What age can a chicken eat whole corn?

[barrybro]

I have about 300 pounds of whle corn that i would like to utilize feeding to a batch of broilers. At what age can I feed the corn to them and what other nutrition would I need to supplement?

Thanks

Barry

 

[Peeper7]

Uhh, as soon as they can swallow it?.

Corn is not a complete feed and will add fat more than anything.
They will need grit for sure if they eat whole corn.

 

[the simple life]

You can give it to them when they are big enough to handle it, that will probably vary with the size of the birds, maybe 4 weeks ?
I have never given my chickens any whole corn, just cracked corn so I don't know how much different it will be in terms of grinding and digesting it.
But it should not be used as their main source of feed.
They should still be on at least a 20 percent protein feed the whole time, corn is a treat like scratch with not much if any nutritional value.
If you give them mostly corn it will add fat.
If you keep them penned up with no access to the outside then you need to supply them with grit, actually you can't guarantee that meatbirds will even go outside and move around so I would put out grit either way.

 

[skywatcher]

Most large breed chicken can eat whole corn at 9 weeks.I feed all my chickens whole kernel corn since ground corn becomes stale fast. even the wild doves eat the whole kernel corn that I leave out.

 

[sundance]

for some reason, when I bought feed the first of the month, the guys that load the feed gave me 50 lbs of whole kernal corn, not the scratch i usually buy, DH just open it and threw some to the hens and guians, they just looked at it and walked away, so I still have at least half, so I plan on mixing it with next months scratch and HOPE somebody will eat it. marrie

 

[the simple life]

They will probably eat if for you if you mix it in their hot mash, I can get them to eat anything in hot mash.

Skywatcher, the problem here is that these birds don't usuall live past 9 weeks so there would be no reason to start them then on whole corn.
You process meat birds(broilers) at 6-8 weeks so if they can't eat it by then....
that is why I said 4 weeks or maybe cracked corn, even ground corn is not going to go bad by the time these birds meet their fate.

 

[Peeper7]

I give my free grown birds and turkeys the critter corn on the cob just to give them something to do once in awhile. They do gobble it up... but they are on balanced feed also.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Hot mash? I buy layer mash for my hens, but I don't cook it. It's got the same stuff in it that the crumbles and pellets have, but it's not ground as much, and not processed as far. I don't think most people cook the feed, or make them hot mash.

When I give mine something new, I just keep tossing a little out every day until they start trying it. It doesn't take long before one will get curious and peck it, the they'll all be eating it.

With broilers, it may not work as well, they're more ravenously focused on the regular, easier to digest feed.

 

[the simple life]

Lots of people give them hot mash on winter days.
Do a search on this forum and you will see it mentioned alot.
You don't cook it and you don't need mash to do it.
You just put layer crumbles,oatmeal, cracked corn, scratch, black oil sunflower seeds, oyster shell if needed or whatever it is you want to throw in there in a galvanized pan and then pour boiling hot water over it.
It literally takes a minute to do.
I throw all the bags of feed that I am running low on into one bucket and mix it together so that is what I use for mash.
Many people give it first thing in the morning or at night to keep them full and warm on those bitter cold days/nights.

I suggested this to the poster because she is talking about her layer hens and guineas.

 

[skywatcher]

I see barry has broilers I think of meat birds as any large chicken like rir or wr and think of cornish Xs as frankenstein chickens