Is corn healthy for chickens (I recently learned it causes cows terrible stomach aches)

[Cindy in PA]

People trying to sell "grass fed" beef will tell you grain is bad for animals
People trying to sell "organic" will tell you GMO's are bad
People trying to sell Fords will tell you Chevy is bad

The TRUTH is cows have been eating grain as long as there have been cows, since "grain" is GRASS seed, and corn is just another grass

This would make sense except I don't believe grass eating cows are usually eating grass seed, they are eating grass. Eating the corn plant is different than eating the seed.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

This would make sense except I don't believe grass eating cows are usually eating grass seed, they are eating grass. Eating the corn plant is different than eating the seed. In a "natural" habitat, they would eat both grass AND seeds (grain) If corn were growing wild, (as it did before being cultivated) then cows would eat both stalks and kernals, >naturally. Cows are foragers which would normally roam large areas to graze, rather than being limited to managed pastures that are rarely allowed to seed out. To say they weren't "meant" to eat grain is ignoring millions of years of evolution .

 

[Cindy in PA]

In a "natural" habitat, they would eat both grass AND seeds (grain)

If corn were growing wild, (as it did before being cultivated) then cows would eat both stalks and kernals, naturally

Cows are foragers which would normally roam large areas to graze, rather than being limited to managed pastures that are rarely allowed to seed out

To say they weren't "meant" to eat grain is ignoring millions of years of evolution

Perhaps" they are not meant to eat grain exclusively or in the quantities they are fed" (along with other waste they are fed) would have set better with you, although I suppose not.

 

[YlwBrchHobbyFrm]

I like to look at corn {I use cracked corn} as a "dessert" and apply it the same way to my chickens as I do myself {in regards to having dessert}. Once a day, small amount. They love it. In the cold winter months I like to give them some in the late afternoon as corn generates more energy during digestion than standard feed, and helps keep them warm at night .

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

In a "natural" habitat, they would eat both grass AND seeds (grain)



If corn were growing wild, (as it did before being cultivated) then cows would eat both stalks and kernals, naturally



Cows are foragers which would normally roam large areas to graze, rather than being limited to managed pastures that are rarely allowed to seed out



To say they weren't "meant" to eat grain is ignoring millions of years of evolution

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

In a "natural" habitat, they would eat both grass AND seeds (grain)

If corn were growing wild, (as it did before being cultivated) then cows would eat both stalks and kernals, naturally

Cows are foragers which would normally roam large areas to graze, rather than being limited to managed pastures that are rarely allowed to seed out

To say they weren't "meant" to eat grain is ignoring millions of years of evolution

To be factual, the evolutionary histories of corn and cows show very little overlap. Corn originated in the New World (Mexico) about 10,000 years ago. Corn as we know it never grew wild; early growers selected characteristics to produce the corn from a wild plant called Teosinte. Teosinte does not have recognizable ears of corn with kernels. Cattle are an Old World species (derived in northern Mesopotamia) about 10,500 years ago and were first brought to the New World by Columbus in his second voyage to the Americas in the late 15th Century. The earliest record of cattle being fed corn dates to the late 1800's. So, cattle have been eating corn for but a blink of an eye in evolutionary time.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

If corn were growing wild, (as it did before being cultivated) then cows would eat both stalks and kernals, naturally

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

If corn were growing wild, (as it did before being cultivated) then cows would eat both stalks and kernals, naturally

Corn did not grow wild anywhere, especially in the Old World. Cows were not even on the continent to eat it until 500 hundred years ago.

 

[Erica]

Natural corn (not GMO) makes a fabulous chicken feed if you simply soak the grains overnight, let them sprout in a hanging bag, and feed them out over 3-4 days. If you could find heritage varieties (lower starch, lower yield but better nutrition) that were grown on good soil, and you then sprouted them, you'd have a fine feed indeed.

I've got no strong opinion about GMO corn (though independent studies have been scathing of its likely contribution to tumours and infertility), but would avoid it simply because modern varieties have sacrificed nutrition for yield, and GMO corn is the most modern.

 

[bullsie]

Maybe this idea will help. Back in the days before grocery stores and feed mills near everyone raised some form of critter whether it was cows or littler dudes like chickens. They fed them what they could grow. If they could only grow grass and corn that is exactly what got fed. If they grew oats and grass - grass is a pretty prominent near-world wide plant life - that is what they fed the stock. If they grew wheat, yep, that is what they fed. In today's world, we have taken out the 'what is available' factor. (It probably would be a good idea to consider it when raising stock as world events like wars and economic depressions can cause 'what is available' to rear its head.)

What has happened now is that through agricultural science critter feed has been tailored for optimum everything. Your egg layer is designed so that the egg shells are a certain something for both the ability to hold up in transit and delicate enough for average home maker to crack. The same applies to other feeds. Tailored for consumer needs.

Maybe the problem now erupting is the genetically engineered grains. Everyone who eats or keeps critters should take the time to investigate this new technology and make their own decisions.

Hope this helps.