Thoughts on corn in poultry feeds.

[jvls1942]

there might be something to that..
but I like an occasional bowl anyhow..

for all of my chickens, I feed 50/50 finely pulverized oats and corn.
I even start the chicks out on it.
No crumbles on this homestead..
I used to feed starter crumbles , but I quit that as an experiment. it worked well for me..
I used to feed crumbles to the chickens right up to butchering time. but when cooking the chicken, I could smell the crumbles. not very appetizing..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I thought it was because humans don't have the correct enzymes to digest it.
There was a joke about Cornflakes when I was a child and it was you got more nutrition from eating the box.

l
No. In post 62 above I listed the 12 AAs that chickens find essential.

 

[Shadrach]

l
No. In post 62 above I listed the 12 AAs that chickens find essential.

Just for the sake of clarity and my own interest.
As I understand it there are many amino acids but for basic nutritional requirements in humans 9 of these (essential) amino acids are required to make a complete protein. Meat, fish, eggs and milk for examples will provide a complete protein for a human. There are other combinations of amino acids that can be substituted for those found in the foodstuffs above which can be combined to achieve a complete protein.
The article below cites 8 essential amino acids are needed for what I assume is the equivalent of a complete protein for chickens.
In your post number 62 you cite 12 amino acids as necessary for what I assume is the equivalent of a complete protein for chickens. So, is the article below wrong?

https://www.hyline.com/aspx/redbook/redbook.aspx?s=6&p=38

I also have notes taken from papers I read some years ago that state that a chicken requires 8 (essential) amino acids.
CR Llames, J Fontaine 1994
MS Chi, Gm Spears 1976
There seems to be some variation in what amino acids are considered desirable in different classes of feed. Feed for broilers, or chicks for example seem to have additional amino acids.

I have an acquaintance who is studying for her PHD in biology who is specializing in avian nutrition. One of her papers voices concerns regarding feeding chickens solely on commercially produced feeds, her argument being that commercially produced feeds only supply the essential amino acids and while this may be sufficient for life, it may not be sufficient for long term heath given free range chickens have access to many amino acids through foraging that while not currently considered essential are beneficial.
Just from a brief look at the various feed compositions there are differences in the amino acids available in these feeds. Some contain amino acids not in the ‘essential’ list.

Now I’m not trying to cause an argument but I am interested in a clear understanding of which amino acids are essential, which are desirable and why there is a difference between the number and type of ‘essential’ amino acids required for life for a human and for that of a chicken.

 

[jvls1942]

no need to overthink this subject.
bottom line is ; corn is OK for chickens IMHO
.......jiminwisc......

 

[Criticalicious]

I always have to laugh walking through the grocery store when they're bragging about "100% vegetarian-feed based poultry". I'd be thinking, I don't want to eat those birds. That's unnatural.

 

[GreenMountainEric]

I never understood why people like Martha Stewart and P Allen Smith didn't capitalize on the chicken crazy by marketing designer feed.

I’m surprised as well. Martha likes to capitalize on her name recognition when she buys feed though..... she requires a huge discount.

Hello GreenMountainEric.
A bit off topic but while you're here....
I used to be able to buy a fishmeal based feed here produced by a local supplier.
I can't find such a feed here now and what I use is entirely grain and vegetable based.
Fish provides all 8 of the essential amino acids that make a complete protein suitable for chickens. This feed also contained corn which I understand is most useful for providing kerotin which is required for nail, spur and feather growth, apart from it's protein and carbohydrate content.
I'm keen on the chickens here remaining omnivorous so I feed them fish or meat three times a week.
My question is, why don't feed producers make feeds with fishmeal?

There are a few reasons. We make layer feed with fishmeal, and without it.

For some reason, a lot of consumers want eggs from a vegetarian fed bird. I’m not exactly sure why that is. Also, it was difficult to get an organic approved fishmeal product for a while.

Using animal protein products lost a lot of their popularity after the mad cow desease issues. All mammalian protein products are now forbidden from use in animal feeds in the US, and I think that also gave a lot of manufacturers a good reason to discontinue all animal protein products.

I think some of it is finding organic fish. I was getting turkey feed with organic grains and fish or crab meal.. they couldn't sell it as organic because of the non organic animal meal
Some of it is people are silly and think/ want their birds to be vegetarians

It isn’t easy to find a steady supply of fishmeal that is ok for organic use!

 

[Cindy in PA]

Martha always used Nature's Best Organic from Benny's Feed, at least she used to!

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is very interesting, I feed my flock Non GMO feeds because I eat their eggs and don’t want to eat GMO anything if I can help it. The feed I use does contain Procine.I also buy Non GMO 6 way scratch grains and it has very little corn in it which I wish had more corn because my gander loves corn. I have no problem feeding corn to my flock I just want it to be NonGMO .

 

[ChickenCanoe]

... The feed I use does contain Procine.... .

Do you mean porcine meal?

 

[Miss Lydia]

That’s what it says on the bag. Non GMO grains and hog right?