does crack corn help?

[darkmatter]

On the recent really cold snowy days, I give an extra scoop of scratch into the coop and leave them shut up. They don't like to come out in the snow anyway. I checked the thermometer I have hanging in the coop, it was 15 degrees outside, but 35 degrees inside when the sun was shining. I have my Coop on a foundation with a sub-ground level dirt floor and deep litter up to 18 inches deep. I don't have electricity or water run to the coop, they have been doing fine during the winter for a couple decades now. The Coop is situated such that the winter sun will shine into the south and west windows. During the summer, the whole Coop is shaded by deciduous trees. (See my BYC page for pics of the Coop/Run setup)

This pic is a couple years old, before I enlarged the run.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Quote:
I give my chickens BOSS as a treat since it has, as I recall, 18% protein.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Quote:
*cough* Nancy Reagan.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Well the layer feed is designed to be the only feed. 16-20% protein is the standard recommendation for layers- of the total diet.

On BYC I have read that you don't want treats to comprise more than 10% of the diet. Here is the treats chart:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[Baybrio]

I had a thought when ChickensAreSweet reminded us that the layer feed is supposed to be "complete". I believe most of the nutritional research is done for large commercial flocks. I believe commercial layers are typically leghorn type hens, are kept in temperature controlled conditions, are culled at a young age, and the light is controlled for maximum production. I wonder if my birds who are more heavy dual purpose types, who live in an unheated coop, free range daily, live until natural causes or predators determine otherwise, have the same nutritional needs as their commercial cousins?

I don't know the answer to this. I do know mine lay fewer eggs in the winter. I feed Layena free choice all year. I don't use scratch grains or cracked corn in the summer when their are good things for them to eat as they forage. Maybe the drop in production is partially because they are not eating high protein insects in the winter. Maybe it is because I feed them low protein cracked corn in the winter. Of course they eat low protein grass/weeds in the summer.

OK, now I have confused myself!

In any case corn is really not like candy, it is a part of most livestock and pet foods. It is also not a complete feed and I suppose most of us (myself especially) should be more strict about doling out the goodies. Of course it is hard to resist those pitiful little faces in the cold.

 

[johny]

When it gets to -40 like it did two nights ago, the birds need extra calories to keep warm.
They eat they same amount of layer crumbles as they did in the summer. So their total protein intakefrom that source remains stable.

But they eat and seem to need lots of cracked corn to keep warm. Currently, 1/3 of their total diet is cracked corn.
Egg laying remians steady and very productive all winer on this diet.

 

[Terri O]

I wish mine ate the same as they do in the summer! I think I go through 100 more pounds of layer in 2 weeks in the winter months! Plus double the scratch (CC, BOSS and rolled oats) Terri O

 

[Judy]

There is a persistent myth on here that corn has some special heat-producing quality, so we should feed more of it in cold weather and less in hot. This just isn't true. It produces heat when digested, but so does any other food. And it is true they will eat it in preference to more nutritious food, just as a child might choose candy over supper

Interesting question raised by Baybrio, whether commercial feed is really a complete diet for our backyard, foraging, not-culled-at-18-months flocks. I have wondered the same thing. In summer mine eat a lot less feed because they find a lot foraging, like many others' flocks do. I know they love bugs so I figure they get more protein in warmer months. So I give a lot of BOSS or other protein sources as treats, especially in winter. In summer I give more grains as treats, and don't give as much quantity of treats, since they have a lot more good forage to find, and are a lot busier. I have no idea whether this is a good approach or not.

 

[Lisa202]

I have 17 week old bantams and I have been feeding them started/grower feed and everyday they get oatmeal with cracked corn at night and a little cracked corn in the morning. I give them treats like mealworms, crickets, greens, pumpkins sporadically...

one of my EE's has just started laying last week..and to my surprise, the shells was nice and hard. I put out crushed oyster shell, but I'm hesitant to switch all of them to layer feed, since the others may not start laying for another 2 months.

Any advice would be appreciated.
thanks

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Since oyster shell is available, you don't actually ever NEED layer. Layer is just feed plus calcium. I'm switching mine from layer to grower. I've always kept oyster shell available separately. They get a little more protein this way, and the young ones never eat layer this way. Around here the trick is to find grower that is unmedicated.