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Can't comment on the oats, but I don't think it would be good to feed chcikens "whole" corn. Cracked would do the same thing and not to much. At night is good as it helps them generate heat.
I've always feed whole corn. The thing with whole grains is, once you crack them,they start to lose the nutrients faster. Whole grains retain more of the nutrients, so they are utilized by the birds more efficiently. I don't feed corn very often, because its more of a filler or "heat" maker than good for protein. Oats are the best grain for chickens because it has more of the nutrients they need and are most digestable.
Of course, feeding whole oats to chickens that are not used to them takes a while to get used to because they will not like the shape of the oats. What I did was only feed the whole oats for a few days, and they finally gave in at ate them. Now, they practically attack me when I do feeding.
Of course, one has to provide the protein levels that is required fjor egg laying. I use fish meal and alfalfa meal for that, free choice. The positive side of that is, that roosters don't eat as much of the protein mix, as the hens do, so they don't develop the kidney problems that roosters that have to eat the same high protein formutated feed that the hens eat experience.
I've been feeding whole grains for 4 years, and the proof is in the pudding,so they say. I always get positive comments from judges at shows that my birds are in very good condition.
Also, one has to provide good vitamins as well. I was using Red Cell Horse vitamins, and found I had less spraddle leg than with other "poultry" vitamins. Especially since I"m buying oats grown in New York and we are selenium deficient, which helps with muscle development,and red cell is the only one that I've found that has selenium. I put the red cell in the water, which at this time of year is a constant test,because the water freezes and they don't drink like they should. But on the positive side, it contains molasses, and molasses lowers the freezing point of water, so its a win win situation....I put molasses in my horses water so it doesn't freeze as easliy.
AS an aside, this summer & fall, I decided to try another poultry vitamin, and I had much lower egg laying & fertility,so I switched back to red cell. I'm really upset that I didn't stick with what I "Knew" to be better....
I have some results of my "whole grain" feeding program on my website: www.sterlingcenterfarm.com
Just be aware, that I have not been able to update the site in 2 years, as my computer with the site died, taking it with it....
Sue
Sue,
I am new to chickens. I feed my chickens source pellets that I feed my horse.....Do you know anything about it? I have heard of red cell, but have not fed it. Also, glad to hear about the oats. I have been feeding corn scratch, but wanted to switch to oats because the pellet I feed has corn as the first ingredient. Have you found that oats are as calorically dense as corn?
Ginny
Can't comment on the oats, but I don't think it would be good to feed chcikens "whole" corn. Cracked would do the same thing and not to much. At night is good as it helps them generate heat.
I've always feed whole corn. The thing with whole grains is, once you crack them,they start to lose the nutrients faster. Whole grains retain more of the nutrients, so they are utilized by the birds more efficiently. I don't feed corn very often, because its more of a filler or "heat" maker than good for protein. Oats are the best grain for chickens because it has more of the nutrients they need and are most digestable.
Of course, feeding whole oats to chickens that are not used to them takes a while to get used to because they will not like the shape of the oats. What I did was only feed the whole oats for a few days, and they finally gave in at ate them. Now, they practically attack me when I do feeding.
Of course, one has to provide the protein levels that is required fjor egg laying. I use fish meal and alfalfa meal for that, free choice. The positive side of that is, that roosters don't eat as much of the protein mix, as the hens do, so they don't develop the kidney problems that roosters that have to eat the same high protein formutated feed that the hens eat experience.
I've been feeding whole grains for 4 years, and the proof is in the pudding,so they say. I always get positive comments from judges at shows that my birds are in very good condition.
Also, one has to provide good vitamins as well. I was using Red Cell Horse vitamins, and found I had less spraddle leg than with other "poultry" vitamins. Especially since I"m buying oats grown in New York and we are selenium deficient, which helps with muscle development,and red cell is the only one that I've found that has selenium. I put the red cell in the water, which at this time of year is a constant test,because the water freezes and they don't drink like they should. But on the positive side, it contains molasses, and molasses lowers the freezing point of water, so its a win win situation....I put molasses in my horses water so it doesn't freeze as easliy.
AS an aside, this summer & fall, I decided to try another poultry vitamin, and I had much lower egg laying & fertility,so I switched back to red cell. I'm really upset that I didn't stick with what I "Knew" to be better....
I have some results of my "whole grain" feeding program on my website: www.sterlingcenterfarm.com
Just be aware, that I have not been able to update the site in 2 years, as my computer with the site died, taking it with it....
Sue
Sue,
I am new to chickens. I feed my chickens source pellets that I feed my horse.....Do you know anything about it? I have heard of red cell, but have not fed it. Also, glad to hear about the oats. I have been feeding corn scratch, but wanted to switch to oats because the pellet I feed has corn as the first ingredient. Have you found that oats are as calorically dense as corn?
Ginny
