Cornish X batch cracked corn only?

[Flyboy718]

Thinking of doing my next batch of four on cracked corn only. Bag says it is 7% protein. I don't care if they grow slower by feeding them this, just wondering if anyone else has done it and what the results were...

 

[PotterWatch]

Is there a particular reason you want to do this? I can't say for certain, but I don't imagine they will get the vitamins and minerals they need to be healthy from just cracked corn. I would expect to have health issues, but someone else may know better.

 

[Country Parson]

On a practical level they would be too young to handle cracked corn, at least for the first few weeks.

I've actually thought the same thing, as I had a huge supply of free cracked corn. I bought 100lbs of soy meal for $22, which is 48% protein. I mixed it with cracked corn till I got around 21-23%. my birds are entering their second week, and still seem too young to handle it. Their on standard crumbles at the moment, but I am hoping to switch soon.

 

[Flyboy718]

Hmmm....wonder if I could just feed them my Layer 16% for the first few weeks then go to straight cracked corn.

 

[booker81]

They'll grow slower, but you would be also not be providing complete nutrition for them. There's a lot more to chicken feed than just protein percentage - most rations are developed with specific types of chickens in mind. Not saying they'll all die or something if you feed just one type of feed, but take a look at a label to see the differences in minerals, vitamins, amino acids etc. Then pull up a nutritional analysis of corn.

 

[ChickenJerk]

It would be like shoveling coal into a nuclear reactor.

 

[bigredfeather]

Since corn is so high in carbs, I'd guess they would have more fat on them than meat if you did this. For the record, I think it is a bad idea that will not give you good results.

 

[silkiechicken]

You won't know till you try. So if you are inclined, try it, keep track of what you did, and report it. Even better is if you can do half your batch in a traditional way, and the other half in your test way. That would give you and everyone you can share the experiment with a good control group to compare with.

I suspect they may not thrive due to lack of minerals/vitamins or the wrong balance of them. I also suspect if they are on such a diet, they will grow slower, be fattier, and be prone to joint/leg issues. But we wont know till you try. Just keep in mind these cornish x are a highly selectively bred cross of birds which have been grown for optimal growth on formulated feed. They may be less resistant/adaptable to feed changes than your run in the mill dual purpose barn chicken is. That said, awhile back, there was a thread on someone who split an order of sexlinks with his buddy, and there were large differences in the conditioning, weight, maturity, onset of lay between his on formulated feed and his buddies on corn.

 

[SIMZ]

I fed my last batch regular starter for the first 2-3 weeks. At that point I started mixing in scratch grains (they need grit then!!) - I think I started with 1 part scratch to 3 parts starter and kept adding until I got it about 50/50. For the last week or so I used more like 70% scratch to 30% finisher ration (16-18% protein). I butchered them at 6 weeks and they dressed between 3.5-over 5 lbs.

They weren't fatty, but did have a great taste and made very nice broth. I believe the more corn/scratch you feed them the slower they will grow. Just through the added time you'll get a better taste. It seems that you'd want to at least start them with pure starter for the first 3-4 weeks so they get everything they need to grow well at the start. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens details a nice feeding plan using corn.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Sure. Go ahead and try it.

I wouldn't do it myself because I believe in the value of balanced nutrition. But they are your birds and it is your money. Let us know how it works for you.