Is Corn Bad for Chickens?

 

Is corn, the grain, bad for chickens? 

Some people "prefer" eggs that come from chickens that aren't fed a diet that contains corn or soy, and even some chicken keepers prefer to find feeds that don't have corn or soy in them. However, are there any health consequences related from feeding corn to egg laying hens? 

I think part of the reason why corn is thought to be bad for chickens is because there is a mix up of "egg-laying chickens" and "meat chickens." On the meat-chicken side, a bird fed a diet with corn as one of the main energy components will grow to about 4 lbs in about 2 months, or slightly less. While this growth rate is quite exponential (some may consider as unnatural), a diet high in energy (corn) that is cheap is what is necessary to make the financial aspect of poultry work out. While there are some other grain substitutes to corn, like sorghum/milo, the digestibility is lower versus corn, which means that the feed efficiency of the bird goes down, while the feed expense rises. So, corn isn't bad. It can be bad if it is the sole ingredient however, simply because it doesn't have enough protein and other micronutrients necessary to fulfill the dietary requirements of the chicken, and that applies for both laying hens and meat chickens alike. 

On the egg side of things, feeding corn helps hens in many ways. Corn is a vital source of energy for egg-producing hens. Since corn is highly digestible, it makes sense to use it as an energy source to provide energy to produce a nutritionally dense egg, while keeping the hen in good condition. On average, a hen eats about a quarter pound (0.25) of feed per day. On a per hen basis, that's not much, especially when a single egg weighs about 0.14 lbs, which is a little over half of how much feed is consumed. So you can see how important it is for the maximum amount of energy, protein, and micronutrients to be in the hens' diet. Anything less than that means that either you or the hen is getting starved, or both. If the hen doesn't produce enough eggs, you're lacking eggs, and the hen isn't getting enough through her diet to be productive and take care of her needs. 

Corn isn't bad when used like its supposed to, but it is not meant as a sole feed ingredient.