CORN

[30featheredfriends]

hello - We have 15 hens and going into our second summer with them. We feed them corn on the cob and scratch that contains corn for treats. I remember reading somewhere that they shouldn't be fed corn in the hotter months. What temp is too high to give them their corn treats? Thoughts? thanks!

 

[Debbie292d]

We quit feeding scratch with corn when I saw necropsies of the fat that caused organ failure and killed the chickens, but I don't think a little hurts. We now buy Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve as their "scratch" or treats.

As for corn on the cobs, I can't resist giving ours to them as they have so much fun with them!

Corn promotes energy and fuels their metabolism, why some feel feeding it to them in the winter is good. It doesn't make them hot, as in temperature though.

 

[FrostRanger]

The only danger of them eating corn in the summer is the usual danger of getting overweight. Corn raising body temp is just a myth

 

[Penpal]

They don't NEED corn in the summer. They use energy to keep warm, which means carbohydrates. Corn is high in carbohydrates. But, I think this really means more to horses and cows who don't wear down coats.

I feed corn all year to help balance out their homemade feed. I don't see a problem using it as a treat.

 

[Insnesnakos]

We quit feeding scratch with corn when I saw necropsies of the fat that caused organ failure and killed the chickens, but I don't think a little hurts. We now buy Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve as their "scratch" or treats.

As for corn on the cobs, I can't resist giving ours to them as they have so much fun with them!

Corn promotes energy and fuels their metabolism, why some feel feeding it to them in the winter is good. It doesn't make them hot, as in temperature though.

My birds love corn on the cob too

 

[Ridgerunner]

My thoughts are that you can read not to feed them any specific thing, including many of the favorite things many of us give them as treats. No matter what you feed them or how you manage them somebody can find something wrong with it. That's especially true of anything you feed them.

Corn, like any other grain, is high in carbohydrates. It has fiber, protein, minerals, and fat. Corn is a grain that fueled and sustained different civilizations, like rice fueled some civilizations, rye fueled some, wheat fueled some.

If you feed too much of anything other than their chicken feed they will not have a balanced diet. If they mostly live on chicken feed that feed contains what they need. Most of what they eat needs to be that feed. There is a rule of thumb that anything other than their normal feed should be limited to no more than 10% of their diet. There is no science behind that 10% that I am aware of, just a general guideline so you don't overdo it too much. My personal preference is to not give them the same treat every day but to vary it so the nutritional value of their treats vary.

If your chickens forage for a lot of what they eat you have given up the ability to micromanage what they eat. They are pretty good at balancing their own diet when given adequate choices. I'd still try to avoid giving them the same treat every day and not give too much. I violate that though. When I'm canning or freezing something out of the garden or orchard they may get a lot of scraps in one day. When I'm cleaning out the garden they may get a lot of one thing. But that is not day after day after day. That is a one day overload, then they may not see any of that specific thing for a long time. But they will see something different.