat of ground organic oatmeal from my hand when they were smaller. At first they weren’t too sure, but after a few minutes they caught on that this is GOOD STUFF! I found this company because I wanted an organic feed without corn and soy. Because I only have six chicks, I started by fermenting 1/2 cup. Today I am starting another 1/2 cup until I understand their needs. Of course they have plenty of dry food as well, but this is the first day for this product. I also like the fact I can ask questions of staff.

    Maikwe Parsons/James Gollmer

  11. Purchased the chick starter kit and the babies love the food. I offered both Scratch and Peck Starter along with a competitor crumble and they preferred the S and P Starter! The herbs smell amazing and gave the babies some greens. The chick grit it perfect and they seem to eat it when they need it. Will be buying again!

    Dannette Steck

  12. Great for ducklings! My 2 Cayuga ducklings loved this feed! My ducks are so healthy and happy. I did notice that there was very little waste, and that is great thing with ducklings! I couldn’t be happier with my choice of feed! Thank you for the great feed!

    Jason Kephart

  13. Love love love the quality of chicken feed from scratch and peck! Needed food and had bought organic at a local store and it does not compare to scratch and Peck’s! You can tell a difference and the chickens can too!

    Jenna Fasbender

  14. Hi I am a newbie, I will be getting 50 chick’s in shortly and am wondering how much to buy and what to buy!
    Thank you for providing non gmo organic feed!

    Brittany Penner

    • Hi Brittany, 50 chicks will consume around 37 lbs of feed each week. You’ll want to start them off on the Organic Naturally Free Starter for the first 8 weeks, then begin transitioning them to the Organic Naturally Free Grower. We have a feed guide and a supply “chick”list for taking care of the little ones. Those are located on our Helpful Guides page.

      Scratch and Peck Feeds

  15. First time growing chickens. After extensive research I decided to go with scratch and peck. I currently have 36 4 week old Rhode island reds that absolutely love this feed. I do wish I could buy it locally in the north east around northern NH/ southern Maine.

    Calin

  16. Is this chick starter for baby chicks that have just hatched? I was told that it wasn’t chick starter. I’m confused . Could someone answer that question for me. Is this feed not to bulky and could cause the chicks to choke easily or am I misunderstanding?

    t_kturner24

    • Hi there! Yes, our chick starter is safe to feed to chicks that are newly hatched. You’ll want to provide Poultry Grit (for chicks) to aid in digestion. The Chick Starter Kit includes the essentials to make sure your chicks are getting the nutrients they need in the right digestible form for their small bodies: http://www.scratchandpeck.com/shop/chick-starter-kit/.

      Scratch and Peck Feeds

  17. I am very happy to have found your company. The chicks are now 6 weeks old and the difference in this little flock on your chick starter compared to other chicks we’ve had was amazing. No pasty butt to worry about, healthy, calmer chicks and they grew so fast we were astonished! The powder can be a bit of an issue but I’m thinking fermenting the feed might be helpful for that.

    Dianne

  18. Just received product today. Appears superior to other feeds Ive purchased in the past. New ducklings arrive any day now. Will let you know in more time how they take to it and how it affects their health. Very excited! Feed arrived 2 business days after ordering. So far so good.

    Aduckperson

  19. I’ve had chickens in the past in my back yard and we fed them whatever was cheapest at the feed store, and the eggs were good, the chickens were healthy, there was nothing really wrong with it. But then I developed an autoimmune disease: Psoriasis. I discovered that I have a whole host of food sensitives that cause my psoriasis to flair up. I discovered that I could tolerate eggs, but not from chickens fed corn or soy. So this year, when I decided to raise more chickens, I researched for a corn and soy free feed and found scratch and peck. The chickens love it and are growing big and strong. They’re 12 weeks old now and I can’t wait for eggs. To increase the available nutrition in the feed, I soak and ferment the feed. I use cultured whey that I strain off my home-made greek yogurt and water and soak the feed for a few days before giving it to the chickens. They went through a whole 40# bag of chick starter in 7 weeks (before I started fermenting it) and now that I’ve switched to grower, they are still only about 2/3 of the way through the second 40# bag at 12 weeks. I think mainly it has to do with the fact they are free range, so they are eating kitchen scraps, grass, and bugs, but also because it’s wet, they can’t fling it around and waste it. I think half of the chick starter I fed them ended up thrown away with their bedding. Anyway, quality product and I’ve gotten compliments on how good my chickens look on the backyardchickens forum.

    Celeste_eden

  20. Ordered this non-soy, GMO free feed for the first time for my new chick babies and they are loving it! Also got the chick grit which they love as well. Will be back for more products. Thank you for providing hug quality food

    Bikerrn56

  21. This feed is great! I love that it is soy, corn and gmo free. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the grind is a bit too fine and our girls pick out the big bits and take a long time to eat the powdery part.

    professorpurl

  22. My Red Stars love this feed!

    Nikolai