Which grain is better for poultry, corn, sorghum grain (milo), oats or wheat?
Generally corn and sorghum grain can be interchanged for each other in rations for chickens as they have almost the same nutritive value. More alfalfa meal or some other source of yellow pigment must be added to maintain yolk color if yellow corn is fully or partially replaced by other grains in a laying ration. Wheat is very palatable for poultry. Wheat and milo have comparable energy contents, but slightly less (5-7%) than corn. Wheat is severely deficient in some amino acid , thus wheat should contribute only half of the grain in the ration unless the amino acids are balanced. The physical form in which wheat is fed is important. Finely ground wheat becomes sticky when wet, sticks to the beaks of chickens and can cause beak impaction, (mouth ulcers) which may reduce feed consumption. Oats are a good grain for growing chickens where rapid growth is not critical, such as egg-type pullets. Oats have a higher fiber content than other grains, thus are not recommended for layer or broiler
Generally corn and sorghum grain can be interchanged for each other in rations for chickens as they have almost the same nutritive value. More alfalfa meal or some other source of yellow pigment must be added to maintain yolk color if yellow corn is fully or partially replaced by other grains in a laying ration. Wheat is very palatable for poultry. Wheat and milo have comparable energy contents, but slightly less (5-7%) than corn. Wheat is severely deficient in some amino acids, thus wheat should contribute only half of the grain in the ration unless the amino acids are balanced. The physical form in which wheat is fed is important. Finely ground wheat becomes sticky when wet, sticks to the beaks of chickens and can cause beak impaction, (mouth ulcers) which may reduce feed consumption. Oats are a good grain for growing chickens where rapid growth is not critical, such as egg-type pullets. Oats have a higher fiber content than other grains, thus are not recommended for layer or broiler
