FEEDING CHICKENS FIELD CORN

[nannie]

Is it ok to feed my chickens field corn on cob.i give them cracked corn from feed store.my neighbor has offered my chickens some hardened field corn.i don't know if it is ok for them.i dont want to hurt them.he is talking about just throwing a ear in pen,but I wont do it till I find out if its ok for them.so any advice would be just great.

 

[Kelsie2290]

I feed mine field corn on the cob as a treat, they have fun getting it off. The bantams are too small to do much with it, but the bigger birds really like it and will clean the cobs off in no time.

 

[nannie]

ok thanks.i got 6 chickens.so I can just throw an ear in and they will eat it.how much and how often should I give it to them.

 

[Kelsie2290]

They generally recommend that treats not be more than about 10% of their diet if you are feeding a regular 16% laying food, so with six chickens I would probably go with one big ear a day if they will be getting it everyday instead of scratch.

 

[Mahlzeit]

Mine love the field corn...I have never tried putting it in there on the cob though. I will have to try that.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I give my chickens whole corn as a treat and mixed in the feed too- they love it. On the cob is fine.

 

[centrarchid]

Using adult birds as a guide where they get a balanced diet of about 16 to 18% crude protein during the summer, as temperature falls and feed intake increases, I make certain they get the same amount of balanced nutrients as provided by the summer diet all year round but when additional intake is involved that is dominated (with respect to weight) by whole corn. BOSS and oats are also involved with latter soaked when temperatures make keeping liquid water available all day impractical. When temperatures get really cold the whole corn can represent 25% of the diet, sometimes more for short periods. I watch closely to make certain cheery picking for corn does not limit intake of the balanced component of the diet. This means I look on ground and feeders after dark to get a handle on what is going on.

 

[Percheron chick]

The problem with feeding field corn to chickens is the size of the kernel and the potential for mycotoxins.

 

[centrarchid]

The problem with feeding field corn to chickens is the size of the kernel and the potential for mycotoxins.

Five week old chicks can consume intact dent corn kernels with minimal trouble. Mycotoxins are out there but I have yet to have noticed any actual problems from it. Whole corn has been too important for so long that I have to see actual problems before I would toss out a batch. Then I would simply get it from another source and watch.

The whole corn purchased for use as feed may be tested for mycotoxins, does anyone know?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Since the FDA does have guide lines for levels allowed in animal feed, assumed wrongly perhaps, that that meant feed commercially sold as such had to be checked? But no idea how it is actually enforced / checked unless there is a problem and somebody complains? http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/ucm074703.htm
http://www.isco.purdue.edu/feed/mycotoxins.htm