Whole Corn Vs Cracked Corn, What do you use?

I too have seen many changes in agricultural, most of them up close and personal. Overall the greatest change is the one brought on by genetically modified crops. I have yet to see any negative impact from GMOs on chickens, other livestock, the environment, the Earth or on humans.

To the contrary, every impact has been a positive impact. The impacts range from increased yields, higher profits for the farmer, lower food prices for the consumer, decreased need to plow or cultivate the Earth resulting in less top soil being eroded away, not to mention cleaner air and water. The diminished need to cultivate also saves diesel fuel because there are far fewer tractor hours needed to manage weeds or to control other pests in most GMO crops.

There is also one other huge benefit I want to mention here, thanks to bt cotton, bt corn, etc. now a lot less insecticide poisons are sprayed on crops than what used to be sprayed in a willy-nilly fashion because the farmer was always running behind or trying to catch up in his pest control or management regiment. Besides Monsanto and other agri-businesses giants are the largest manufactures of agricultural pesticides and some people expect rational humans to believe that these large agri-businesses have purposely cut their own financial throat by developing bt crops.

Okay, I relinquish my soap box and eagerly await any scientific (no opinions please) non biased evidence that GMOs are in any way bad except that they perhaps reduce oil company profits.

PS: the suffix (dot) com or (dot) org at the end of an internet address is not in and of its self scientific evidence. Only organizations doing actual research on crops and crop yields qualify. Organizations who seem more interested in using the Internet and their Nonprofit, Tax Exempt Status to either fleece the unwary or to pad their bank account will be dismissed out of hand..
 
My clucks are used to getting a cup or two of a 5 grain mix (which includes cracked corn) tossed to them every morning, The other day I was a bit late in getting out there and they were all standing around the door to the feed room waiting for me :)

Hah. That's the thing about scratch grains. They'll regard it as candy and ignore the nutritionally fortified ration if fed too often.
 
Hah. That's the thing about scratch grains. They'll regard it as candy and ignore the nutritionally fortified ration if fed too often.
Exactly which is why they get a measured amount in the morning while I clean out the coop and such
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They absolutely go nuts over the stuff
 
No kidding! :D My hens get about a cup of the scratch grains every couple of days in the morning. Just something to get them going. They range over a couple of acres so there is no lack of variety in their diet. They always have layer pellets (less waste than crumbles, IMHO) as an option but rarely eat it except in the mornings before I open the coop and in the late evenings after I close the coop. They much prefer greens and bugs.

Have never given them straight cracked corn. Just don't feel like buying a big bag of it when I have scratch and pellets already. Variety and moderation are key. Between pellets, scratch, greens, bugs, and the wife giving them fruits and veggies from the kitchen, they are in no way lacking nutritionally. They did get some whole corn a few times this fall/winter. Got a bucket of it from the neighbor when he was harvesting. They really seemed to like it and didn't notice any ill effects when mixed in with their scratch or given as a treat.

If worried about feeding whole grain corn, you could always buy it canned at the dollar store. It is second only to grapes as chicken crack. :lau And for a real laugh, toss a piece of the corn on the cat's back. Then sit back and watch the chickens chase it across the yard while the cat wonders what the heck is going on.


Hah. That's the thing about scratch grains. They'll regard it as candy and ignore the nutritionally fortified ration if fed too often.
 
I buy my corn a few hundred pounds at a time, When I go to the feed store I come home with over a 1,000 Pounds of feed between all of my animals here. Just wasnt sure if Whole corn would be broken down and not just passed.
 
Quote: I believe that has long been disproven. It's one of the myths of chicken feeding. There is an old thread on here by a guy who used to be called Mac in Abilene, new name is Mac in Wisco, where we had a huge discussion of the issue.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/74876/heating-effects-of-corn-on-poultry

Extra corn feeding in winter may produce extra body fat, which in turn, may help get them through the winter better, but not body heat.
 
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It gets broken down before passing. Unlike cattle and dogs, I've never noticed anything recognizable in chicken poo.

I buy my corn a few hundred pounds at a time, When I go to the feed store I come home with over a 1,000 Pounds of feed between all of my animals here. Just wasnt sure if Whole corn would be broken down and not just passed.
 
I believe that has long been disproven. It's one of the myths of chicken feeding. There is an old thread on here by a guy who used to be called Mac in Abilene, new name is Mac in Wisco, where we had a huge discussion of the issue.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/74876/heating-effects-of-corn-on-poultry

Extra corn feeding in winter may produce extra body fat, which in turn, may help get them through the winter better, but not body heat.
Where chickens lack thermogenesis (the production of heat from certain types of fat cells) compared to animals that have multilocular fat cells, they still produce plurivacuolar fat cells which create thermogenesis..
 
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