How do you crack your own corn?

[GreenLove]

I have observed baby chicks at 7 to 10 days old eating whole kernels of corn and I have yet to see a corn stalk growing out of a chicks' ear.

Wow! I have little doubt you experienced that situation, but I would not feel comfortable feeding baby chicks whole corn. I like to play it safe

. Thanks!

 

[GreenLove]

Agreed,,,, I have found that cracking corn only encourages waste.

How does it encourage waste? Just curious because when I would throw cracked corn out as a treat, they cleaned it all up.

 

[Den in Penn]

Cracked corn by it's nature has fine particles. When it is thrown on the ground many of those finer particles just get lost. Then there os the issue of the degradation of the nutrients over a shorter time then whole corn. Between those and the fact chickens not just chicks can handle much larger pieces then a lot of people give them credit for, is the reason I use whole corn for their scratch.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Cracked corn by it's nature has fine particles. When it is thrown on the ground many of those finer particles just get lost. Then there os the issue of the degradation of the nutrients over a shorter time then whole corn. Between those and the fact chickens not just chicks can handle much larger pieces then a lot of people give them credit for, is the reason I use whole corn for their scratch.

That is my experience. The powder in commercial chicken feed is one reason that you may need to make a wet mash to get the most value out of it. I feed a mixture of livestock supplements, pellets, scratch, small grains and dog or cat food to which I add whole or shelled corn. For baby chicks on the side, I also add pet bird seed to go with their medicated starter grower.

I must say that it often took a baby chick 15 minutes to turn a grain of corn around and around in its little beak to position the corn grain properly for it to go down. Because my chicks are first brooded on a 1/4 inch hardware cloth floor (so that the manure will fall through) the corn grains were from their mothers' rations but too big to fall through the hardware cloth floor, and that the shelled corn was not intended as part of my baby chick's food. Mama hen did however pick these corn grains out of her own feed cup and encouraged her biddies to eat said whole corn. In my views on raising chicks mother knows best.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

How does it encourage waste? Just curious because when I would throw cracked corn out as a treat, they cleaned it all up.

Cracked corn is not just corn that has been run through a rolling or a hammer mill. Cracked corn starts life as the dust, fines, broken grains and screenings that come out of the cyclone separator at the feed mill. To these bits and pieces real "whole" purposely cracked corn is added until the final product somewhat resembles the cracked corn that you see at the feed store.

When I could get it I liked to feed Argentine Flint Corn. A harder more nutrient dense corn that I got from a farm in Illinois across the river from St Louie. Flint corn is smaller and even feels oiler and for whatever its worth doesn't have the little dimples in the tops of each grain like yellow dent a.k.a. yellow dent feed corn does. Flint corn is somewhere between field or yellow dent corn and a popcorn.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

I would also point out that corn is probably the least nutritious of all the grains having a protein value only around 8-9% Not something you would want to feed growing chicks very much of since it is best to keep their protein intake at least 16%

 

[GreenLove]

When I could get it I liked to feed Argentine Flint Corn. A harder more nutrient dense corn that I got from a farm in Illinois across the river from St Louie. Flint corn is smaller and even feels oiler and for whatever its worth doesn't have the little dimples in the tops of each grain like yellow dent a.k.a. yellow dent feed corn does. Flint corn is somewhere between field or yellow dent corn and a popcorn.

Very interesting. I've never heard of that type before. I would try something like that only if I knew the farmer though, as I don't use GMO's in my feed. I was thinking about trying to grow some flint corn myself, but I'm a novice gardener and haven't gotten up the nerve (I've heard corn is finicky). I like the looks of the heirloom Indian flint corn, might have to try that someday. Thanks for all the info!!

 

[GreenLove]

I would also point out that corn is probably the least nutritious of all the grains having a protein value only around 8-9% Not something you would want to feed growing chicks very much of since it is best to keep their protein intake at least 16%

I would NEVER feed my chicks just corn, I just want to include it in my homemade mix. My chicken feed is already up to 15-20 ingredients, and I have done hundreds of hours of research

(exhausting, by the way) on the subject. I'm glad you pointed that out though, because someone else reading this post may not have known. I read, and was told by a few different feed manufacturers that growing chicks (up to 8 weeks) are supposed to have 19-20% protein feed, or are you speaking about growing chicks over that age range?

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

You're not the only one Sometimes I think my birds eat better than I do,, LOL. My statement was merely general however. So many people make the mistake of thinking "corn,, chickens love it,, it must be good for them"
And yes,, I was refering to the 8 week mark,, when you switch from a starter to a grower if you have that option. My birds get a starter crumble made by Prince which has a min 20% protein content up until that point and then I switch them to grower ration that is ground here by our local feed producer which has the min 16%
My scratch grains I mix myself and include oats, wheat, sunflower seeds, milo, corn and field peas.

 

[GreenLove]

You're not the only one Sometimes I think my birds eat better than I do,, LOL. My statement was merely general however. So many people make the mistake of thinking "corn,, chickens love it,, it must be good for them"
And yes,, I was refering to the 8 week mark,, when you switch from a starter to a grower if you have that option. My birds get a starter crumble made by Prince which has a min 20% protein content up until that point and then I switch them to grower ration that is ground here by our local feed producer which has the min 16%
My scratch grains I mix myself and include oats, wheat, sunflower seeds, milo, corn and field peas.

Lol! All my animals eat better than I do

If I put this much effort into my nutrition, I'd live to 150! Nice mix on the scratch grains