Does corn raise chicken's body tmperature? - Ask Extension
I have been raising chickens for 6 years, and there seems to be lots of differing opinions and advice on best feeding and housing practices for poultr...
Knowledgebase
Does corn raise chicken's body tmperature? #310101
Asked March 30, 2016, 3:38 PM EDT
I have been raising chickens for 6 years, and there seems to be lots of differing opinions and advice on best feeding and housing practices for poultry. One thing that's particularly a curiosity for me is the notion of whether corn raises a chicken's body temperature. I have seen advice on chicken blogs and message boards that giving corn in the winter will help the chickens keep their body temperature up. Is that true? Wouldn't extra calories of any sort help with that? Is it corn specifically? Or do all carb sources do the same thing?
Recently I saw a tip on facebook for keeping the hens cool in the summer. It suggested putting canned corn in a muffin tin, topping it off with water, then freezing it and letting the hens peck at the frozen corn cubes. There were many comments saying, "Corn raises chicken's body temperature, this is dangerous."
So, does corn really raise a chicken's body temperature, any moreso than any other source of carbohydrate or calories? Ironically, nobody had concerns about too much sodium. I am aware that there may be a concern with too much corn causing nutrient imbalance, but I haven't gotten a solid answer on the body temp issue, other than anecdotal evidence.
Recently I saw a tip on facebook for keeping the hens cool in the summer. It suggested putting canned corn in a muffin tin, topping it off with water, then freezing it and letting the hens peck at the frozen corn cubes. There were many comments saying, "Corn raises chicken's body temperature, this is dangerous."
So, does corn really raise a chicken's body temperature, any moreso than any other source of carbohydrate or calories? Ironically, nobody had concerns about too much sodium. I am aware that there may be a concern with too much corn causing nutrient imbalance, but I haven't gotten a solid answer on the body temp issue, other than anecdotal evidence.
Clinton County New York
Expert Response
Corn itself does not raise a chicken's body temperature. It is a carbohydrate source providing energy to the chicken's body. There is an increased energy need during the winter and adding cracked corn (or scratch grains) to the diet in winter provides the extra energy the chicken's body needs to keep warm. It is used in place of adding additional heat to the poultry house. It is not advised to give extra cereals to the diet of chickens in the summer. Chickens eat to meet their energy requirement and will eat less of the complete feed if given scratch grains or cracked corn. This can result in a nutritional deficiency.
