besides GMOs why corn free?

[OneMountainAcres]

Hi everyone! I'm still new to chickens and learning about diet and such. Right now we feed organic soy free (we already know the issues with soy) and I was wondering if there's a good reason besides GMOs to go corn free also. Since our feed is organic, GMOs are not an issue.

 

[DawnaW]

I don't like GMO's at all. Even got the kids drinking GMO free almond milk instead of cow milk.
As far as corn, I know for people corn is basically empty calories, so it should be considered an empty carb. (at least based on my nutrition class in college) So our family considers it a treat, even for the animals.

 

[LBKS]

I think it also depends on what corn too - I plan on growing for feeding the chickens the 'indian corn' type corns as part of their feed, but would rather not give them the standard yellow field corn. I'm of the opinion though that we have bred out a lot of the nutrition in crops and would like to use a combination of these less bred-up varieties along with small kernel varieties (like strawberry popcorn) to increase the odds of micronutrient needs being met by the foods themselves. But that is part of a high-variety of seeds and foodstuff I plan on supplementing (and hopefully eventually replacing) their feed with.

It could also be a bit of a backlash of corn being used as a cheap filler component to keep chicken feed down so people want to avoid it because it doesn't seem like a high quality food. It isn't a very high protein food by percent (though what I read suggests that blue corn has 30% more protein than standard field yellow corn, so the more 'wild' types might be a bit better in that regard), so people also might be avoiding it to help keep their feed at a high percent protein.

I can't really speak to why people would not feed it though, being in the other camp.

 

[GreenMountainEric]

It could also be a bit of a backlash of corn being used as a cheap filler component to keep chicken feed down so people want to avoid it because it doesn't seem like a high quality food. It isn't a very high protein food by percent (though what I read suggests that blue corn has 30% more protein than standard field yellow corn, so the more 'wild' types might be a bit better in that regard), so people also might be avoiding it to help keep their feed at a high percent protein.

That seems to be a fairly popular opinion of corn in animal feeds, unless you are a farmer, trying to make a living off of your chickens, cows, etc......However, it is not at all true. Corn is not cheap, and corn would never be used as a "filler" in animal feed. There is one major reason that corn is used in animal feeds, especially dairy, and poultry feeds. It is because, pound for pound, corn has the most usable carbohydrate energy of any feed grain, without causing gut health issues. (Like wheat does). Without corn, your animals will eat more, and produce less. Or, they could potentially get gut health issues, if they were fed large amounts of another high energy grain, like wheat.

With chickens, corn also helps keep the egg yolks darker.

Corn is not necessarily a good part of a human diet. And there is a lot of research that supports that. However, it is the best energy performer for animals, and that is the reason that it is a major ingredient in most animal feeds. It is certainly not because it is cheap. Corn is expensive, and the use of other grains, in place of corn, would lower the price of almost any feed mix. That being said, your feed costs would go up, because of higher consumption rates.

This doesn't mean that a good feed can't be made without corn. They certainly can, and they would certainly be plenty nutritious (and then some)

I am certainly not advocating corn, and I actually wish we didn't use it in our animal feeds. (Mostly because of the cost, and ridiculous market swings) However, we need our feeds to perform as well as the others, and corn is needed to accomplish that at a reasonable cost. (Without having to use food grade ingredients and feed that costs $50.00 per bag) We will most likely introduce a corn free layer someday. We will use barley, wheat, flax, and buckwheat in place of it. It will perform well enough for anyone that has backyard chickens. It just won't be the preferred feed for the folks that make a living with their animals.

Long winded, I know.......... But that is my nutritionist point of view.

 

[LBKS]

Great to have a reply from someone with more background!

I wonder where the corn is cheap impression comes from then - maybe the general idea it is highly subsidized?

 

[GreenMountainEric]

Great to have a reply from someone with more background!

I wonder where the corn is cheap impression comes from then - maybe the general idea it is highly subsidized?

I think it may be a combination of that, and the fact that it is the most commonly used ingredient. It gives the impression that there are other, less useful, reasons to have it in the feed.

Not to mention- It is used as an unnecessary, and unhealthy, staple ingredient, in human diets.

 

[realsis]

They do make a non soy corn free layer feed USDA certified organic from scratch and peck feeds. The layer is a 18% protein. I'm going to give it a try .I just ordered my first bag.my organic I was using had a lot of corn in it.and less protien. I'm going to try the corn free and see how they do. The ingredients look very wholesome and nutritional.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

We actually started with scratch and peck soy and corn free and really love it but we have to ship it from WA to PA. It's just not realistic for us to keep it up but it's a great product

 

[realsis]

I found their shipping to be a Lot Less than the feed I was getting. I live in CA and the shipping for scratch and peck was 13.00 and some cents but my other feeds shipping was 37.00! The shipping was more than the feed with my other organic so I know what you mean. I'm saving by switching over. Sadly they do NOT sell a good organic in my town that I can find. Only thing I see is costco organic and it's soy based. So im giving the scratch and peck a try now.

 

[Michael Apple]

Hi everyone! I'm still new to chickens and learning about diet and such. Right now we feed organic soy free (we already know the issues with soy) and I was wondering if there's a good reason besides GMOs to go corn free also. Since our feed is organic, GMOs are not an issue.

Yellow corn has long been a source of vitamin A and carbohydrates. White corn is deficient in vitamin A. Many substitutes for yellow corn do not contain the vitamin A yellow corn contains. I have used nothing but organic rations for the last 6 years. My problem with soy-free feeds is that substitutes such as canola meal are lacking the superior protein profile of soy. In addition, those of us who have studied University feed trials or supplemented diets of our own birds over time will see that animal protein additions to diet are necessary for health. Casein protein, found in milk, has been the superior animal protein in all feed trials I've examined. It has also proven to be a deterrent to enteritis in moderate amounts. I am suspicious of non-GMO feeds that are not labeled organic. If the product is labeled organic, it should not contain GMO in the first place.