Cracked corn

[chickadde]

Can I feed my chickens cracked corn for a treat? And, is it good for them? Thanks for your help!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Sure.

However, realize your basic feed product you buy is 70% corn already, more than likely. That feed is then balanced with minerals, vitamins, and protein boosting products to achieve the complete package. By feeding a lot of extra corn, you're diluting your feed. It is easy to dilute the protein down and effectively reduce other essentials as well.

A little here or there? Not a problem. Just use common sense.

 

[redsoxs]

I concur with Fred's Hens - no and again is a no problem...and your hens will love it!

 

[chickadde]

Thank you for your help!

 

[esoaksranch]

Now for what I know of corn, it has no nutritional value except as a sugar. So I'm not sure if I would personally. We give ours worms and bsf as treats as well as any kitchen scraps that don't make it to the compost pile. Just my 2cents.

 

[NYREDS]

Now for what I know of corn, it has no nutritional value except as a sugar. So I'm not sure if I would personally. We give ours worms and bsf as treats as well as any kitchen scraps that don't make it to the compost pile. Just my 2cents.

Corn contains about 7% protein, carbohydrates & fats. Since it is the main ingredient in most poultry feed saying it has "no nutritional value" doesn't seem too valid.
Cracked corn is the most widely used scratch grain ingredient & it is fed to millions of chickens daily. In years past many farm flocks were fed nothing but cracked corn & they foraged for the rest of their diet.
Go ahead, toss them a little corn in the afternoon, thy'll love it.

 

[Vamvakas]

I hate feeding my chickens corn cause it's like eating ice cream or sweets for us. But I tend to feed them layer pellets 1st then when there're done they get corn. If my mix it they eat corn first and eat the pellets last.

 

[esoaksranch]

Corn contains about 7% protein, carbohydrates & fats. Since it is the main ingredient in most poultry feed saying it has "no nutritional value" doesn't seem too valid.
Cracked corn is the most widely used scratch grain ingredient & it is fed to millions of chickens daily. In years past many farm flocks were fed nothing but cracked corn & they foraged for the rest of their diet.
Go ahead, toss them a little corn in the afternoon, thy'll love it.

I understand, it is a staple food for almost all animal based feeds. So with that said, feeding them corn won't hurt anything because like you stated it has been done for a long time. And I am for one not one to judge. The chickens will tell you if they like it or not. Their the only ones that matter. And thank you for the interesting fact. Learn something new everyday.

 

[missnu01]

It is alright as a treat, but only as a treat. It is easy to feed them too much, because they love it. Same with bread and such. You have to find other things that they are just as crazy for, but aren't as useless to them. Mealworms, fruits, and select veggies. Nothing gets my chickens as excited as tomatoes and strawberries...perhaps because of the red color...? Anyway the cracked corn is to them what things like potato chips are to us...They are delicious, but basically nutritionally detrimental.

 

[Chris09]

For some reason a bunch of people (mostly on this site) believe that corn has no nutritional value and these people should get there information from more reliable sources because there information is incorrect. ​

TDN = Total Digestible Nutrients
NEm = Net Energy of Maintenance
NEg = Net Energy of Gain
CP = Crude Protein
NDF = Neutral Detergent Fiber
ADF = Acid Detergent Fiber

Table 1. Nutrient content of various feed grains (NRC, 1996).​

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Corn Barley Wheat Oats Sorghum
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TDN, % 90 88 88 77 82
NEm, Mcal/lb 1.02 0.94 0.99 0.84 0.91
NEg, Mcal/lb 0.70 0.64 0.68 0.55 0.61
CP, % 9.8 13.2 14.2 13.6 12.6
Escape Protein, % of CP 55 27 23 17 57
NDF, % 10.8 18.1 11.8 29.3 16.1
ADF, % 3.3 5.8 4.2 14.0 6.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------




Table 2. Mineral content of major feed grains (NRC, 1996).
----------------------------------------------------------
Corn Barley Wheat Oats Sorghum
----------------------------------------------------------
Calcium, % 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.04
Phosphorus, % 0.32 0.35 0.44 0.41 0.34
Potassium, % 0.44 0.57 0.40 0.51 0.44
Magnesium, % 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.16 0.17
Sodium, % 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.01
Sulfur, % 0.11 0.15 0.14 0.21 0.14
Copper, ppm 2.5 5.3 6.5 8.6 4.7
Iron, ppm 54.5 59.5 45.1 94.1 80.8
Manganese, ppm 7.9 18.3 36.6 40.3 15.4
Selenium, ppm 0.14 - 0.05 0.24 0.46
Zinc, ppm 24.2 13.0 38.1 40.8 0.99
Cobalt, ppm - 0.35 - 0.06 -
Molybdenum, ppm 0.60 1.16 0.12 1.70 -
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Table 3. Nutrient content of corn using different harvest, storage,
or processing methods.
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Escape
Dry TDN, NEm, NEg, Protein,
Corn Type Matter % Mcal/lb Mcal/lb CP, % % of CP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dry Rolled Corn 86 90 1.02 0.70 9.8 60
Ear Corn 87 83 0.92 0.62 9.0 60
Steam Flaked Corn 82 94 1.06 0.73 10.0 45
High Moisture Corn 75 90 1.02 0.70 10.0 40
High Moisture Ear Corn 75 83 0.92 0.62 8.7 40
High Moisture Snapped Corn 74 81 0.90 0.59 8.8 40
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