Is there something negative about feed chickens corn?

[alaskachick]

I take eggs to work and sale them because there is only two of us at home and we get a dozen eggs a day. I doctor I work with wanted to know if my chickens were "those corn fed kind". He said it like it was a bad thing or unhealthy thing for human consumption. Although I do feed my chickens one cup of cracked corn in the morning, my answer to him was "no". Is there something bad about feeding corn to chickens? I am assuming he meant an entire diet of corn. I feed my chickens a healthy brand of grain feed. But they do get their daily corn and BOSS.

 

[justbugged]

Corn tends to harder to digest for nearly any body to eat. The Corn all alone doesn't have the nutrition by is self for chickens. But it is a nice treat for the birds each day as long as the birds have access to layer feed.

 

[Mahonri]

I've heard folks complain that it makes them fat and lazy and doesn't give them the nutrition they need for great eggs.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Your doctor friend is probably refering to the dangers of feeding humans or chickens Genetically Modified (GMO) corn.


Nowadays, 90% of all commercially available corn (and, as a result, the corn seed that will be planted come springtime) is genetically modified.


Doctors -- more than most people -- will understand the health concerns that come from eating genetically modified corn.


As a result, they tend to be more concerned about this issue than most people -- and more reluctant to eat meat or eggs from birds fed genetically modified corn.



I do NOT feed my chickens corn or soybeans or any product that includes corn and soybeans because the commercially available corn and soybeans are almost all GMO nowadays.


This summer, however, I plan on growing some non-GMO corn for my birds (and yes, there are a few places where you can buy certified non-GMO corn seed still around), so they can once again enjoy the pleasure of eating cracked corn...

 

[Pinky]

I fed corn to some extra roosters once and they had a lot of yellow fat on them when they went to freezer camp.

 

[cybercat]

Actually corn is not good feed for chickens. I would not feed extra to them if you are using a layer feed for its made up of corn. Corn in feed is been messed with genticlly. It has been altered and sprayed ect. Corn is very low protien and very high in fat. many are allegic to corn because of the cheicals it is treated with in the field. I would suggest cutting out the corn use sunflower instead. Do a search on corn you will find some scary stuff.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

He probably meant a diet of corn, and the rest they get from free ranging.

That means they won't be as healthy as with a varied diet. I feed organic corn for the reasons the above posters mentioned. It is twice the price, but I don't use very much.

 

[johny]

GMO is perfectly safe to eat.
But it is the environmetnal issues like Round Up resistant crops that is concerning.

As for corn, my birds are eating their normal amount of layer crumbles but also topping up with a lot of cracked corn for calories. The last month we've been down to -30C and rarely morethan -10C. They need the extra calories to stay warm. There has been no drop in egg production.

 

[Teach97]

the most dangerous thing about it is...well...asking about feeding it

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Quote:
Actually, GMO is NOT perfectly safe to eat. It messes with hormones because of it's very nature of being manipulated by humans to grow faster, taller, stronger, more disease resistant, and with more kernels. Hybrid corn, which is nature way of modifying it, is ok. Too many people think GMO is good but look at us Americans ... we're huge and corn is a really big part of our diet. It's almost impossible to get non-GMO corn seeds anywhere, and I look because I grow them.

I stopped giving my chickens corn only a short time ago, and already their egg production is up. That's the only change I did. So ... no more corn for my girls. They really enjoy amaranth, quinoa, millet and flax seeds. For some reason, they don't like BOSS. And if they need help keeping warm in the winter (like here in Colorado), ground up alfalfa helps there.

Just my 2 cents.