# cracked corn



## Pancake Man (Jan 22, 2010)

Went to the store this morning to pickup a few items and stopped at Tractor Supply on the way home....There were 50 pound bags of cracked corn....What is that for, how many uses, etc.....Can that product be used in cooking is milled???? Thanking you in advance....


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## Pancake Man (Jan 22, 2010)

I found a little info on cracked corn....Good for animal feed, birds, etc...Well, that answers my question.....


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

I use it for my chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits...........I mix oats, cracked corn, sunflower seeds and grain together .......they like it.........


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

You probably want to start with whole corn to make your cornmeal for human consumption. Cracked corn sold for animals may not be the cleanest stuff and if its set around in cracked state for any significant period of time may be rancid since its not a degerminated product like much corn for human consumption is. Degerminated means the nutritious part is removed so the starchy parts that remain will have an extremely long shelf life. Cracked corn is a convenience for those feeding animals that would have hard time digesting whole kernel corn and dont want to grind their own.

I also personally think modern field dent corn has a very odd off taste when made into corn meal. But try it yourself, maybe you will like it. You will find it sold many places, Walmart even sells it in 50# bags as "deer corn". But any animal feed store should offer it.

Personally I like corn meal from open pollinated "Indian Corn", the multicolored kernel stuff sold for decoration in fall. Its a flint corn. Very easy to grow, tolerant of both poor soil and drought and insect resistant.


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## Pancake Man (Jan 22, 2010)

Thank you both, hermitjohn and bigfoot2you....I was totally confused when I was that at Tractor Supply.....You both have answered my questions...Deer corn or Flint corn, will look into that...Just wondering more than anything...


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

ANY corn sold like that for "animal feed" should NOT be consumed by humans. Even if it says "re-cleaned", that just means sticks, rocks, etc removed. It has fertilizers, dust & other things on it that shouldn't be eaten by humans. If you are looking for corn LIKE that but consumable for humans, try the health food stores instead.


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

Pretty sure I read somewhere on the forum that deer corn doesn't have all the additives in it because deer can't tolerate it.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

deer corn to deer is like hay to cows, no real nutritional value...just a filler


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## Ms GJ (Mar 26, 2020)

NostalgicGranny said:


> Pretty sure I read somewhere on the forum that deer corn doesn't have all the additives in it because deer can't tolerate it.


 this iswhat my local wildlife office also said


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Pancake Man said:


> Went to the store this morning to pickup a few items and stopped at Tractor Supply on the way home....There were 50 pound bags of cracked corn....What is that for, how many uses, etc.....Can that product be used in cooking is milled???? Thanking you in advance....


It is used to feed chickens, goats, sheep, hogs, horses, cattle, and people. As a survival food cornmeal can be eaten as it comes from the sack. Take a spoon full of cornmeal, followed with a cup of water. Mix in brown sugar, and raisins and it will taste better. Mix it with brown sugar, spread it on a cookie sheet and brown it in the oven. Watch it close, it burns easy.

You won't gain any weight, but you can live on one spoon full in the morning and one at night. With a pound of corn meal, and a pound of dried meat an Indian or a Mountain Man could go for a week or more.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

I think I'll give that recipe a try.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

GTX63 said:


> I think I'll give that recipe a try.


I tried it for three days once. I was hungry all the time, but I kept going. Then it took a week before I could eat a full meal again.


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## anniew (Dec 12, 2002)

I use cracked corn for my chickens in winter because it helps keep them warmer...but they also get regular chicken pellets, so that they are getting a somewhat balanced nutrition. The ducks like it also, and wild ducks and geese often land in a corn field to chow down, especially when they are migrating.
For my own use, I buy bags of pop corn at the bulk food store. It is good as the name implies for pop corn, but can be ground for meal and/or popped for an added veggie or some use it with milk and sugar/honey as a breakfast meal. with a main meal, popcorn could be served along with a legume to get the full complement of amino acids to make complete proteins. 
Having worked in a farm/feed store years ago, I remember seeing some of the feed crawling with maggots, so don't think I'd use feed store corn for myself...although I understand maggots have loads of protein...yuck.


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