Corn Fodder!??

[justusnak]

OK, so the local AG field...has sweet corn past its prime, and I was told I could go cut stalks and all, as much as I want. I am planning to cut at least a truck load today...but am wondering...how do I store the stalks for the sheep? And, once they are dry, are they even nutritionally good for them dureing the winter? The corn I will give to the pigs, and chickens...and save some for seed corn for next year... do I dry the corn with the husks on?? I need a little advice here please...

 

[keljonma]

One year we got 12.5 dozen and later another 20 dozen ear of sweet corn similar to what you are talking about.

I was told that sweet corn on the cob would not store as well during winter as field corn.

So we removed the kernels from the cobs and dehydrated them. This also meant they didn't take up as much space as corn cobs. We fed this to the flock during winter mixed with their scratch.

For the stalks, we chopped them, and laid them on chicken wire fencing we hung from the barn rafters in single layers until they dried. Then we bundled them with baling twine. We used it for bedding for the chickens that winter.

Maybe someone else has some other ideas..... since you are getting a much larger harvest than we did.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

No clue, I just wanted to say I like your sig, justusnak

 

[Beekissed]

I am shocking mine and hanging it to upside down in my building to dry, cobs and all. As long as it's dry and there is a good airflow around the bundles, I expect there won't be much molding. I will then just give them a handful of stalks with their hay this winter and let them have fun. What they don't eat the dog will!

 

[Farmfresh]

I remember my grandma talking about feeding corn fodder. It seems to me that they chopped it up when it was mostly dry for easier storage. I wonder if you could use a chipper or a leaf shredder?

I also found this link about it. http://www.ytmag.com/articles/artint94.htm

 

[Beekissed]

The bigger farms chop it into sileage and store it in silos. It then ferments~imagine that, free!~ and "cooks" until it turns into a feed supplement that is along the lines of sugars and starchy foods. Supposed to be more nutritious this way, from what I understand.

I think the methane released by this process is very dangerous and a whole family of Amish got killed last year in the Shenandoah valley last year by the gases released by sileage.

 

[Farmfresh]

You also have to be careful with silage. Horses can not eat it safely only ruminates. Also like other fermented foods if the "baddies" out weigh the good bacteria you can grow botulism. Ensilage is an art.

 

[patandchickens]

I do not believe that plain ole dried corn stalks/leaves have much in the way of nutritional value. Chopped corn silage, made from still-green(ish) corn stalks, is a different matter, but not easy to make at home, certainly not in any quantity.

As bedding/mulch/compost type stuff of course it is still useful, also as Halloween decorations

Pat

 

[Beekissed]

It seems all the farmers who grow corn and then let their herd into in the fall around here might disagree with you. The cows actually devour the corn ears AND the stalks, like big ol' locusts! This is corn that is no longer green and fresh, but cured on the stalk and standing in the fields like dry ol' scarecrows.

My granny used to feed the dried corn stalks to her cows in the winter along with the hay. She seemed to think the extra roughage was good for their digestion.

 

[Blackbird]

Last fall we started feeding the donkey and the bucks (wether too) corn stalks from the sweet corn.we fed that for a while instead of hay and they absolutly loved it. The goats even ate the cobs whole, just swallowed the whole darn thing even if there wasn't much corn left on it.

They're still alive.. Well, I think.. We got rid of the bucks about a month ago, but they were still alive and healthy then.