Corn is not created equally .... dangerous corn in poultry feed.

[chauqg]

Source: American Buckeye Club...

Link to a "technical" article on Mycotoxins and Aflatoxins; http://tinyurl.com/ylkzwlw

Feed mills typically test for these molds; corn is "graded" based on the level of "MOLD" or "Aflatoxin" found. Some mills will NOT accept corn with high levels of "MOLD" because it can be deadly to livestock as well as poultry! Some will sell corn with high levels of "mold" or "aflatoxins" as Wild Game ONLY feeds and will post this on the label or bags - read the small print.

Mill operators can cut costs by buying this cheaper corn and grinding it into their own label private "formulations". The downside to doing this will be angry customers who's cattle get "bloat" or poultry that die from the deadly mold content! This is where the "DEER CORN" connection comes into play, don't be fooled by cheaper bags of feed when you visit a mill, TSC or Wal-Mart....ALL CORN is NOT created equal.

ASK suppliers how they screen for "MOLD" or "Aflatoxin". If they can't answer appropriately find another supplier.
Be sure to use all feed in your containers before adding more, you will decrease the possibility of forming mold.

 

[Terri O]

Thanks--good info to know!

 

[Katy]

There's already a thread about this somewhere on here.

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

Thanks!

 

[saladin]

Generally you do not need to worry about aflatoxin in corn unless there has been a drought. saladin

 

[canada-goose]

I hope the corn we are using isn't moldy!

 

[gsim]

Quote:

Good post

and I surely do make sure that the feed left gets put on top so that does not happen. Peanuts and wheat are the two top products with fungal mycotoxins present. (most peanut butter is loaded with fungus as well as hydrogenated oils) The wheat likely gets it from being in grain elevators too long. Don't know about the peanuts. Corn sits a long while too and can absorb moisture and then in darkness, that makes for mold, which is a killer. Timely info. I use pellets to help avoid absorption of moisture that leads to mold and staleness.

 

[Tala]

I feed deer corn from WalMart sometimes (my leftovers, after the deer season is over)
The kind they sell here specifically says tested and approved Aflatoxin "free" (it has a "less than xyz amount" listed, but I don't have a bag in front of me - it was really small like 0.001ppb or something like that)

 

[sjh]

Quote:
Fungal infections need moisture to grow. When in a drought there is no rain to make the corn wet so no fungas grows. Go back a month or 2 and read the post about how high the corn moisture was out west were the worst infections were.

 

[saladin]

Aflatoxin-producing members of Aspergillus are common and widespread in nature. They can colonize and contaminate grain before harvest or during storage. Host crops are particularly susceptible to infection by Aspergillus following prolonged exposure to a high humidity environment or damage from stressful conditions such as drought, a condition which lowers the barrier to entry.

From wikipedia. Yes, high humidity is listed. You will also notice "stressful conditions such as drought."

Our humidity here in the deep South generally runs quite high throughout the summer months with no ill effect on corn, but stressful conditions such as drought (or too much standing water) is another story all together.

You will also find that different types of corn respond differently to conditions.
saladin