they don't eat their corn

[Stayc]

Mine used to love cracked corn but i sent the hubby to get corn this time and its whole kernel. they will not touch it, even if i crack it.

 

[rebrascora]

@Stayc

Since you have bought it, rather than waste it, try soaking a little in a bucket of water for a couple of days and then feeding it to them. Basically rehydrating it or even letting it go as far as fermenting. You might see more interest from them, but go easy on it if they do like it. Too much carbohydrate is not good for them and can make them obese with health problems.

 

[Stayc]

@Stayc

Since you have bought it, rather than waste it, try soaking a little in a bucket of water for a couple of days and then feeding it to them. Basically rehydrating it or even letting it go as far as fermenting. You might see more interest from them, but go easy on it if they do like it. Too much carbohydrate is not good for them and can make them obese with health problems.

Thanks! I will try that. I will feed it moderately

 

[rebrascora]

I will feed it moderately

Make that sparingly ... they will no doubt encourage you to increase that to moderately before you know it, if they like it. I have to consciously assess and cut treat levels on an almost daily basis because it is soooo easy to become overly generous with them. Chickens are so much better at training us than we are them!

 

[Beer can]

Funny, mine will pick mostly the corn out lol. Corns actually not the best for them, makes them fat, don't lay as good. Some people think feeding them corn in the winter is good. I don't, their layer feed contains more corn than they need anyway. I don't feed any treats besides vegetable or meat protein. And my birds are still pretty fatty when I process.
I might grow native 'indian corn' next yr for the birds to save on feed, has around three times the protein compared to commercial field corn and way more vitamins and minerals.

 

[centrarchid]

I have been noticing for the last few years, that the chickens just leave the cracked corn from their scratch... when I mentioned it to my feed store people, they agreed that folks have been saying that.

Has that been an issue from any of you? At first I thought it might be the breed, so changed breeds, but that didn't help...

any ideas or suggestions?

Try giving them shelled corn to see if you get a different response.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Yeah, I used to give them a 3 grain scratch, as a treat. It is mostly cracked corn and my 5 girls wouldn't touch the corn. So I switched to a mixed bird seed with 4 types of seeds and cracked corn as the third ingredient. They eat the White Millet, Corn, Wheat and BOSS, but don't like the Milo. GC