Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Fresh Food Corn plant leaves, safe?

QtrSkill

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Posts
33
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
33
Hello..
So on my quest to find some fresh grass/hay/herbs to feed my pigs on daily basis. I found corn leaves. And by leaves I mean the plants leaves not the cob husks or silks which I know its fine to feed the piggies.
Is is safe for the pigs to eat these? if yes how often?



thanks
 

meggymoomoo

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Posts
67
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
67
I actually just looked it up in the little search box above your thread. It said that the husks or outer layer of the corn can be eaten but peel off like the first outer layer and serve the more tender inner layer. The silk is also edible but I wouldn't feed them any silk that is black. It can be fed everyday but it has no nutritional value. So it can't be their only veggie.
 

meggymoomoo

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Posts
67
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
67
Sorry about all the posts. In ADDDITION to fresh, unlimited Timothy hay you can feed the leaves. I think I read somewhere people even dried the leaves and stored them for the winter. The 1st picture looks edible because its basically the husk. But the 2nd picture I can't really see what that is and if they can eat it. Ok well I'm done posting. :)
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Just in case anybody is confused -- the leaves and the husks of a corn plant are two entirely different things. The leaves are long, green and individual, the husks wrap around the ear of corn.

Ditto the pesticide problem -- corn is heavily sprayed with all sorts of noxious chemicals.. I'm not sure you could get all the pesticide off the leaves, but I do feed the husks after peeling two or three layers off the top and cutting off the brown ends of the silks.
 

QtrSkill

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Posts
33
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
33
Thanks everyone for your input I really appreciate it

So as far as I can tell, they can enjoy the leaves, but its the matter of pesticides. So what if I wash/soak the leaves in mix of lemon/baking soda/vinger and water- then antibacterial soap? as I read this removes pesticides and bacteria.
The thing is Im trying to find fresh grass/hay/plants that I can give my pigs often other than veggies since where I live we don't have fresh grass or hay. so if these leaves are ok I can get them easily.
And by the way Im not looking for something to replace the hay just so you would know. They have unlimited access to 3rd timothy hay from KMS as well as their daily intake of veggies and vit c.
I can't seem to find fresh corn with their husks on this time of the year however these leaves are almost available all week.
 

Rhyue

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Posts
133
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Messages
133
You could always try growing corn yourself if you have some room and a suitable environment, then you'll know if its safe for consumption.

The main concerns I'd have with commercial corn leaves (assuming the leaves/stalk etc) is safe for piggies in an of itself is as mentioned pesticides. Most pesticides are targeted in nature, that is they're effective against specific groups (generally most pesticides are insecticides- mostly effective against insects). And as mentioned some pesticides simply cannot be washed off since they're not ON the plant but rather IN it. These are systemic pesticides, they're applied to the plant/soil/seeds and the plants absorb the chemicals, incorporating them into their greenery and other portions. You cannot wash them out anymore than you can wash the green chlorophyl out.

However, these systemic pesticides generally do not cause issue to humans and as they describe it "non-pest species" due to their method of action (such as requiring specific proteins in the target species to bind to that humans lack) however, I do not know what they describe as a "pest species" with respect to these pesticides. If your animal is fine eating the silk and husks, the leaves are probably fine though, with respect to systemics (since they'd also be in the husk/silk- albeit at a lower concentration since they're younger structures and will not have had as long to absorb the chemicals). The main thing to remember is that GPs aren't humans, so they may react to pesticides that don't affect humans.

Some commercial corn plants also utilize Bt toxin GMOs. Bt toxin is targeted to insects, not humans or other mammals (such as GPs). However, its expression is more likely to be concentrated in the leaves and non-human consumed portion of the plant. GPs may have a reaction to the protein itself, rather than any toxicity effects.

There have been studies showing immune response in mice, however the validity of most of these studies I find to be questionable since the test groups are usually something like 1)organic corn 2)pesticide corn 3)Bt w/pesticide and the negative effects are usually of a comparable level to the pesticide group, which may imply the issue is from the pesticides, not the Bt, and with the test groups it is impossible to say Bt is the cause since its not being tested by itself. However, most anti-gmo publishers will hide that aspect of the study in their reports and simply call it the "Bt group" and focus on the difference between the organic and bt w/pesticide group, which as mentioned may be the fault of the pesticides rather than Bt.

But anyway, TL;DR the leaves of commercial plants may be more highly ridden with pesticides than the husk/silk portion of the plant, and you may be unable to remove them with cleaning. The pesticides may or may not effect GPs but because the leaves will likely have more of the compounds there may be a higher risk of reaction, even if more of an allergic reaction.
 

QtrSkill

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Posts
33
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
33
Thanks I really appreciate sharing your info w/ me. I guess its better to stay off it, its not worth the risk.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

cruella-de-vil
Replies
3
Views
282
4boipigs
4boipigs
_Sora_
Replies
1
Views
439
_Sora_
_Sora_
Maisie&Hazel
Replies
11
Views
787
Maisie&Hazel
Maisie&Hazel
SandyPig
Replies
5
Views
710
ItsaZoo
ItsaZoo
Top