Kettle Corn?

[LoveHuevos]

I found this guy who sells kettle corn and he wanted to give me his leftover batches to feed my chickens - 14 and one rooster. He wasn't sure if they'd eat it, but they love it. He's given me 7 trash bags full of kettle corn this week. I give them a couple scoops every other day and they just gobble it up. Is it safe for them? Can I give them too much of it and make them sick?

Thanks.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If there is salt added to the corn you must be extremely careful.

Chickens can eat a little salt...it is mixed into feeds in very small quantities, but they can get too much and it can kill them.

Here is a link:

http://umaine.edu/livestock/poultry/nutrition-for-chickens/
notice it is less than 1% salt

(The popcorn itself is fine as a treat.)

http://www.worldpoultry.net/diseases/salt-toxicity-d37.html
salt toxicity symptoms discussed

If it is salted all is not lost...you can soak the popcorn in a big bowl for an hour or so, drain, rinse again. I have done this over and over with salty tortilla chips.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

Generally kettle corn has a thin, sugary coating on it(that's what's on the kettle corn you're getting, right?). Chickens really shouldn't have a lot of sugar, just like us.

I would switch to feeding it about once a week or so.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Popped corn is more air than anything else. Even with the small amounts of sugar and salt it doesn't add up to much unless you are giving it to them by the gallon every day.

For that matter scoop up a gallon and weigh it. Not much there. You should be able to feed it safely enough if you don't go crazy with it.