Giving chickens corn that is soaked in 5 gallon bucket of water good??

[Noralynn]

My husband takes the corn I buy for chickens ,dumps dry corn feed in it ,bout half full,then fills it with water till it completely cover and let's it soak,feeds chicken for about 4 days off it.They eat it alot.We have had some health issues with our chickens,lost like 4 hens in one year spread out over year.Vets said it was most likely egg cellulitis,everyone who I know that have chickens haven't had the health issues with their chickens like ad have with ours ,now I'm wondering if it's the soaked corn we feed them,I would like to hear someone's experiences or if they know If soaked corn is bad??

 

[50-45-1]

You feed ONLY corn?

 

[Noralynn]

You feed ONLY corn?

Blueberries and birdseed,and dried mealworms

 

[Noralynn]

Blueberries and birdseed,and dried mealworms

Is soaked corn healthy ?

 

[WingItRanch]

I just want to confirm you don't feed your chickens chicken food? The chicken feed is formulated with balanced nutrients. Feeding only corn, blueberries, birdseed, and mealworm will cause serious health issues in your chickens.

 

[WingItRanch]

@U_Stormcrow might be able to help you with understanding nutrition for chickens.

 

[Yardmom]

@Noralynn What part of the world do you live in? Chickens are omnivores and need to eat a variety of foods different foods provide different nutrients. In the United States as well as many other countries we can buy food that has been formulated to meet those nutritional needs. Those feeds have a variety of grains and added proteins and minerals.
What foods are others in your area feeding their chickens?
Soaked corn can be a healthy part of a diet, but it is not healthy as the primary food.

 

[50-45-1]

A diet of mostly corn either whole, cracked soaked in water or not, would be as unhealthy for chickens as you eating cookies every meal, every day for life.
I feed formulated chicken feed. scratch feed (with corn) is just an occasional treet. I offer free choice oyster shell to keep egg shells strong, and granite grit for healthy digestion.
Do you not have regular chicken feeds avaliable?

 

[Penpal]

I feed corn, oats, wheat, sunflower seeds. All soaked. I will also add vitamin c and garlic granules. They also are on pasture. You can't feed just corn.

 

[Zenmonkey]

A diet of mostly corn either whole, cracked soaked in water or not, would be as unhealthy for chickens as you eating cookies every meal, every day for life.

Good gravy, you sound just like my cardiologist.

"Blah blah blah, you can't eat cookies for every meal, blah blah blah! "

But seriously, the fat and protein content of that diet sounds way off. A more balanced diet will likely result in smaller quantities of food consumed.

Perhaps your birds have open grazing pretty often? I'm wondering how you manage not to have heavier losses.

Best wishes on resolving this issue. It certainly is possible to make your own feed, and corn, soaked/ fermented/ or dry can be an important part of that especially in winter. But it doesn't sound like you're hitting that.

If you want a solid protein produced solely in house, look at raising red runner roaches or dubia roaches. The nutrient profile on those is way better than mealworms, and they're not much harder to raise. Spoiler alert though, the mealworms I raise? I feed them layer pellets. Simpler to omit the transition to mealworm step.

Also if you see my soybean post on the pheasant category, you'll see that I'm making no attempt to use insects as a primary protein. Despite the stories you hear on the interwebs, insect raising is no where close to replacing chicken and beef as protein sources. The time, space, and labor just doesn't favor raising bugs for food, unless you've got lizards that *only* eat bugs.

If you're feeding purchased freeze dried mealworms, then I think switching to a prepackaged, complete chicken feed is going to be a significant cost savings, depending on how much mealworms you were buying.