Feeding chickens corn and layer pellets

[ADuckOnQuack]

My chickens seem to pick through the corn and just eat the layer pellets making a mess all over the floor. Does anyone else's chicken eat corn or not?

 

[danielkbrantley]

Ha! A few years ago, I gave my chickens a 50/50 mix, and they'd toss the feed to eat the corn. So...I don't give corn mixed in their food any more. Just give them straight layer pellets and toss them whatever scraps we have from the house. Has cut back on food waste quite a bit.

 

[ADuckOnQuack]

Thanks i will do that from now on. What kitchen scraps do they favour best because mine are fussy

 

[chickens really]

Thanks i will do that from now on. What kitchen scraps do they favour best because mine are fussy

Buy the best age appropriate feed you can and limit scraps because it will not be good for egg laying.
10% junk food too daily food.
Also provide grit and oyster shell to your layers.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
Don't feed your layers corn during laying season. The corm makes them fat. The fat keeps their skin from stretching when the reproductive organs swell when laying time comes. Less room for the reproductive organs to function= less eggs. More fat= less eggs. Give them a vitamin supplement instead.
Best,
Karen

 

[ShrekDawg]

 Hi,​
 Don't feed your layers corn during laying season. The corm makes them fat. The fat keeps their skin from stretching when the reproductive organs swell when laying time comes. Less room for the reproductive organs to function= less eggs. More fat= less eggs. Give them a vitamin supplement instead.
 Best,
 Karen

Good to hear an actual reason like that because even though I knew being fat was bad i never realized it could affect their organs and laying like that. I used to give them lots of corn but haven't in a while but they do get a lot of bread. I need to not.

Although my friend says them being fat is good because then they're warm in the winter. I tried to explain the excess weight probably makes them hot in the summer and I just don't like them being fat and she and her boyfriend (who has the chickens) said they're chickens and they'll dig themselves a hole, find shade, or drink, etc. If they're hot and insist being fat is a good thing. I knew it couldn't be good for their health. But he also doesn't leave food out all the time and only feeds I think once a day but it could be twice, don't know, because they don't have a run and their ducks will steal the food? And he also sometimes doesn't collect eggs for days or maybe even a couple weeks, not sure, I think maybe it's days, because he's busy and they're his chickens so he "forgets" and even though he lives with his family they don't take care of them? Mine are mine but my family helps so i found that dumb. They also throw a lot away, obviously, and don't eat that many eggs? Why even have chickens? Lmao but oh well i guess. But yeah, so any advice from them i take with a grain of salt ha

But yeah so the chickens being fat is NOT healthy?

I guess it's kind of common sense, I mean, people, cats, dogs, most other species it's not healthy to be fat so chickens are no different?

 

[danielkbrantley]

Thanks i will do that from now on. What kitchen scraps do they favour best because mine are fussy

Mine will eat most anything. Granted, I sometimes have to break it into tiny pieces, but they'll eat it. Things they don't eat and I don't give them in an effort to avoid having rat-attracting food all over the run: potato and carrot peels.

And I don't give them scraps every day. Probably every couple or three days, whenever the scrap container we keep in the sink is fairly full.

 

[ADuckOnQuack]

Thanks everyone for the advice! It's just we have a friend who can get us free bags of corn during harvesting. Usually my chickens and ducks are fed on roll barley and layer pellets but as we had corn in the storage bins which is free I thought why not. But yes i agree! no wonder the egg production has decreased

 

[ShrekDawg]

You could always save it, if it's still good (making sure its mot moldy etc), and give it in the winter! Of course maybe not as much as you were giving but on especially cold nights it can help them keep warm

 

[TalkALittle]

 Hi,​
 Don't feed your layers corn during laying season. The corm makes them fat. The fat keeps their skin from stretching when the reproductive organs swell when laying time comes. Less room for the reproductive organs to function= less eggs. More fat= less eggs. Give them a vitamin supplement instead.
 Best,
 Karen

It is true that obese hens lay less, but that is not the reason.

Follow this link for an explanation. Or just scroll down to the Conclusion section if the data doesn't interest you.

http://m.advances.nutrition.org/content/5/2/199.full

The real reason that fat hens produce less is because excess energy intake and the resulting obesity cause metabolic changes that result in decreased ovulation.