Cracked corn as the only feed

[Yonaton]

If I were in the OP's shoes, I'd do as her grandaddy said. It'd save a heck of a lot of money and the birds will still get everything they need by eating bugs and such *and* the cracked/shelled corn. I had to do this one year after I'd become disabled because the money simply wasn't there for the $15/bag regular feed I used at the time. I went to the $8/bag of shelled corn and didn't change anything else (they always free ranged), and I never noticed any difference in them size-wise nor egg production-wise. Their poop is slightly runnier, not a whole lot, but a tiny bit noticeable, but none died and they stayed fat and happy.

 

[Cockadoodledon't]

The breed and genetics of the birds have changed since your grandfathers day.
What worked then has changed a bit now.
I have a post that I put up yesterday where a Doctor with my local agriculture dept told me that over the years
the traits of genetics have changed and that now the birds get the needed supplement from the laying mash and the scratch mix dilutes their nutritional consumption. She admitted...."""We all used to do it.""""
I have studied on her comments with interest.

 

[homesteadapps]

Cockadoodledon't :

The breed and genetics of the birds have changed since your grandfathers day.
What worked then has changed a bit now.
I have a post that I put up yesterday where a Doctor with my local agriculture dept told me that over the years
the traits of genetics have changed and that now the birds get the needed supplement from the laying mash and the scratch mix dilutes their nutritional consumption. She admitted...."""We all used to do it.""""
I have studied on her comments with interest.

Not to be disagreeable, but I don't agree.

Maybe a caged chicken, but it's kind of a generalized statement from a doctor and sounds more like an ad for a feed company and I think many chicken breeders will disagree. Personally, I think it's hard to breed the chicken out of the chicken. They want to eat what they see, even the Cornish Cross seem to know that they are supposed to eat bugs and grass.

I believe this statement might be more true for for hybrid birds like the Cornish Cross, Bronze Breasted Turkeys, fast growing hybrids. Birds of these types need certain nutritional requirements that can be copied in custom blends, but probably are more suited to commercial rations since this is easier for most small flock owners to handle. A bird that grows to 8 pounds in 8 weeks does indeed need a balanced diet to get them there. Even though, a CX will forage, it would rather sit in front of the feeder.

For other types such as the Plymouth Rock, Buckeye, etc..., given enough area, a bird left to free range will find not only what it needs to survive, but they can thrive because you can't put fresh air, green grass, and sunshine in a bag. We supplement with feed, but during the summer months not a lot gets eaten from the feeder.

There are plenty of older sustainable breeding flocks, and even hatchery stock, that hasn't been tampered with much at all other then individual farmers and breeders picking the best traits that they are looking for in their flocks. Trait selection has been going on for thousands of years.

Heres a good article. http://archaeology.about.com/od/domestications/qt/chicken.htm

The traits I look for in our chickens for breeding are: conformity to the standards, good temperament, ability to forage, best growth, good laying, and healthy.​

 

[7L Farm]

Technology has come along way since gramps was raising chickens. No offense. The feed you can get today has pretty much every thing needed to raise good laying hens besides some greens. Other than that its fool proof. I like to range because it cuts down on my feed bill. I had a guy come by my farm the other day wanting some eggs he asked me if I used supplemental feed. I told him yes & then I asked him how many eggs you need. He said no thanks. I started thinking to myself how could I raise chickens in the winter without supplemental feed they would starve without it.

 

[briteday]

I'm also postulating on this notion...in previous generations most people had full-blown farms/ranches or some sort of homestead that included many types of livestock and crops. I could see where a chicken could make itself happy rooting around in spilled grain from feed bins, finding plenty of high-protein bugs and worms around manure piles, and getting their fair share of greens from the gardens/crop fields...supplemented by whatever scraps were available from the kitchen. It may not be balanced, but I don't think my grandma and grandpa were as concerned about the number of eggs they should be getting from their hens as I am. They just kept a flock of a dozen or so chickens and were happy when that provided enough for the family in eggs and meat. They let the hens raise some chickens each year, keeping the male chicks to help flock reproduction or to raise and eat.

Then we move to modern day America. Yes, some of you live on full-blown farms/ranches or homestead. But most of us, I think, do not. And in this day a farmer can't afford to have spilled grain laying around, we follow behind our livestock with shovels and tractors to manage manure more effectively, and we manage our gardens and crops to keep out the chickens. And many families who are living in the suburbs/cities have minimal yards and few table scraps. The grass may be green but there is little in the way of seeds, grains, bugs, etc to forage.

I see it as two different styles of animal and crop management. And we care more about getting our money's worth in eggs from the hens that we pay for as chicks, choose to raise in a fancy brooder set up (vs mama hen taking care of their needs for free), and feeding starter, electrolytes, vitamins, etc to give them a good start in life. And we choose breeds that have been designed to give us the best in egg production and/or meat. If we let our flocks breed their own offspring for free, raise their own chicks, and had enough for them to find feed on their own...maybe we would be less likely to concern ourselves with the number of eggs we are getting...and just decide that chicken stew is in order for Sunday dinner. In the Fall, my grandma would decide which hens had not been as productive, getting old and she didn't want to keep through the winter. And it would be a horrible thought to have a chicken die from old age before they could eat it. And during the summer there were always plenty of young cockerals to eat.

Just my $0.02.

 

[elmo]

Fred's Hens :

And their hens looked gosh awful, most of the time, and likely laid somewhere around 100 eggs a year .

That's the thing. The protein content of corn is low compared with the protein content of layer feed. A low protein diet is going to result in fewer eggs. Free ranging chickens can make up the difference somewhat if they're able to catch a lot of bugs, etc., but that's not guaranteed.​

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
This makes the most sense to me. Having let my chickens free range prior to needing to be locked up due to coyotes moving in, they ate very little from the feeders in the summer. I only use meal worms and scratch to call them to the coop if I needed them turned in early. Now I'm 'supplementing' on every level. I'm as upset as they are about them being locked up.

It's such an individual choice. I WANT the chickens in our garden, don't mind them eating the flowers or making dust bowls. However, now I feel that I have to supplement their diet to maintain the quality eggs and happy chickens that we're used to. At least we're fortunate enough to have a garden and lots of wild growth to choose from.

Don't think I could do what gpa does...cracked corn only.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
If you have your own corn you can just have a mill provide a protein/mineral premix to add to your corn to make a complete ration. There's no sense in paying a premium for corn that you already have.

 

[homesteadapps]

Quote:
Between roaming the field, cleaning up after the goats, and rabbits our chickens get a pretty complete diet during the summer months. During the winter we start giving more feed.

Yes,

You can save a lot of money doing this

Here are some of the concentrates from Kent.

http://www.kentfeeds.com/products/poultry/other/poultry-Other.php (click on the feeding direction for the mill recipe)

 

[Nurs4kids]

A friend gave me four hens to get me started. She said she only fed them cracked corn, so that's what I started with. I was getting two eggs a day. After researching here and talking with other chicken folks, I decided to switch them to high protein and only supplement with cracked corn. Within two days, I was getting THREE eggs per day from four hens and sometimes four/day. Proof is in the numbers...I was sold. Maybe because it's hot as heck or maybe because of nutritional need...but my hens don't even like the cracked corn anymore.