i bought a 40# bag of whole corn. can i mix this in with their feed? do i need to have it cracked or ground? does anyone have a good book for chicken feed recipes they would recommend? thanks;
Feed it as a treat. Corn is not well balanced feed on it's own. Treat supplements shouldn't be more than 10% daily consumption. If you wanted to mix with another feed or just feed more corn daily there are several concentrated feeds you could use. Agway Egg Producer (21% protein) is one specifically designed to be fed in conjunction with scratch grains. A game grower blend is another you could use to feed more corn to though that doesn't have the added calcium. I'd probably not mix but provide measured daily amount of corn separately and could be 30 to 40% daily consumption.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/291796/corn-is-not-created-equally-dangerous-corn-in-poultry-feed If your corn isn't for poultry, check the label for aflatoxins content. See the above thread if interested. Some have said on here that deer corn isn't good for poultry because of the aflatoxins...but I don't know anything other than what I've read on that. Corn is great as part of the feed or treats, and you don't have to grind it for adult chickens. Make sure they have access to grit. I agree with EggheadJr. about not cutting your feed too much with it. I love the book, "Feeding Poultry" by Heuser from decades ago. http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/feeding_poultry.html I still haven't finished reading it. It is very long.
You know you can sprout corn? It makes a terrific feed when sprouted. Soak in a bucket (one quarter corn, three quarters water) for 24 hours, then hang in shade in a loose-weave bag and feed out over the next 3-4 days (rinsing daily to keep fresh). It's not a whole feed of course... But a good one.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/ask-our-experts/save-money-on-chicken-feed-zb0z10zblon.aspx http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Making-Poultry-Feeds-1.html notice this has 3 pages For online recipes, http://www.lionsgrip.com/protein.html http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/poultry/bba01s20.html this doesn't have corn in the recipe though Poultry Nutrition | Department of Animal Science | University of Minnesota
