what should you feed you're chickens

[JIGGLYPUFF]

feeding them cracked corn

 

[RJSorensen]

Hens that are expected to lay eggs, would need be fed a complete ration that supports the laying of eggs. Corn is not so much a helper in doing this.

RJ

 

[MeepBeep]

Feeding corn to a laying chicken is like feeding Twinkies to a pregnant lady... Yeah they might like it but it's not supportive of the balanced nutrition needed to do the body good...

A good layer feed supplemented with fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and even some bugs or brewers yeast will benefit a laying hen greatly...

Also it's a good idea to always have a bowl of oyster shells available if they decide they need more calcium...

You can certainly give them cracked corn but IMO it should only be given in moderation as a treat...

 

[Chris09]

Feeding Corn to chickens is fine as long as there getting good poultry feed also, it is nothing like feeding twinkies to a pregnant lady. If your feeding a 18% protein feed you could feed up to 15%/20% of there diet in treats like corn, scraps, fruits and vegetables.
Corn has a part in a feed ration and has proteins, fat, fiber, energy, vitamins and minerals it also is more digestible nutrition than Oats, Wheat, and Sorghum.

TDN = Total Digestible Nutrients
NEm = Net Energy of Maintenance
NEg = Net Energy of Gain
CP = Crude Protein
NDF = Neutral Detergent Fiber
ADF = Acid Detergent Fiber

Table 1. Nutrient content of various feed grains (NRC, 1996).​

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Corn Barley Wheat Oats Sorghum
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TDN, % 90 88 88 77 82
NEm, Mcal/lb 1.02 0.94 0.99 0.84 0.91
NEg, Mcal/lb 0.70 0.64 0.68 0.55 0.61
CP, % 9.8 13.2 14.2 13.6 12.6
Escape Protein, % of CP 55 27 23 17 57
NDF, % 10.8 18.1 11.8 29.3 16.1
ADF, % 3.3 5.8 4.2 14.0 6.4
-----------------------------------------------------------------




Table 2. Mineral content of major feed grains (NRC, 1996).
----------------------------------------------------------
Corn Barley Wheat Oats Sorghum
----------------------------------------------------------
Calcium, % 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.04
Phosphorus, % 0.32 0.35 0.44 0.41 0.34
Potassium, % 0.44 0.57 0.40 0.51 0.44
Magnesium, % 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.16 0.17
Sodium, % 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.01
Sulfur, % 0.11 0.15 0.14 0.21 0.14
Copper, ppm 2.5 5.3 6.5 8.6 4.7
Iron, ppm 54.5 59.5 45.1 94.1 80.8
Manganese, ppm 7.9 18.3 36.6 40.3 15.4
Selenium, ppm 0.14 - 0.05 0.24 0.46
Zinc, ppm 24.2 13.0 38.1 40.8 0.99
Cobalt, ppm - 0.35 - 0.06 -
Molybdenum, ppm 0.60 1.16 0.12 1.70 -
----------------------------------------------------------




Table 3. Nutrient content of corn using different harvest, storage,
or processing methods.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Escape
Dry TDN, NEm, NEg, Protein,
Corn Type Matter % Mcal/lb Mcal/lb CP, % % of CP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dry Rolled Corn 86 90 1.02 0.70 9.8 60
Ear Corn 87 83 0.92 0.62 9.0 60
Steam Flaked Corn 82 94 1.06 0.73 10.0 45
High Moisture Corn 75 90 1.02 0.70 10.0 40
High Moisture Ear Corn 75 83 0.92 0.62 8.7 40
High Moisture Snapped Corn 74 81 0.90 0.59 8.8 40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[MeepBeep]

Feeding Corn to chickens is fine as long as there getting good poultry feed also, it is nothing like feeding twinkies to a pregnant lady.

Yeah, just like feeding a Twinkies to a pregnant lady is fine too, as long as they are already getting a good balance diet... You pretty much admit it's almost the same thing while also saying it isn't all in one sentence...

Because contrary to popular belief Twinkies do have some nutritional value, so there is an argument that they are not pure evil as a supplement to a balanced diet... After all the main ingredients to a Twinkie are enriched flour, dextrose and eggs, all beneficial things in themselves, so even though they are hardly part of a great diet they can provide some nutrition and benefit...

Quote:
Sure it does, that is why it's included in most feeds but is not recommended as their sole feed...

 

[Chris09]

Yeah, just like feeding a Twinkies to a pregnant lady is fine too, as long as they are already getting a good balance diet... You pretty much admit it's almost the same thing while also saying it isn't all in one sentence...

Because contrary to popular belief Twinkies do have some nutritional value, so there is an argument that they are not pure evil as a supplement to a balanced diet... After all the main ingredients to a Twinkie are enriched flour, dextrose and eggs, all beneficial things in themselves, so even though they are hardly part of a great diet they can provide some nutrition and benefit...


Sure it does, that is why it's included in most feeds but is not recommended as their sole feed...

If you get technical there is no single grain or feedstuff that is recommended as their sole feed, so every single grain or feedstuff by itself would be like feeding twinkies to a pregnant lady then? When fed dry (un-soaked) Corn is far better to feed poultry than Oats, Barley, BOSS, or even Flax and look how many people feed those grains.

I know what I said in my post and it was no where close to saying feed Corn is like feeding twinkies to a pregnant lady..
If anything your post came off sounding like Corn was a junk food and should not be fed to layers..

Note the first sentence of your post;

Quote: