# Growing your own feed corn



## unregistered168043

I grew my own feed corn this year in stubborn rebellion of all the negativity that I read online about doing so. "It's cost prohibitive" Fewy! "It's labor intensive", more fewy! "You need a sheller, a grinder and a million other additives" Triple fewy!!

It seems every where you read about it, they suggest that there is no benefit to be had what-so-ever from growing your own, and they almost all suggest that it is better to buy all commercial feed. Some go so far as to warn you about potential health disasters that your chickens will experience if you are foolish enough to attempt to grow your feed.

Always the skeptic, I had to see for myself and as usual, the naysayers were grossly exaggerating the downside and were just plain wrong about much of it.

According to my calculations, it cost me 50% less to grow my own corn than to buy it in the store ( it would have been even less if I had a cheaper source of manure ). It was NOT labor intensive at all, in fact it was almost effortless after the initial planting. My chickens are happy, healthy, laying lots of eggs and they are full sized not scrawny. Here's what I did;

Made rows with plenty of manure. Planted dent variety field corn. Cultivated once or twice before corn grew big enough to block out sun and suppress weeds. Fertilized 3 times by hand ( once every 3 weeks for about 9 weeks ). Recently, after it had been up and brown I went through and pulled the ears off, shucked them and threw them in a wagon in my barn ( took about an hour for a 60x60 patch of corn ).

Thats it. All the hooplah about how tough it was was all baloney. I didn't need a sheller or grinder of any kind, just throw the whole ear to the chickens and they do the rest. I'd been feeding them this corn every morning for about 2 months before harvesting it, now I have about a months worth in the barn ( I have a couple dozen chickens 17 reds and about 5 bantams). The only reason I even harvested it at all is because the deer were getting into it otherwise I'd have kept feeding off the stalk till gone.

I feed this every morning in place of commercial feed, then some commercial feed in the evening. This has cut my feed costs pretty dramatically. Next year I'm going to double my corn so I can feed through the whole winter not just a few months.

I don't care what anyone says, its always cheaper to do it yourself and never as hard as they make it out. I fully recommend growing at least part of your chicken feed to anyone with spare garden space, it will reduce your feed costs pretty dramatically and make chicken keeping more economical.


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## Danaus29

My grandpa grew all the hay and corn we fed our cows. I don't know why everyone says you can't grow your own to feed your chickens as long as you have enough land to do it. 

A suggestion for the next time would be to plant some squash in the corn patch. Chickens like squash and pumpkins too. Or you could underplant with clover which would keep the weeds down and add nitrogen to next years crops.


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## Guest

The close neighbor planted a deer food plot of corn. My free range chickens discovered this after the corn got ripe. The neighbor doesn't care. He says there is still plenty for the deer. The chickens head right over there as soon as I let them out in the morning. They seem healthy and happy and my feed bill is cut in half. I do give the neighbor some eggs.


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## Rusty'sDog

As a side note: All of the commercial corn feed you buy is GMO.

Cattle/hogs being fed GMOs are starting to have serious fertility problems. Aren't you glad you won't have to worry about that?


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## BarredBuff

I tried to grow mine this year and it didnt work as well as I would have liked. Im not gonna grow any this year because of lack of space for the amounts I need


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## CarolT

As long as it dries properly there's no problem with raising your own. I would have problems knowing when it got dry enough to not mold, but I would never tell someone else they couldn't do it or were foolish for trying.


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## clovis

Congrats!!!

I love a good homesteading attitude, and hearing that you grew your own corn is awesome.

I've thought about growing my own corn just for resale in a specialty market, instead of buying it from a local farmer. I've heard the same things and the exact same negativity. 

If I had a decent tractor for plowing the field for the initial planting, I would do it in a heartbeat.


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## Callieslamb

So you don't shell it at all- just toss out an ear? How did you get it dry enough to not mold? Do you have mice that get into it in the barn?

I think this is fantastic! I really want to do this this year. I don't have as many chickens as you do and I'm sure my sheep would enjoy the stalks too.


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## Want2BFree

BarredBuff said:


> I tried to grow mine this year and it didnt work as well as I would have liked. Im not gonna grow any this year because of lack of space for the amounts I need


I tried this past year too without much luck. I'm stubborn enough to try again next year too though. I have a flock of about 50 so I'd need a good ammount of space. My neighbors will loan me a piece of land to grow it in exchange for eggs and not having to mow that part though


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## gracie88

Excellent! We can't get corn dry enough in the field here, at least, not the stuff that matures at the usual time. I've been looking for other stuff to grow for feed, but right now, I'm encouraged to try a short season variety


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## unregistered168043

Callieslamb said:


> So you don't shell it at all- just toss out an ear? How did you get it dry enough to not mold? Do you have mice that get into it in the barn?
> 
> I think this is fantastic! I really want to do this this year. I don't have as many chickens as you do and I'm sure my sheep would enjoy the stalks too.


I just let the corn alone on the stalk and it dried naturally. We didn't even have good weather as it rained ALOT but it still dried. A little mold here and there but the vast majority of it dried just fine ( thats what corn does! ).

I do have mice in the barn but the corn is up on a wagon with smooth plastic sides and so far the mice can't get to it. I should say that the majority of the corn was fed to the chickens while still on the stalk and not dry, from late september until a couple weeks ago ( when I harvested the remainder)

Also, my chickens are free range, meaning I expect them to find at LEAST half their own food in summer. They only ever got a little commercial feed in the evening and I let them out to 'do their thing' in the morning. So, when I throw an ear full of corn on the ground you better believe they ripped it to shreds!


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## unregistered168043

BarredBuff said:


> I tried to grow mine this year and it didnt work as well as I would have liked. Im not gonna grow any this year because of lack of space for the amounts I need


I recommend a good old open pollinated variety like reids yellow dent or truckers favorite. Pick a good sunny spot and make your rows with lots of manure. I over-plant and then thin as it grows.

Every 3 weeks I side dressed with a good 10-10-10. You could probably only use manure but it gets expensive unless you have your own. I cultivated weeds just a couple of times and then the corn was tall enough to overshadow everything. 

There was a 3 week period in summer when the weather was a little dry and I ran a hose out there a few times ( probably didn't need it ).


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## GrannyCarol

Where do you live Darntootin? Here I would have to water a lot, its very dry. On the plus side my corn would probably dry out without mold. I have ducks, they are VERY sensitive to the aflatoxins that corn mold puts out, so that would be important. I could even borrow room from my next door neighbor to grow it. 

Been thinking I'd grow pumpkins/winter squash for winter feed though, that's easy to grow and to store.


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## Guest

When I was a youngen the farmers would pick and shuck the corn and put the ears in a corn crib. The crib had a roof and open fencing on the sides. The corn would finish drying in there and I don't think mold would grow on it. The mice did eat some but the big mice with antlers couldn't get at it so most of it went to the farm critters. I don't see why this wouldn't work today?


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## farmerDale

Rusty'sDog said:


> As a side note: All of the commercial corn feed you buy is GMO.
> 
> Cattle/hogs being fed GMOs are starting to have serious fertility problems. Aren't you glad you won't have to worry about that?


Patently false, sorry. To both statements.

:umno:


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## Sonshine

Don't the chickens need more than corn to get a balanced diet and all the nutrients they need?


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## GrannyCarol

farmerDale - I can't say anything about fertility problems regarding GMO corn, but can you back up your statement that commercial corn isn't GMO? I've read pretty much everywhere that 90% of the corn out there is and it's hard to find corn that isn't GMO, even for organic seed growers. I'd be happy to see evidence otherwise.


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## Wingdo

I too would like to hear the answer/proof on this subject. Generally speaking there isn't much of anything left that hasn't been genetically altered. Sure, some of us save seed from year to year but ultimately even that is going to be cross pollinated right out of existence eventually... all in the name of better yields because the product isn't much more than eating a cardboard box with a little protein.


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## GrannyCarol

One of the things that bothers me about GMO (esp Roundup Ready) is that those crops are then freely sprayed with Roundup. It's just not that healthy to eat herbicides. Well, there are a lot of concerns with GMO crops, that's one of them. I'd better not get started...


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## BarredBuff

Want2BFree said:


> I tried this past year too without much luck. I'm stubborn enough to try again next year too though. I have a flock of about 50 so I'd need a good ammount of space. My neighbors will loan me a piece of land to grow it in exchange for eggs and not having to mow that part though


And Ive figured out that I cant grow enough for the chickens and meat chickens. Much less when we get the milk cow, beef calf and piggie this next year... :cow:


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## farmerDale

GrannyCarol said:


> farmerDale - I can't say anything about fertility problems regarding GMO corn, but can you back up your statement that commercial corn isn't GMO? I've read pretty much everywhere that 90% of the corn out there is and it's hard to find corn that isn't GMO, even for organic seed growers. I'd be happy to see evidence otherwise.


There are many farmers who grow non-gm corn and other crops. It is as hard to find as one makes it to find! lol

Of course, most is gm now, but non-gm is definitely around, you just need to try to find it is all.

The reason farmers grow more gm is simply that they have to use WAY less herbicides than they would use on the non gm corn. 

I watched this thread, as I grow my own feed for my chickens, horses, etc... Of course up here in the north, we grow wheat/oats/rye/barley, not corn. I just had to jump in there and mention to the people who want non-gm, is that they don't have to give up just because most corn grown is gm.


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## BarredBuff

Darntootin said:


> I recommend a good old open pollinated variety like reids yellow dent or truckers favorite. Pick a good sunny spot and make your rows with lots of manure. I over-plant and then thin as it grows.
> 
> Every 3 weeks I side dressed with a good 10-10-10. You could probably only use manure but it gets expensive unless you have your own. I cultivated weeds just a couple of times and then the corn was tall enough to overshadow everything.
> 
> There was a 3 week period in summer when the weather was a little dry and I ran a hose out there a few times ( probably didn't need it ).


I actually had Reids Yellow Dent, it didnt do well. But I plan to keep seed for a SHTF scenario. But reallly we are expanding and I cant quite possibly grow enough for 31 chickens, 2 ducks, a pig, a milk cow, or a beef calf. Plus I need the garden space back for our stuff. If I had a field I would grow it and legumes for hays for the cows, and rabbits. But now I have a 100 by 50 garden and a family of five to feed....but I will get my field one day.....mu ha ha ha lol


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## unregistered168043

GrannyCarol said:


> Where do you live Darntootin? Here I would have to water a lot, its very dry. On the plus side my corn would probably dry out without mold. I have ducks, they are VERY sensitive to the aflatoxins that corn mold puts out, so that would be important. I could even borrow room from my next door neighbor to grow it.
> 
> Been thinking I'd grow pumpkins/winter squash for winter feed though, that's easy to grow and to store.


Granny, I'm up here in the northern Vermont area. Lots of rain, short seasons and lots of snow. That corn does dry though because I see the big farmers here with corn still out on the stalk up until a week ago.

If corn can dry on the stalk with all the rain we have had the past couple months, I think it can just about dry anywhere.


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## unregistered168043

Sonshine said:


> Don't the chickens need more than corn to get a balanced diet and all the nutrients they need?


Yes but my chickens free range and also get some commercial feed in the evenings. The corn has supplemented their diet and cut down on my feed costs but hasn't totally eliminated it. I work for a popular feed store and I know the basic talking points that the reps from Layena and the rest give us about protein and calcium content. However I also know lots of old timers that say that corn is all their chickens ever ate since they can remember and they all did fine ( with some natural ranging around ). Another old timer told me they'd mix abit of crushed lime stone in with the corn for calcium, though nowadays everybody has to feed 'crushed oyster shell' at 10 dollars a bag.

I don't know, I'm not ready to take them completely off the store bought yet, but I save a buck or two by cutting back.


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## birdman1

If you can keep the **** and deer at bay growing your oun corn is great just like growing your own veggies for yourself you don't know what posins a farmer in a differint state used on it as well as what a veggie farmer in peru sprayed on the produce . a 50# bag of corn here is 11$ and going up .I even grow my own bread corn


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## jwal10

Dent corn only has about 9% protein so they do need something else to raise it to about 16% for egg layers but corn is a good rough feed. Make sure the hens have a source of grit to help them break it down. I feed all my dried sweet corn to the hens same way....James


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## lonelyfarmgirl

All COMMERICIAL corn IS GMO. That is the truth. Yes, there are people out there that grow OP or straight hybrid corn, but the COMMERICIAL non-gmo market is non-existent. 

If you can prove this wrong, I would sure like to have a contact for the supplier, or see the feed that is made with non-GMO corn.


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## GrannyCarol

farmerDale said:


> ..
> 
> The reason farmers grow more gm is simply that they have to use WAY less herbicides than they would use on the non gm corn.
> ...


Can you explain that? As I understand it, the whole purpose of Roundup Ready corn is so that it doesn't die when you use a lot of herbicides on it to kill the weeds, therefor the farmer uses more. 

I live in dry land wheat country myself and next summer I'll be looking for a source of soft white wheat (easier for the ducks to eat and recommended by the experts over a hard wheat) to get locally and expand my duck's diet. They do get to free range in a large yard almost every day and have commercial feed and greens (including high protein greens). I do really want to get away from so much expensive commercial feed too.


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## farmerDale

GrannyCarol said:


> Can you explain that? As I understand it, the whole purpose of Roundup Ready corn is so that it doesn't die when you use a lot of herbicides on it to kill the weeds, therefor the farmer uses more.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Sure!
> 
> Roundup ready crops are resistant to glyphosate, which is manufactured by many companies. I will give you a short example of a gm crop I am more familiar with, Canola. (I am notanywhere near the corn belt, and so will keep it within my realm!). Prior to gm canola, farmers had to till their land excessively for weed control, then they would spray the soil with soil sterilizing chemicals to prevent weeds from emerging. After the crop was up, they needed to spray with potent and heavy rates of chemicals to get any missed weeds.
> 
> After gm crops came on the market, roundup ready, liberty link, etc. The farmer no longer needed to wreck the soil by tilling it excessively, and no longer needed to use soil sterilizing herbicides at all. They only need to spray one or sometimes two half litre an acre applications of glyphosate, wheras previously they needed a few litres of very potent, and harmful chemicals which eroded easily off the land due to excessive tillage. They also burned WAY more fossil fuels, contributed to erosion, etc. Now, they need WAY less fuel, have basically no more erosion due to no tillage, and the ecosystem is much healthier.
> 
> I know corn is very similar , as I have many aquaintances in the corn belt of Canada, and the U.S.
> 
> For certain crops, gm is a benefit. For others, it is less beneficial and often unnecessary. I understand your concerns, but as are many on here, they are often unfounded. I attribute the lack of complete understanding to simply a huge disconnect to famring anymore. Yes, even on a homesteading site!
> 
> :cowboy:


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## RonPaulRooster

http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/MediaCenter/Videos/index.cfm


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## Sonshine

Darntootin said:


> Yes but my chickens free range and also get some commercial feed in the evenings. The corn has supplemented their diet and cut down on my feed costs but hasn't totally eliminated it. I work for a popular feed store and I know the basic talking points that the reps from Layena and the rest give us about protein and calcium content. However I also know lots of old timers that say that corn is all their chickens ever ate since they can remember and they all did fine ( with some natural ranging around ). Another old timer told me they'd mix abit of crushed lime stone in with the corn for calcium, though nowadays everybody has to feed 'crushed oyster shell' at 10 dollars a bag.
> 
> I don't know, I'm not ready to take them completely off the store bought yet, but I save a buck or two by cutting back.


OK, thanks. I plan on raising feed corn next year, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't cover all their nutritional needs.


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## GrannyCarol

One of the reasons I read and participate in this homesteading site is because I am becoming aware of the pitfalls of our current farming systems. They don't work - they feed our country, but a lot of that food is not as nutritious or as safe as it could be. Our soils are being damaged by commercial farming practices. Yes, I'd say that this site is likely to be biased against commercial farming interests - that's why I grow more of my own food than I used to and buy locally from farmers and ranchers that I know. This is a place to look for other ways to feed ourselves for greater health and enjoyment. Homesteads are not big farms and few would want to be. There is a bigger picture, I want to know more about it. 

I appreciate your explanation of GMO crops, thanks.


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## GrannyCarol

RonPaulRooster said:


> http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/MediaCenter/Videos/index.cfm


Holy cow! That video is long and gets more interesting and more in depth as it goes. Although this guy is very activist, he gets down to facts and figures and studies. We have some real problems to deal with regarding GMO crops. I recommend watching that video and being patient to watch the whole thing.


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