# Feeding sweet corn husks and ears?



## rman (Oct 17, 2004)

My pasture got too thin for my two 17 month old Holstein steers so I need to feed them something else. Which option would be better? I can mow the lawn and feed them that( it's mostly bluegrass and a lot of work) Or I can get all of the fresh sweet corn husks I want from a farm stand down the road. Probably 3/4 of the husks are empty and the other 1/4 still has the ears in them. The steers definitely prefer the corn husks and ears. I give them each a wheel barrow full of husks at dawn and at dusk and they graze in the pasture all day. Is this OK? I was thinking of trying to finish them this way instead of finishing them with grain. Would this be possible? Last year's steer had a liver that was condemned when he was butchered because of abcesses most likely caused by acidosis from eating too much grain.


----------



## mtman (Sep 2, 2004)

not much benefit from whole corn shouls be atleast rold


----------



## JeffNY (Dec 13, 2004)

There wont be much in those husks, the ears there will be some. Most corn is either fed as a meal, or as silage. Silage ferments, so it tends to make it more palatable. Corn meal being dry, is more digestable. I am not sure what the protein is, in simply the husks, but I doubt it is much at all.


If you were to make it a steady diet, you would need to feed something else along with it. There are grains you could have made up that would be set so you could feed mostly grain. You have to spread it out..


Jeff


----------



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Some folks around here do not harvest their field corn, they just run their cows on it all winter. Most who do this don't even feed hay, just protein blocks. Cows do fine.


----------



## hintonlady (Apr 22, 2007)

I had an acre of dried sweet corn stalks that we baled and fed to our sheep. They LOVED it. (my sons project for 4H, planted to late to make decent ears) The greener parts went over like a treat.

People here let cows roam in corn fodder in the winter and silage has been around a long time. With the hay shortage I see a lot of people baling the fodder for use in winter or even for sale.

It's do able, assuming the cattle will eat it because from what I see is they prefer to graze and will eat it only when hungry. Make sure you have a mineral/protein block and you should be okay. Like with any animal just watch their condition and see if the weight stays on.


----------



## menollyrj (Mar 15, 2006)

Our cattle love corn fodder, especially sweet corn. DH does chop the cobs into thirds to avoid cattle choking on large cobs, and we do provide a protein lick supplement. We have been feeding about 2/3 fodder, 1/3 hay since pasture has been so short due to drought. The cattle don't seem to mind at all and look slick and healthy.

-Joy


----------

