Can I feed whole, dried corn to chickens?

[Moogie]

Yesterday, I purchased some whole dried corn at the grocery store - thinking I'd feed it to my chickens. Most people on this forum talk about feeding cracked corn. I was wondering if there was any reason - other than the size of the whole kernels - that I shouldn't feed it. Or should I throw it in the vitamix for a couple of seconds, first?

Thanks for anyone who can help with this.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Grown chickens can easily eat whole corn kernels without it being cracked as long as they have access to grit. Don't worry about the size of the kernel at all.

There is usually a lot of corn in the chicken feed. It has been ground up with all the other stuff so they cannot pick and choose which grains they want but are kind of forced to have a balanced diet whe they eat it. Like any other treat, if you give them too much corn, it will upset that balanced diet they get from the feed. The general rule of thumb is to only give them enough of a treat that they can clean it up within 10 to 20 minutes. That way their diet stays well enough balanced.

I assure you, many of us violate that 10 to 20 minute rule of thumb and the chickens don't suffer. They may not be quite as efficient in laying eggs but as long as you don't go overboard with any treat, including corn, they will be OK. That's the main intent of the 10 to 20 minute rule, to keep you fronm going overboard. Often, and especially with corn, chickens will choose to eat that instead of their regular feed if it is available.

You'll read a lot about corn on this forum. In spite of what you read, corn does have a lot of nutrient value. But it is not the perfect food, so it needs to be mixed in the proper proportions with other foods to give them a balanced diet of proteins, fats, fiber, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and whatever else they need.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Chickens do not have molars to grind their food and lots of what they eat need grinding. Things like grass, grains not already ground up, various treats, and some bugs. They keep rocks in their gizzard and use them to grind up these things. In the US we call these rocks grit. In the UK they call these rocks insoluble grit. Since you don’t have your general location in your profile I’m not sure what you would call it. In the UK soluble grit is generally oyster shell which is a calcium supplement for laying hens and not suitable for grinding things in the gizzard. This difference in terms can cause some confusion.

Chickens that have access to the ground generally find their own grit. Some people live where there just aren’t any rocks in the soil, but if you can find a rock they can generally find enough small pebbles to use as grit. How long the rock lasts in the gizzard before it is ground down to sand and passes out of their rear end will depend on what kind of rock it is and how big the pieces are, some last a lot longer than others. Full sized chickens when grown can use pieces of rock as big as a green pea. Small chicks need bits of rock that are smaller.

You can usually buy grit at a feed store. That’s going to be made from granite, a very hard rock that lasts a long time in the gizzard. It’s a great rock to use as grit. It’s pretty inexpensive too, they get that grit as waste materials from a granite quarry.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep...it is the only food my granny's chickens ever got and even the chicks just got cornmeal. Kept her flock healthy and she had plenty eggs....oh, how times have changed!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Have patience. Some chickens think cabbage is the greatest thing in the world, mine don't care for it that much, they'd rather have broccoli leaves. Some prefer certain things, others prefer something different.

If chickens have never seen corn before how are they supposed to know it's not just rock or something horrible? Why should they rush to eat something that looks pretty weird? They may prefer what is in the feeder. If you leave it available they will probably eat it and get to like it. I suspect it will disappear. They may eventually go wild for it.

 

[duckinnut]

I assure you, many of us violate that 10 to 20 minute rule of thumb and the chickens don't suffer.

You didn't comment on how many times a day that we may violate the treat rule.

 

[chickbird]

Many Years Ago Whole Corn Is What Most Farm Families Fed To Chickens.

 

[barngirl567]

Yea! Feeding chickens has just gotten too complicated these days!

 

[Aceoky]

Let it stay for a few days, so long as no mold it should sprout and then it is really good for them!

 

[newchickenmom33]

Thanks. I wondered if I should soak it to make it softer to eat. It’s still basically all there. When I threw out wheat and barley for the first time they loved it.