feeding corn

[Chris09]

Well actually i have found that if given too much corn in hot weather they can overheat
But then, everyone has their own opinions and I respect yours

Do you have a link? I would just love to reed it.

Chris

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

......
Corn does have a lot of energy in it relative to other nutrients thus can be considered more as an energy source than as a source of other types of nutrient like protein. Care must be taken to avoid feeding corn to excess as it can result in too much energy being ingested relative to other nutrients required by bird. Since a bird can consume only so much food during course of day, too much corn consumption can prevent adequate intake of more nutrtionally complete portion of ration. The 10% rule works well when intact corn is available all day but when temperatures get really low I will bump up inclusion rate to 25% but that is only for a few days in a row.

What Centrachid said!!!!!

 

[Nutcase]

one of my best resources is 'living with chickens' by jay rossier

 

[hdowden]

mine only get it in scratch form and that may or may not be fermented. i have however all but stopped given them corn due to the discoloration it caused on some of my birds...

 

[Chris09]

one of my best resources is 'living with chickens' by jay rossier

If that is you "best resources" I think you are going to have to find a better resource.
It is people like this that keep old wives tails alive.

Chris

 

[hdowden]

i have read a lot of stuff on here and off of here. it all conflicts some say corn is bad and not to feed, some says feed in moderation, others says feed all you want....i choose to feed as a treat and limited due to the discoloration that it causes

 

[Going Quackers]

It's in my grain mix that i toss a few handfuls down each day so the girls have variety and something to "hunt" for, as they are penned birds. I do agree there is a 1001 myths about corn out there, i don't think it should make up the entire diet that said it's been part of the diet fed to poultry for an awfully long time as obviously pre-made foods did not always exist.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

If you are reading lots of different things and are not sure what is true it is probably best not to repeat that information as this is now misinformation continues to be spread. I always like to look at the sources listed and where that information is coming from.

This idea about corn and heat seems to be based on the fact that digestion of any kind does produce a certain amount of heat through the release of energy, much like the process of fermentation. However I have not been able to find any information that indicates corn releases a substantially greater amount of heat than any other grain (in fact, in seems to release less energy than say rice). Also the amount of corn or any other food that is able to go through a chicken's digestive track at any given time would create a very small amount of energy. It does not seem possible that it could have any noticeable effect on the bird's body temperature.

However, I am not a biologist and have only read briefly on the subject. I would love to hear from others who may have read more. This idea comes up a lot in various chicken forums and blogs and no one really ever has an explanation.

If you can explain how it is possible that eating corn can cause a chicken to overheat or have a source that can explain how this is biologically possible, I would be very interested in reading that.

 

[Chris09]

This idea about corn and heat seems to be based on the fact that digestion of any kind does produce a certain amount of heat through the release of energy, much like the process of fermentation. However I have not been able to find any information that indicates corn releases a substantially greater amount of heat than any other grain (in fact, in seems to release less energy than say rice). Also the amount of corn or any other food that is able to go through a chicken's digestive track at any given time would create a very small amount of energy. It does not seem possible that it could have any noticeable effect on the bird's body temperature.

This might help some it is based on cattle but also holds true with poultry.


Quote: http://beef.osu.edu/library/heat.html Chris

 

[centrarchid]

The break down of complex carbohydrates like cellulose's of hays / straws requires more energy (heat) releasing steps before the sugar residues are converted to something that can be absorbed into the blood stream. The compounds absorbed are dominated by volatile fatty acids (VFA's). The easier to digest starch requires fewer energy releasing steps to result in glucose which is absorbed as glucose. Both VFA's and blood glucose can be converted to long chain fatty acids for storage in fat once the body's needs for other glucose uses (immediate use as glucose, storage as glycogen, conversion to some amino acids, etc.) are met. The conversion processes all result in a release of energy. With the digestion of the complex fibers like cellulose, the conversion to VFA's is slower than the break down of starch. Additionally the movement of glucose across membranes requires energy of which a fair portion is turned to heat. The differences in patterns of heat release may favor cellulose during digestion but the starch of corn maybe favored during uptake and conversion. Additionally, consider how many calories can be consumed per unit of gut fill as corn versus hay / straw. I bet you will find at lot more calories can be packed in as corn than hay / straw.


When comparing corn to a more balance ration, when so much is in diet that the balance of energy to protein off in favor of excess protein, then the excess glucose must be converted to something once glycogen reserve capacity is saturated. The conversions produce heat. Same thing result with too much protein in diets as amino acids of protein are converted to glucose and fat.


For big critters like a cow, the increased energy intake of consuming a corn rich diet has the potential to release more energy per unit time than hay and that can have an impact on the bodies heat budget when large size slows the dissipation of heat. With chickens, large size does not apply but the starch of corn is still very easily / quickly broken and that may be important when a bird is operating under conditions of extreme cold stress. When conditions are extremely cold, it is my assumption that the speed of the corns breakdown and absorption occurs at a rate enabling the bird to conserve fat reserves that also help with insulation. Same benefits may be realized by feeding increased amounts of oil-seeds like sunflower assuming the low energy density of seeds with hulls does not limit energy intake.