Chicken folklore, also known as old wive's tales
- Thread starter dacjohns
- Start date
Quote:
All feed produces heat when digested and metabolized, the 8 BTU figure means nothing to me without a comparison to other feeds. I don't know whether that is high or low...
There are two sources of heat at work here, heat produced in the large intestine by fermentation of fibrous feeds and heat generated in the muscles by the metabolization of energy sources of which energy from proteins has the highest heating increment.
To avoid heat stress nutritionists recommend cutting back on high fiber feed and avoiding excessive protein intake. Since animals cut back on their feed intake in hot weather they recommend feeding high calorie feeds to maintain weight, important in broilers as well as egg production.
So where does that leave us? With easily digestible, medium protein, high calorie CORN...
All feed produces heat when digested and metabolized, the 8 BTU figure means nothing to me without a comparison to other feeds. I don't know whether that is high or low...
There are two sources of heat at work here, heat produced in the large intestine by fermentation of fibrous feeds and heat generated in the muscles by the metabolization of energy sources of which energy from proteins has the highest heating increment.
To avoid heat stress nutritionists recommend cutting back on high fiber feed and avoiding excessive protein intake. Since animals cut back on their feed intake in hot weather they recommend feeding high calorie feeds to maintain weight, important in broilers as well as egg production.
So where does that leave us? With easily digestible, medium protein, high calorie CORN...
Quote:
yeah... i mean, it's a question of calories, really, not corn specifically. it just so happens that corn is absolutely busting with calories. that's especially important for a bird, as they have higher metabolic rates than mammals.
To say that it's the calories is too simple an explanation. Those calories come from fats, protein and carbohydrates that must be metabolized to energy. They are not equal in heat increment. The heat increment with protein is the highest, followed by carbs, and then fats. High calories does not translate to a higher heat increment. Oats have a higher heating increment due to higher fiber and protein content than corn while they are lower in calories per pound than corn...
yeah... i mean, it's a question of calories, really, not corn specifically. it just so happens that corn is absolutely busting with calories. that's especially important for a bird, as they have higher metabolic rates than mammals.
To say that it's the calories is too simple an explanation. Those calories come from fats, protein and carbohydrates that must be metabolized to energy. They are not equal in heat increment. The heat increment with protein is the highest, followed by carbs, and then fats. High calories does not translate to a higher heat increment. Oats have a higher heating increment due to higher fiber and protein content than corn while they are lower in calories per pound than corn...
Quote:
yeah... i mean, it's a question of calories, really, not corn specifically. it just so happens that corn is absolutely busting with calories. that's especially important for a bird, as they have higher metabolic rates than mammals.
To say that it's the calories is too simple an explanation. Those calories come from fats, protein and carbohydrates that must be metabolized to energy. They are not equal in heat increment. The heat increment with protein is the highest, followed by carbs, and then fats. High calories does not translate to a higher heat increment. Oats have a higher heating increment due to higher fiber and protein content than corn while they are lower in calories per pound than corn...
of course it's a simple explanation. the conversation to this point was simple.
i'd be interested in seeing your source data on the comparable HI of oats and corn as it's my understanding that corn has a higher overall digestibility, giving it a higher ME score, but HI wasn't really where i was going with my response. i was more concerned with overall caloric intake which, if too high for the level of expenditure or ambient conditions, will cause an animal to store excess, which will in turn create an overall warmer animal. i should add here, just in the interest of full disclosure, that i include oats as well as corn in my high-energy winter diet, but since we were discussing corn specifically, that's where i centered my example.
yeah... i mean, it's a question of calories, really, not corn specifically. it just so happens that corn is absolutely busting with calories. that's especially important for a bird, as they have higher metabolic rates than mammals.
To say that it's the calories is too simple an explanation. Those calories come from fats, protein and carbohydrates that must be metabolized to energy. They are not equal in heat increment. The heat increment with protein is the highest, followed by carbs, and then fats. High calories does not translate to a higher heat increment. Oats have a higher heating increment due to higher fiber and protein content than corn while they are lower in calories per pound than corn...
of course it's a simple explanation. the conversation to this point was simple.
i'd be interested in seeing your source data on the comparable HI of oats and corn as it's my understanding that corn has a higher overall digestibility, giving it a higher ME score, but HI wasn't really where i was going with my response. i was more concerned with overall caloric intake which, if too high for the level of expenditure or ambient conditions, will cause an animal to store excess, which will in turn create an overall warmer animal. i should add here, just in the interest of full disclosure, that i include oats as well as corn in my high-energy winter diet, but since we were discussing corn specifically, that's where i centered my example.
Quote:
No, we're not talk about making the animals fat, thus hotter in the summer. Since animals reduce feed intake as it gets hotter, it's better to feed them a high calorie ration so they can maintain on the little that they are eating. I didn't have a specific source in mind when comparing corn to oats, but just did a Google search and found a document that backs up what I said.
http://www.utextension.utk.edu/newsevents/newsletters/HEsummer02.pdf
Although it doesn't go into the nitty gritty details of why, it says to reduce oats and feed more corn in the summer for horses. Less fiber, less protein equals less heating. It says feeding fats would be even better, lots of energy without the heating increment of proteins...
No, we're not talk about making the animals fat, thus hotter in the summer. Since animals reduce feed intake as it gets hotter, it's better to feed them a high calorie ration so they can maintain on the little that they are eating. I didn't have a specific source in mind when comparing corn to oats, but just did a Google search and found a document that backs up what I said.
http://www.utextension.utk.edu/newsevents/newsletters/HEsummer02.pdf
Although it doesn't go into the nitty gritty details of why, it says to reduce oats and feed more corn in the summer for horses. Less fiber, less protein equals less heating. It says feeding fats would be even better, lots of energy without the heating increment of proteins...
- Jan 25, 2008
- 3,832
- 43
- 221
Quote:
This is ABSOLUTELY TRUE about turtles.
But, not with chickens. LOL
-Kim
This is ABSOLUTELY TRUE about turtles.
But, not with chickens. LOL
-Kim
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this book or not but it has a LOT of folklore in it
http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Book-...d_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216862123&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Book-...d_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216862123&sr=8-1
Similar threads
- Locked
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest posts
-
Hatchery vs Breeder Chickens 🐓 Which one’s the better option- Latest: MysteryChicken
-
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
BYC's 52-week Photography Challenge. Week 5: (Feb 2 - Feb 8, 2026) Theme: Nature- Started by CCsGarden
- Replies: 134
-
-
What am I doing wrong?? Egg Eaters
- Started by Leasmom1013
- Replies: 70
-
-
Pictures of urlocalcrazychickenlady’s Flock!!!- Started by urlocalcrazychickenlady
- Replies: 56
-
