Corn husks...
- truffie
- I gave AGAIN, dammit!
Last week when I was digging husks out of the husk bin at the grocery store, a woman approached me and said "oh, I see you're a composter". I had to explain that, no, I was simply foraging for free food for my guinea pigs. Cracked her up. The husks and silks are seriously like piggy crack to them. They'd be up in arms if I only tossed in one leaf.
I'm always concerned that the silk presents a potential choking hazard (like celery). I'm probably cheating the poor little dears out of a much-needed taste treat. I mean, if the organic papaya, dill, and wheat grass don't fill the bill. Honestly, I spend more on veggies for my pigs than I do on my family. That's one thing I LOVE about summer--cheap pig food!
None of the stores here have clean husk bins so I just buy myself an ear of corn and give the husks and silks to the pigs. The silks are by FAR the treasured bits. I was afraid they would be dangerous, like strings, but when you actually feel them, they're soft and crunchy, not hard and stringy like I remembered. I usually give 2 leaves or so per pigs because I want them to last a few days. I like to feed them a lot and need to ask my parents to start saving them for me as they eat a lot of corn.
I just did a Google search and found a little bit of information on the nutritional content of corn husks on this site Raising healthy rabbits under primitive conditions
According to that reference, corn husks contain 2.6% crude protein and 31.6% crude fiber. So, if I recall correctly, less protein than timothy hay but about the same amount of fiber.
According to that reference, corn husks contain 2.6% crude protein and 31.6% crude fiber. So, if I recall correctly, less protein than timothy hay but about the same amount of fiber.
After reading all the replies, I dropped a small pile in with them after work today and they had a feast!
I had to explain that, no, I was simply foraging for free food for my guinea pigs. Cracked her up.
The produce lady I asked last night had quite a laugh as well when I asked her. She told me "Go ahead, take the whole bin. They're just going to toss it out in a couple hours anyway." I took a small handful (only 'cause I didn't know if my boys would like them...not to mention, what am I going to do with a 30gal bag full of husks). Next time I think I'll have to take more.
Thanks everyone! ^_^
I had to explain that, no, I was simply foraging for free food for my guinea pigs. Cracked her up.
The produce lady I asked last night had quite a laugh as well when I asked her. She told me "Go ahead, take the whole bin. They're just going to toss it out in a couple hours anyway." I took a small handful (only 'cause I didn't know if my boys would like them...not to mention, what am I going to do with a 30gal bag full of husks). Next time I think I'll have to take more.
Thanks everyone! ^_^
I was just about to post a thread asking this same question! Thanks. I'm going to start feeding them a bit more often after reading how much you all do. It seems like the husks would be beneficial for their teeth as well (some real good chewin).
I always thought it would be really great for their teeth. I fed mine their husks last night. Next time I'll give them the silk, I was also worried about the choking factor. I'll just watch them eat it. They run to me when they know I've put the husks in the cage. Even our 10 week old baby Thumper has learned how great they are.
So what about vitamins and minerals?
Also, we read somewhere that you should remove the outer layer of husks and throw them out because they contain more pesticides the average vegetable. Not sure how valid that is. But it kind of makes sense because they figure people are not eating the husks.
Also, we read somewhere that you should remove the outer layer of husks and throw them out because they contain more pesticides the average vegetable. Not sure how valid that is. But it kind of makes sense because they figure people are not eating the husks.