Do yall think I could use this?

[SarahFair]

Ive got a bunch of Deer Corn in my garage.
Ive thought about when I get my chickens feeding it to them.
The deer just dont seem to fancy coming to my backyard and I dont want to attract raccoons or opossums or whatever is eating it..
(which ive never seen around here...but something is eating it.)

Its the kind they sell at walmart in the green/grey bag.

 

[tackyrama]

Hi, Is it cracked? If it's whole kernel they will have a hard time digesting it. If there's enough of it take it to a feed mill and they can put it through their rollers. They probably won't like to do small amounts tho. I scatter cracked corn for my free range flock in the morning after they'r out and they love it.

 

[MissPrissy]

You can crack it for them and use it for treats. It is not hard to crack. You can do a some treat sized scoops in your food processor. You don't have to grind it fine just pulse it to break it up.

 

[AnthonyT]

Here is the deal with deer corn. Around here much of it is cheaper than #2 corn at the feed mill, the reason being (I am a wildlife bilogist and one of my freinds told me this) is that most deer corn has been condemmed for mold contamination (aspergillus). I wouldn't feed it to wildlife and I sure wouldn't feed it to livestock. If you can find on the tag somewhere that it is tested and certified mold free than you are good to go. Also, if your birds have access to grit they will have no trouble digesting whole kernal corn. They do have a gizzard for a reason.

 

[MagsC]

Yeah, I was going to say, growing up our chickens had whole kernel corn and access to grit. No problems.

 

[SarahFair]

Cool! I will look for that lable!

What is cracked corn? I never really understood that

 

[AnthonyT]

Cracked corn is very roughly ground, basically just making the kernals into smaller bits. You can still tell it is corn but it is just bits of kernal. Ground corn is more of a power and can be coarse or fine.

 

[DarkUnicorn]

I just "Cracked" a bunch of good old cow (dent) corn that the kids brought home.

The chickens went crazy....

I would suggested spreading it on a baking tray and popping it in the oven for a bit to dry it out if there's a bunch. I tossed mine in the oven after dinner was cooked and turned the gas off, there was enough leftover heat. It will last a bit longer if the moisture is out and looks just like the bagged stuff.