In Defense of Whole Corn

alwaystj9

Small goats & big chickens + 1 old horse
Aug 20, 2019
1,046
2,835
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SE Louisiana
I always have cheap whole corn in a barrel in the feed room. Nouveau chicken people and scientific chicken people hate this. For lots of reasons, all of which they have abundantly shared with me. I almost suspect that some people are paid off by TSC to bash anyone that doesn't purchase fancy-bagged "Happy Hen Special Treat" or "Magic Baby Chicky Surprise" for their flock.
I like corn because everything eats it. I like corn because I can carry handsfuls in my pockets and it doesn't crumble. I like that it's not sticky. Clothing with corn left in the pockets will go through the washer & dryer and it is still corn-shaped afterwards. My ancient toothless horse still thinks it's a treat even if it goes straight through her (this is why chickens love horse poop). I can toss a couple of handfulls in the pen and lock up the chickens mid day if I need to. I can take a handfull and catch a goat. I can use it to lure my animals to or away from something in an emergency. I can mix it with a handful of pellets so that the feed is visible in low light or awkward spaces...It's the only treat that I have ever found that everything rushes toward (this includes the dogs) (just not the cat). It is in addition to regular pellets but can be fed in an emergency if I run out of pellets.
I am tired of the corn lectures. I recently edited a post I was making to remove the references to corn because I didn't want to read the bad corn crap. Since then I realized that I shouldn't have to apologize for using corn so I quit apologizing or deleting references to corn. Maybe some homesteader who shops at a chain feed store will remember this when the overprocessed chicken product from the chain store is not available.
 
I think people get concerned if they think corn is the only thing you feed your flock. Unfortunately there have been quite a few members who does this. If you buy scratch grain for treats it’s mostly corn and oats. Corn and/or scratch is great for all the reasons you described! Just as long as it’s for training and treat purposes, and they still receive complete poultry feed, you’re totally fine!
 
I think people get concerned if they think corn is the only thing you feed your flock. Unfortunately there have been quite a few members who does this. If you buy scratch grain for treats it’s mostly corn and oats. Corn and/or scratch is great for all the reasons you described! Just as long as it’s for training and treat purposes, and they still receive complete poultry feed, you’re totally fine!
The "scratch" I can get here in town is cracked corn and wheat only. I WISH it was oats. I would actually prefer if it didn't have corn, only because only 1 of my 5 turkeys will eat the corn portion. LOL I should have grabbed some wheat during harvest and bagged it up for them. (Next year though....)
 
The "scratch" I can get here in town is cracked corn and wheat only. I WISH it was oats. I would actually prefer if it didn't have corn, only because only 1 of my 5 turkeys will eat the corn portion. LOL I should have grabbed some wheat during harvest and bagged it up for them. (Next year though....)
Honestly it may have wheat too. I’ve been using the same bag of scratch since like March. I don’t give out many treats besides table scraps.
 
I don’t always have whole corn around, but I occasionally buy a bag for all the reasons you mention.

People get all worked over nutrition for chickens like it’s something only feed companies can possibly understand.

I laugh every time someone posts “Don’t give them corn (or veggies, fruit, bread)...that’s like giving a child CANDY”.

No...it’s like giving a child...corn (or veggies, fruit, bread)...you wouldn’t give a child ONLY that...but in moderation it’s fine.

Moderation, variety, and abundance are the keys...with those, everything else will work out just fine.
 
My Grandfather was born in 1894, and he taught me how to feed chicks the way he did when he was a boy. He had a handcranked corn sheller and a handcranked corn grinder which he showed me how to use. Besides corn he fed them table scraps like watermelon rinds and vegetables. They also loved biscuits and just about anything else they had left over. I know this isn't scientific or from a book, but in rural Kentucky many farmers had to be creative and use what they had to get by.

Now, I have a handcranked corn sheller and I am looking for a handcranked corn grinder. I want my Grandkids to learn the same way I did. Somethings should just get passed down...

hahaha - I just did a little searching and found this, which sounds exactly like my grandmother's method.
 

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