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can i feed my chickens whole corn????

post #1 of 14
3/20/10 at 6:14pm
Thread Starter 

I need to know if i can feed my chickens whole dry field corn???? Are they able to digest it???? 
My husband came home with a bunch of dry field corn from the railroad tracks that a railcar dumped on the ground.
It's clean.

8 sons, 5 daughters-in-law, 16 grandchildren, 2 dogs, 1 anti-social cat, 7 biddies, 24 layers in training and a very, very patient husband, who loves his chicken crazy wife.
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8 sons, 5 daughters-in-law, 16 grandchildren, 2 dogs, 1 anti-social cat, 7 biddies, 24 layers in training and a very, very patient husband, who loves his chicken crazy wife.
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post #2 of 14
3/20/10 at 6:16pm

yes....they need grit or access to dirt and rocks and such

Gig 'em Aggies!  Whoop!
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Gig 'em Aggies!  Whoop!
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post #3 of 14
3/20/10 at 6:26pm

You can but don't feed them corn exclusively.  It should be an extra; treat or supplement.

You might not be able to keep a bird from landing on your head but you can keep it from building a nest.

"My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."
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You might not be able to keep a bird from landing on your head but you can keep it from building a nest.

"My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."
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post #4 of 14
3/20/10 at 6:49pm

My grandmother used to free range her chickens all day and in the evening she would break the kernels off of a couple of ears of corn and throw it out in the area around the chicken house to call the chickens up so she could close them up for the night.  I never saw her feed them anything else except the occasional vegetable/fruit peels when there were no hogs to feed.  She always had eggs (only picked up what she needed) and chickens to butcher for Sunday dinner.  I think some people go overboard in what they think chickens have to have!  IMHO

Farmer in the Making  
The earth is the insane asylum for the universe and I am an inmate!
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Farmer in the Making  
The earth is the insane asylum for the universe and I am an inmate!
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post #5 of 14
3/20/10 at 6:54pm

I wish trains dropped chicken feed past my place! gig

i have no access to the stuff you guys call "scratch" where I am, so I buy large wild bird seed. It has the odd whole corn kernel in it. One of my chickens has quite a fondness of them, doesn't seem to harm her. Mind you she'd only get 4 or 5 kernels a day, at a guess.

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post #6 of 14
3/20/10 at 8:12pm

As a supplement or treat, sure.  Not as a sole food.

My birds go through about four hundred pounds of it a month.

.....Alan.

Chance favors the prepared mind.
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
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post #7 of 14
3/21/10 at 8:31am

If they have problems eating the dried whole corn you can soak it in a 5 gallon bucket of water over night and then give them some.

http://www.borderinvasionpics.com/
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http://www.borderinvasionpics.com/
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post #8 of 14
3/21/10 at 8:44am

Yes! I live about 1/4 mile from 2 feed mills and I go over in the evenings and get the fresh milled corn and grain that has overflowed from the trucks. It REALLY cuts down on my feed bill!

Wife to a wonderful chicken tolerant husband, mommy to a 4 year old princess and a brand new baby girl, owner of too many dogs, one mean bunny, lots of guineas, and not enough chickens!
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Wife to a wonderful chicken tolerant husband, mommy to a 4 year old princess and a brand new baby girl, owner of too many dogs, one mean bunny, lots of guineas, and not enough chickens!
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post #9 of 14
3/21/10 at 8:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by txchickie 

Yes! I live about 1/4 mile from 2 feed mills and I go over in the evenings and get the fresh milled corn and grain that has overflowed from the trucks. It REALLY cuts down on my feed bill!


Lucky! clap

Brookside Cottage Farms
Imported Pure English BBS Orpingtons

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Brookside Cottage Farms
Imported Pure English BBS Orpingtons

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post #10 of 14
3/21/10 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 

thanks sooooo much for answering my question  thanks again:D

8 sons, 5 daughters-in-law, 16 grandchildren, 2 dogs, 1 anti-social cat, 7 biddies, 24 layers in training and a very, very patient husband, who loves his chicken crazy wife.
Reply
8 sons, 5 daughters-in-law, 16 grandchildren, 2 dogs, 1 anti-social cat, 7 biddies, 24 layers in training and a very, very patient husband, who loves his chicken crazy wife.
Reply
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