Cracked corn

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

My father has a large gas engine powered corn grinder he uses for making cornmeal a couple of hundred pounds at a time. He always gives me a bag for "the girls". I mix it with enough water to make a thick paste/dough, and the girls love it!

 

[RonP]

Sorry - this particular part bugs me - Corn is one of the basic building blocks of chicken diet. Commercial diets/mixes are largely a mix of corn and soy - because they fill most of a chicken's nutritional requirements, and are a good, cheap source of protein and calories.

There's no need to feed your chickens cracked corn, or scratch - and generally you're doing them a disservice by feeding them anything but a proper food, but saying that corn is useless calories is a bit much.

What you say is correct, but please do not take my statements out of context.

As a grain, corn has a high caloric content, not necessarily bad, but still not a complete diet, agreed.

Extra "useless" calories are stored as fat, not heat.

 

[microchick]

Interesting thread.

I can remember my father when I was in my teens, urging me to go out into the field to glean corn for the chickens in the winter time and then for my horses once again in the winter. He was raised in the era where horses were used predominately for field work and although he was not an educated man, he had common sense knowledge and experience to fall back on. It helped them stay warm, he told me. I would never feed JUST corn to any animal, but I believe corn does have nutritional value for livestock when added in a small amount to feed.

A curious note. We feed our birds crumbles that we buy in 50 pound bags from the local MFA. They grind, blend and produce the food themselves and the layer feed has a whopping 20% of protein in it. The chickens love it. The other day I was looking at it closely and noted that there were small particles of ground corn in it. I'm sure that if corn didn't have nutritional value, it wouldn't be in that feed, especially since the feed boasts a protein level of 20%.

Chickens, like humans are omnivores. They will petty much eat anything that doesn't crawl away from them, although some chickens do have discriminating pallets when it comes to what they consider a meal or treat. Like humans they will eat stuff that isn't particularly healthy and nutritious but just plain tastes good to them...Put a bowl of M&Ms in front of me and they will not be around long. Same with our chickens. If I give them a bowl of cracked corn, they will gobble it down like it was M&Ms. Good for them? Probably not, but boy, does it taste good. So yes, I do add some cracked corn in with their layer feed. Not a lot, just a soft drink cup mixed in with 5 gallons of layer feed. It gives them something to scratch around for and when the small amount is gone I know that they will be having to eat their layer mix. The roosters are broad chested and the hens are beginning to lay eggs with strong hard shells. I also give them sunflower seeds sprinkled in the grass in their run as something to scratch around for.

I guess what I am saying is use common sense when you feed your birds. Treat them like children who don't necessarily know what is good for them over what tastes good.

And agree to disagree on this subject.

 

[DanversChickens]

I mix a homemade scratch of cracked corn, whole oats and black oiler sunflower seeds - equal parts. During winter I feed this scratch when I bring the hens in about 2 hrs before the lights go out. I want to boost protein for egg formation (happens during sleep) and provide metabolic warmth for the cold nights. From a metabolic perspective - Corn is a simple carbohydrate much like rice or sugar - it metabolizes pretty quick so think of it as a hot fuel. The whole oats are complex carbohydrates and take longer to breakdown and provide a "sustained" metabolic heat over a longer period than cracked corn. The BOSS are concentrated protein and fat which takes even longer to break down and provides a "longer sustained" metabolic heat. So you can see the mix provides metabolic heat helping to keep the chickens warm through the entire night and provides extra protein needed to keep up egg production, plus vitamin A, C and E. It also keeps the chickens busy at the end of the day so that they don't pick on each other and the group is more relaxed for bedtime. By feeding early evening the chickens don't rely on the scratch as their sole nutrition. Hope this helps folks better understand a little how and why cracked corn, whole oats and sunflower seeds make a nice bedtime snack.

 

[chickengirl12]

Thanks that was very helpful

 

[chickengirl12]

Thanks

 

[Rock Home Isle]

We sometimes use cracked corn as a source of extra energy for the birds during coldest months. We don't give them much, though -- maybe a cup or two per day for 3-5 birds, scattered on the ground. And of course they have unlimted access to their regular feed as well.

You beat me to it.

I feed cracked corn to the flock during the cold months of winter, about an hour or so before I put them to bed. It keeps them warm and cozy...

 

[trooper]

I'm glad to see this.I have been told that cracked corn was good in the winter.Awhile back there was some people on BYC that highly suggested that there was no warmth value to cracked corn.I know of more people that believe it than don't.I also like the nutritional facts that were posted.Thanks

 

[Chris09]

I'm glad to see this.I have been told that cracked corn was good in the winter.Awhile back there was some people on BYC that highly suggested that there was no warmth value to cracked corn.I know of more people that believe it than don't.I also like the nutritional facts that were posted.Thanks

One of the guy's your talking about has a PHD in animal nutrition and knows what he is talking about.

Since most chicken feed will range from 50 to 70 percent Corn, there is really no more "warmth value" in Corn than there regular feed.

Chris

 

[trooper]

One of the guy's your talking about has a PHD in animal nutrition and knows what he is talking about.

Since most chicken feed will range from 50 to 70 percent Corn, there is really no more "warmth value" in Corn than there regular feed.

Chris

As far as any heat value in corn nutrition you are probably right.Cracked corn and feed would have pretty much the same value.By the chickens breaking down the corn I look at it as having to work harder causing the body put out more heat.Not because of the nutritional value,but by the body working harder to digest it.Not only that but when you feed cracked corn you are feeding more than the 50 to 70% range,so I also feel that this could also make a difference of some sort.