Cracked corn is dry inside and doesn't have the nutrients that whole corn has. If you need to feed cracked corn, find a grinder to crack it at each feeding. I have a hand crank feed grinder I used as a boy and my mother used as a girl to grind corn. She is 86 years old. To fatten a chicken, feed buttermilk mixed with corn or lay pellets. buttermilk, corn, or Calf Manna pellets, which is a REAL fattening feed.wheat especially will make one fat. I feed bread alot to my layers and they STAY fat. 2 day old bread from the thrift store works just fine. Remember what made the hens so fat in the OLD days? Bugs, corn and TABLE SCRAPS. Just make sure they are healthy from worms and mites then start feeding twice a day. I mix feed for mine at:
50lbs whole corn
50lbs whole oats
50 lbs hen scratch
50 lay pellets
50lbs wheat in the winter
5lbs Alfalfa pellets in the winter when there is no grass. mix it in proportion.
Find an old deep freeze someone is giving away on craigslist and mix your feed to keep in it. Makes a good, rodent free feed bin.
