Raw Corn for chickens?

[claudicles]

A.T. Hagan :

Presuming it's not moldy or something it's fine for them in moderate quantities.

How come only moderate quantities? I understood corn was nicely nutritionally balanced for chickens.​

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Two reasons.

First because fresh corn on the cob is not the same as dry field corn used in animal feed. It's mostly water and it has a high sugar content which is why it's called "sweet corn."

Second, even if it were dry field corn it's primarily carbohydrates in composition. Now they need carbs in their diet, but they also need protein in sufficient quantity and quality if you want optimum egg production. Feed lots of a particularly yummy treat like fresh corn on the cob is going to load them up on a lot of high sugar, low protein corn at the expense of eating their balanced ration. A single day of doing this likely wouldn't make any difference. But some folks have access to a lot of fresh corn and giving it to them day after day will eventually affect their rate of lay. Thus the part about moderate quantities.

 

[krcote]

We send our cobs out the the girls after we have had them for dinner, they clean them completely off!

 

[jenmike99]

Thanks for the answers on this.. its great. we have had so much corn, and sick of it.. so I just thought share.. lol

 

[aSliceOfLife]

Also, feeding too much fresh corn can cause fatty liver disease. I learned the hard way.

 

[dtobey]

Can 3 week old chicks have fresh corn on the cob from the garden?