Effects of feeding corn to chickens?

[harryg6167]

I see that there are plenty of different opinions on this. I appreciate all of ya'lls comments.
Now ya'lls showbirds are all nice and pretty but that is just not for me. All of my chickens are used for egg production.
Also I have some that are used for eggs and meat.
We get an egg a day from our chickens and they are perfect at butchering time.
There are no hormones in commercial feeds. Heck how do we know
the person we buy "organic" from is actually producing "organic"?
Hopefully not because the USDA puts an "organic stamp on the labels.
Anyways thanks for all the responses and I think that my question has been answered sufficiently.
Harry

 

[Akane]

You can't really compare old farm flocks or farm management to today. We live entirely differently. Chickens have access to entirely different feed sources, we don't raise them for the same reasons or the same way, and many of the breeds we have are from different countries where they may have evolved to different climates, stressors, and types of grain or other feed. Corn has always been one of the cheapest energy sources in this country but it's always been one of the worst animal feeds. It's a poorly balanced grain that easily causes digestive upset and health problems in all farm animals. It is probably the most poorly balanced grain you can get. If I took the time I could go pull out my equine nutrition papers that compare all the grains and feed sources readily available. It's high in phosphorous, low in calcium, has a poor mix of amino acids, is too high in fat, too high in carbohydrates, lacks most good vitamins and minerals.... Oats are a much more balanced grain but don't have the energy levels of corn. Which is where BOSS comes in. Yes in the past it probably wasn't a great thing to feed. Chickens were already making off with lots of protein and high energy feeds from other animals on the farm and free ranging. Now few live on a farm with a wide mix of animals and few get scraps from butchering other animals. BOSS contains more kcals than corn, better ratios of calcium to phosphorous, more vitamins and minerals, less carbohydrates.... It makes a much more complete feed than corn. Corn needs to be properly mixed with other things or chickens need to have a good mix of free ranging land or they will suffer excesses and deficiencies of lots of nutrients.

 

[mendygnl]

This informtion is so interesting to me. My girls get a complete layer ration, and little scratch, and yes, I've added corn free choice because it is cold here in Iowa. My coop is unheated, and the girls free range during the day, so they get lots of exercise. I love to see them run when they see me come out to do chores. I love my chooks!!!

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
There are many tests and inspections that a farm has to go through to obtain a Organic Certification they don't just put a "certified organic" label on a product.
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Organic_Certification.html
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/organcert.html#considering

There are no hormones in commercial feeds. It would not be worth the trouble for a company to put hormones in a feed and try to cover it up by not putting it on the Feed Tag...
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/newsletter/newsletter_nov04.pdf
http://www.plamondon.com/faq_myths.html

Chris

 

[catdaddyfro]

Here's my take on corn as a feed, I use it but mostly during the winter for calories and I think it'll stick to their ribs longer for overnight warmth. I feed a diet of 2 parts layer to 1 part grains(scatch, oats and whole corn,) as a feeding ratio along with a few hours a day of free ranging.

Here's a thread I posted a while back about feeding, its mostly about molt and getting young layers started:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=254277

catdaddy

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
This is basically the same thing I do. I don't feed alot of corn, just a couple of cupfuls tossed on the ground in the morning or evening (for 14 LF birds). Mine have layer feed available 24/7 and free range from early morning till dusk. Great eggs, great looking birds. I ain't gonna fix what ain't broken.

Also, in the fall and spring I feed scratch grains - cracked corn mixed with other grains. From first frost to last I switch to "chops" - pure cracked corn. In the summer they get what they find free ranging, a few kitchen scraps and their layer pellets only; no form of scratch at all.

 

[chookchick]

This is what I am curious about--is the corn we are feeding the same corn that our grandparents fed? It seems likely to me that nowadays corn has much higher sugars, thus carbs, and much lower protein than it used to. Corn has been bred, and genetically modified soo much, it is not likely to be at all them same as it once was! For that reason, and also the productions methods used, I am not happy about using much corn. I mix their "scratch" with mostly sunflower seed and wheat.

 

[lngrid]

Quote:
Ooooooo! Where can I find her guide?

 

[Sissy]

I Just came upon this thread and
and sure learned a lot.Thats what is so great about BYC we
learn somrthing new all the time.
all we have to do is use our own judgement
and if our flock is happy then we're
all happy.I use purina starter for my babys
and the Purina layene
for the older ladies
but now I just may toss in some corn for the winter
because mine dont free range.

 

[halo]

Quote:
This is basically the same thing I do. I don't feed alot of corn, just a couple of cupfuls tossed on the ground in the morning or evening (for 14 LF birds). Mine have layer feed available 24/7 and free range from early morning till dusk. Great eggs, great looking birds. I ain't gonna fix what ain't broken.

Also, in the fall and spring I feed scratch grains - cracked corn mixed with other grains. From first frost to last I switch to "chops" - pure cracked corn. In the summer they get what they find free ranging, a few kitchen scraps and their layer pellets only; no form of scratch at all.

I feed cracked corn in my scratch mix, which is equal parts cracked corn, whole heavy race horse oats, and BOSS. I throw out a scoop or two of that in the morning before I go to work to keep them busy, until I get home from work. Then, in the afternoon, its the "great escape" and they all go roaming the back 10 acres, thru the horse fields, picking up grains the horses dropped, and scratching thru poop piles, and finding what ever else chickies find. So they pretty much have their scratch free choice.