Fodder corn: the best varieties, how to distinguish from food

Fodder corn is used by gardeners for fattening domestic animals. It is eaten by chickens, ducks, sheep, goats and pigs. Without grains, it is impossible to provide a balanced diet for pets.

The modern gardener does not stop only at growing vegetables and fruits. He breeds poultry, rabbits, pigs in small areas. There is an opportunity to diversify the vegetable menu with livestock products.

To increase the profitability of the household, it is necessary to provide pets with a complete diet. The composition of feed should include vitamins, minerals, protein. This cannot be achieved without feed corn.

Feed grain is used for fattening animals before slaughter. In winter, it is from it that animals receive energy to heat the body. A diligent owner always has a supply of corn.

What is coarse grain?

Any grain crop is divided into 2 main parts: fodder (forage) and food. The product differs from each other in several key indicators:

Nature. This is the mass of 1 liter of grain in grams. Products that have not passed all stages of development are sent for fodder. Not applicable for corn.
Humidity. Assessed for cleaning. If the value of the indicator is higher than the established norm (12%), the grain is classified as fodder.
Clogging. When cleaning, the percentage of foreign inclusions is determined. Exceeding puts the crop in the forage category.

Feed grain must be absolutely safe for animals. If desired, the gardener can eat. Feed made from it cannot contain molds, poisonous plants or harmful impurities.

Value of corn as forage

Fodder corn is popular all over the world. This is determined by its composition. It consists of:

starch - 70%;
fat - 4%;
protein - up to 9%.

Grain contains vitamins B, PP, A, E. A small percentage of fiber increases the digestibility of grain. The lack of amino acids (tryptophan and lysine) in the protein is compensated by the high content of zein. This is enough for the successful fattening of animals.

Energy value: 100 g of corn equals 143 feed units. For complete assimilation, maize grain should be given crushed or ground.

How can you tell feed corn from food corn?

The gardener should be able to distinguish fodder corn from food corn. This is necessary to reduce the cost of the animal feed base and increase the profitability of the dacha economy.

Feed corn varieties from food corn are easy to distinguish by the following features:

Growth region. Forage is grown in areas with a temperate (cool) climate. Food - warm.
Seed color. Feed grades of corn differ in saturated yellow or orange grain. Food has light beige.
To taste. Boiled fodder will be tough, low-juicy. Food - sugar, soft.
The shape and size of the ears. Food corn heads are shorter and thicker than feed corn heads.

There is a folk way of defining a variety of culture. You should take one grain and crush it with your nails. If the seed burst without effort, and white milky juice remained on the fingers, this is a food culture. If the skin is hardly crushed, but does not tear - fodder.

Type of food corn - sugar. It is often grown in home gardens. Collected at the stage of milk maturity. The gardener should know: after harvesting, such a crop is stored for less than 2 weeks. After collection, it is immediately processed (frozen, canned). Having bought a large batch for the future, it will not be possible to save it.

How to store?

Often a gardener buys a large batch of feed corn on occasion. The purchase price is favorable. It will significantly increase the profitability of animal husbandry. But the question arises: how to keep the harvest for a long time without loss.

Rules are usual:

husking the cobs;
dry the crop in a ventilated place (under a canopy);
put in storage with a layer of 20-30 cm;
keep the temperature around 6 degrees Celsius;
ensure adequate ventilation;
control air humidity (maximum hygrometer reading - 17%);
check the moisture content of the planted grain (it should not exceed 12%);

provide protection against rodents (mice, rats).

The difference in temperature and humidity will result in the loss of stored grain. Some gardeners, due to lack of space in the cellars, store feed corn in bags. In this case, it is required to check the moisture content of the grain once a week. Ventilation in the basement should provide ventilation.

How to secure a seed fund?

Some gardeners have enough planting space. They want to grow feed corn on their own. They are interested in the question: is it possible to use corn seeds bought earlier for fodder for sowing.

Often, for feed grains, plants that have not passed the full cycle of development are used. The embryos of such seeds are weak, unripened. They will give a low yield. To obtain a complete feed grain, you should purchase certified seeds from a trusted manufacturer.

Competent sellers of planting material process it with chemicals. This increases germination, protects against pests. It is difficult for gardeners to carry out such an operation.

How to use a forage crop?

The use of fodder maize depends on the type of dacha animal husbandry. When fattening birds, maize is added to feed mixtures. Chickens and ducks quickly gain weight. Feed maize should not exceed 40% in the poultry diet. As the rate increases, animals accumulate fat.

Grain is part of the diet of laying hens. It is absorbed almost completely. It has a high energy value. But when overfeeding, the activity of laying hens decreases. Their egg production drops. 20% of the total amount of feed by weight is a sufficient norm in egg poultry farming.

When fattening piglets, the specified amount of culture should also be strictly observed. Its excess leads to an increase in the fat layer of the animal. The meat becomes watery and tasteless. When determining the norm, one should take into account the amount of feed corn in the feed.

Overfeeding culture of breeding animals is undesirable. The activity of males decreases. They get fat and stop being interested in females. This reduces the volume of commodity production.

In winter, the amount of feed corn in the diet is slightly increased (by a maximum of 10-15%). Maize-enriched food allows animals to endure cold weather without loss.