How much mixed corn to feed

[senna]

Hi, I just wondered how much mixed corn it is safe to feed my chickens,as I read somewhere it makes them fat, they have free allday access to layers pellets and I give them some mixed corn as a treat in the afternoon but would not like to think I am giving them too much. I have about Ten chickens 05

 

[Castle Farm]

As much as they will eat without wasteing it.

The people that post warnings about birds getting fat on a corn diet have read it somewhere and pass on this snippit of miss information for whatever reason, but it's total rubbish.

Corn, especially yellow maize will give a covering of fat, which after all is a birds/animal way of storeing energy/heat for the longer nights and colder weather ahead.

Corn takes longer to digest than pellets so the birds have a full crop going to roost. You must remember to give add-lib grit and not just oystershell but hard grit.

My web page has feeding tips on it.

 

[Tim]

I dissagree. :roll:

The protein content of mixed corn is far lower than that of a fomulated feed (wheat is around 10%) so chickens will not have sufficient protein for maximum egg production or feather growth during the moult.

Maize is particularly fattening and will also colour the skin, as already mentioned.

Mixed corn can be given as a treat - a handful per hen per day is enough but cannot be used as a substitute for a balanced mash or pellet. They will favour corn over pellets if they are both fed ad lib.

This is covered in many good poultry books and is not an urban myth. 05

 

[Castle Farm]

Hello Tim.
Right, lets get into a discussion here on the correct way to feed poultry.

Practically everybody feeds pellets,either growers or layers because it's been branded and marketed as the all round poultry feed. Everyone is led to believe that one size fits all.

It contains, supposedly all the vitamins, minerals and protien that a bird needs.
What bird?
Large Fowl Cochin, hybrid layer, (including ex batts and made for pet trade x breeds), Bantams, both true and smaller vertions of large fowl. Birds in lay and birds not in lay. Birds resting and moulting they all get the same feed?????

Since the arrival of chickens as pets the poultry world is awash with tonics and other must have additives to keep your little darlings alive and well and generating money for the medicine men of the poultry keeping public.

How have chickens survived in countries that don't do pellets, but have chickens?

There is a book, A major work on poultry nutrition by GF Heuser (Norton Creek ) that you should read.

I don't mind being disagreed with in the least Tim, far from it. It's good to be able have a topic that needs exploring deeper.

I never feed pellets and have around 400 birds in 15 breeds and all of them are fit healthy and produce.

 

[Davidd]

Hi. I am with Tim on this one-although they will survive on mixed corn, lay and act and look heathy, the best diet is pellets/meal and corn only as a treat. The pellets/meal has everything your chickens need- make sure you feed a good, high protein brand. A handful of corn at night before roosting is good as it will take most of the night to digest but i would feed pellets/meal as the main feed.
My granny never bought pellets/meal- she milled her own from corn and added various other ingredients- her stock was good and heathy but back then there was no research done about chicken nutrition.
regards, David

 

[foxy]

Chickens and nutrition a topic which is always going to led to interesting and thought provoking conversations.

My family have been keeping poultry since well...time began really! However, the way my gran kept her birds was based on knowledge and resources handed down over many years, and yes her husbandry was far more intuitive that the new chicken keepers of today. I mean no disrespect, however the point I am making is that the most common backyard chicken tends to be a hybrid layer staight out of the "must lay huge eggs everyday" commercial suppliers. These birds have different nutritional needs than a lot of pure breeds, unfortunately. Coupled with the fact that a lot of chicken keepers simply don't have access to, or have the time to research more traditional forms of feeding and indeed more intuitive, this comes all with experience.
So, in summary, there are different options for feeding birds, the important thing to consider is that diet should be balanced for the breed, age and purpose of the bird, as well as the typical conditions in which the birds are kept, ie free ranging in a grassy paddock, or kept in smaller run.

One term my gran never ever used was "treats" why do birds need treats?? 11 There seems to be an increasing amount of chicken keepers that feel they ought to give their chickens treats, to the extent I am now seeing them sold in stores as such, shame really.

 

[Tim]

Hi Castle Farm,

I will certainly investigate the book you recommend,

Mixed corn is of course usually made up of wheat (around 80 to 90%) and Maize? So breaking it down:

Wheat:
I'd still say that it is a useful feed on its own if you have free range birds that can suppliment their protein intake with what they can forage to increase their protein (bugs, worms etc), or chickens that can have a lower egg production / slower growth.

Maize
Usually the most palletable in mixed corn and therefore birds will pick it out before the wheat but it is very fattening.

It is used alot in Canada and other cold areas as birds are burning more fat in the sub zero temperatures to keep warm and I still recommend giving extra mixed corn in cold weather to birds.

Too much maize puts on too much fat in laying hens which is unhealthy for them. Feeding corn ad-lib will result in them taking a far greater proportion of maize than wheat and is how the hens get fat and reduce production. Most maize is imported to this country but for example farmers in France use it to fatten free range hens for the table.

Formulated Feeds
The research that has been done in more recent years has given us formulated rations that can meet hens requirements far better IMO - especially high production / hybrids.

The modern hybrid is small and has a huge output in terms of egg production compared to the farmyard hen fed only on grain in years gone by.

In my opinion, commercial feeds have been well researched and contain the right amount of protein and the correct balance of nutrients and minerals for chickens especially for good egg production, more protein is required than can be provided by corn alone.

Yes there are variations in the type of bird and their nutritional requirements as you rightly say but the same arguement could apply to feeding just corn, no feed can't match their nutritional requirements exactly all of the time but I'd like to think all birds have enough free range to suppliment their diet with insects, raw greens, worms and the like.

Certainly an interesting topic for debate

Mineral and vitamin suppliments are a different story, one for another evening

 

[victorias poultry]

In the winter months I mix 70% layers pellets, 20% wheat and 10% kibble together, but they also have access to wet layers meal throughout the day.

 

[senna]

Wow! didn't quite expect such a response, but thank everyone for their input. I have looked at the Castle farm website and must say whether people agree or disagree with his methods, he obviously cares very much about poultry and his site is One of the best and most informative I have ever come across and I commend him for his efforts. but thanks to everyone, I am now much wiser