Feeding cracked corn to younger laying hens

[ggeorgas]

Corn, by itself, has good nutrition, as Chris09 points out. I think where corn has gotten a bad rep is from High Fructose Corn Syrup. Nasty stuff, but mainly because so much of America consumes a TON of this stuff. Very hard on digestion. Anything that is highly refined, like HFCS, generally lends toward poor nutrition, for a variety of reasons.

And I know this is a hot topic now, but I'm with you, GMO corn is something I avoid if at all possible. Too many reasons to avoid it.

That is a very good point. I won't fear giving them corn so much. =)

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Corn is not a filler, it is a source of carbohydrates (energy) in livestock rations. All this talk of lack of nutrition, being a filler, empty calories is simply not true.

However, corn is NOT a complete feed. The Amino Acid level and ratios are not appropriate for chickens to thrive.

 

[chickengr]

The only motive I have for feeding corn is that I can aqquire much much cheaper. I now know that it is nt a good balanced diet for them but if all I had was corn to give them what would be some good things to give them to help balance out the diet. Like I said they have partial free range and get plenty of scraps so the crack corn would probably only be about 50% of their diet. Any ideas on particular scraps that are better than others or would be a good supplement to this diet? Keep in mind cost is a very very big factor.

I asked what chicken food consists of and got an answer: 70% corn! therefore you can give even more corn to your chicken but do not forget to give them some other grains and seeds (sunflower, pumpkin) as well. when you give them fruits or vegetables try to cut them. and any leftovers from your food, but mix it with cornmeal or cracked corn because they should not eat salty food. I also boil eggs for about 10 minutes and blend them together with shell and mix with other grains and seeds, put some olive oil, they love it! I do it once a week. and grit. if they can eat some worms as well would be perfect.

I think that not feeding corn to chicken is just about marketing. I do not believe that chicken food has got everything the label says. I do prefer to see the whole grains, which have more nutritional value. Milled grains if not consumed quickly loose their nutritional value and when the big companies do not sell food they simply pack it again with new dates. Whole corn is better than cracked if your chicken are big enough.

And what is the point of laying eggs every day if the eggs are like those in supermarket!

 

[matt44644]

I like my bag of Big Company Nutrena Layer Feed 15 out of 15 at -15 wind chill outside

 

[Areolyn]

And what is the point of laying eggs every day if the eggs are like those in supermarket!

Did you just hear yourself?

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

......

I think that not feeding corn to chicken is just about marketing. I do not believe that chicken food has got everything the label says. I do prefer to see the whole grains, which have more nutritional value. Milled grains if not consumed quickly loose their nutritional value and when the big companies do not sell food they simply pack it again with new dates. Whole corn is better than cracked if your chicken are big enough.

And what is the point of laying eggs every day if the eggs are like those in supermarket!

I'm sorry you're so cynical about the feed industry. The label in fact does equate to what is in the feed, there are state and national laws regarding what and how must be listed on a feed tag.

As to the assertion that companies simply relabel products that don't sell, well that is an out right falsehood.

The act of grinding corn doesn't result in the loss of nutrients, over time a long time there is a chance that some nutrients will degrade but those reductions require time and the correct conditions to occur.

 

[chickengr]

I was in business with animal food and know something about that. the ingredients are not always the same, depends on the market at the time of production. in order to keep the same price the row material must have the same price. therefore, the companies are buying what is the cheapest at that moment. otherwise they would be forced to increase the price of the product.

 

[gorgewind]

I feed my chicks ground mealworms, oats, peas, sunflower seeds, kale greens and kelp. I feed the adults oats, peas and sunflower seeds. Adults also free range for greens and bugs. This is the diet my chickens taught me to feed them. They refuse to eat corn and flaxseed when the other stuff is available. There must be a reason for that. I figure they know what is good for them when given many things to chose from.

 

[vbob99]

cracked corn vs whole corn. the only difference is how much the chickens will eat. I feed cracked corn mixed with same amt of whole "feed" wheat. both cost about $6 per 50lbs my chickens seem to lay better with the wheat. to fatten up for slaughter i use straight corn. and of course they get kitchen/garden/freezer scraps, with occasional free range. and a large bag of oster shell.
there is no problem with corn but i would add some of the cheaper grains too