why wont they eat mixed corne?

[richje100]

for a change, i bought a sack full of mixed corn & mixed it in with the layer pellets.
for some reason they are eating the pellets but not the corn feed. now they i am having 3 eggs a day instead of the usual 7.
is this putting them off laying?

 

[Cockadoodledon't]

Is it whole corn or cracked corn????

It may be that it is new to them, although, chickens will eat about anything.

 

[Cockadoodledon't]

Is it possible that the corn could have soured???

Does it look/smell ok????

 

[richje100]

theres some small whole corn but some wheat aswell.
It smells ok, dont think it has turned.
shall i just persevere & leave it there?

 

[Cockadoodledon't]

I think they will start eating it. They may just be preferring the other ingredients right now. back off a little on the things they are eating and see if they come around and start eating the corn.

They should come around.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

While cracked corn and scratch grains are a welcome treat to most chickens you will want to remember that it does not have a good nutritional value and is not recommended to use as a feed but more of just a treat in small amounts. It can also raise the body temp of the birds slightly which could possibly cause a reduction in laying.

 

[powerline]

A lot of chickens will not eat corn when it is hot.

 

[richje100]

thanks guys, ill leave the corn alone for a while & to give every now & again like you said.

 

[Cockadoodledon't]

Quote:
I didnt know it could raise the birds temp....interesting. Thanks for the info

My birds will actually eat the cracked corn over the laying mash.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

Cockadoodledon't ~ I see you are in West Virginia. In your part of the country the slight temp rise would not be a huge issue in my opinion but here in Arizona we have to deal with temps of 110-125F in the summer so any temp rise is a huge thing. I give my birds treats but in the summer I will only give them in the early early morning or late in the evening because of the temps. The cracked corn and scratch grains don't have the nutrients for them to survive on that alone but there are a lot of people that will use it as a treat and there is nothing wrong with that. In hard financial times, mixing layer with the corn might be a good way to stretch the feed though.