# Cut Maize Question



## LimaMikeSquared (Jul 14, 2010)

I know that corn can be carcenogenic to mice - but is cut maize ok?

Julie


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Heehee, I think you'll find maize is a controversial subject on this forum! I would suggest doing your own, impartial research  I think improperly stored maize that's gone bad is carcogenic, but I've seen no real evidence that good quality maize is as well.

Personally, I think the benefits from the high levels of folate and the type of hindgut fibre it provides outweigh the risks of feeding maize, so I feed maize as a part of my mouse diet but there are many mouse and rat people that say that maize will cause cancer in female mice. I have not noticed this at all, in my experience it's all down to the breeding and genetic susceptability of the mice in question. Interestingly, I think all of the people that I've heard and website I've read that say maize is bad for mice have lived across the pond in America - maybe feed storage and quality is not as good as in England?

Sarah xxx


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Sarah, do you feed raw whole kernel corn or cooked kernel corn?


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

It's raw but cut into smaller pieces, I don't know what they call that 

Sarah xxx


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## LimaMikeSquared (Jul 14, 2010)

I think the kernels in my feed are raw - they look like unpopped pop corn

Would maybe any preservatives and certain strains of corns make a problem. I.e. GM . Or even certain industrial strenght fertilizers and insectacides.

Just a thought that things added to it rather than the corn itself could be a problem

Julie


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Raw corn kernels broken up into bits is called cracked corn on this side of the pond. My thinking goes like this: raw corn is probably feed grade corn, which allows a higher level of crud, including aflatoxin, and that perhaps buying bulk corn such as popcorn, meant only for human consumption, might be better for meeces.

As far as raw field corn being OK for meeces, there are a number of factors to consider. First there is the unarguable fact that your English show mousies are quite different in size and appearance, and that divergence, along with selection over 150 years for lines that are not prone to cancer, may be to account for the low incidence of cancer in English meeces. My experience over the last 12 years has convinced me that American fancy meeces are at risk from eating raw yellow field corn. Another possible difference is the herbicides and pesticides used in our two countries. Your agricultural authorities may not allow the same ones, or the same quantities that are applied in the US.

I'd like to know how the fiber found in corn is superior to that found in oats or wheat. And if the amounts of folate is high in raw yellow field corn, how does that compare to the amounts found in premium corn free pet food.

I have tried to research this area on the web, but I lack access to academic sites, and besides that, I have seen little in my searches that refer to this area of investigation, as far as sites go, in my search results. If anyone can provide any info in this area, I'd love to know about it. It just occurred to me that I have not checked with our University of Minnesota College of Agriculture.


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## LimaMikeSquared (Jul 14, 2010)

I was thinking it may be due to differences in how crops are allowed to be grown and processed. There may also be other factors in why mice in the USA may be more cancer prone, small insects and things they eat may have been contaminated with different substances.

Julie


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## Autumn2005 (Apr 21, 2010)

moustress said:


> I'd like to know how the fiber found in corn is superior to that found in oats or wheat.


I took an animal nutrition class, and while I'd have to go looking for my notes *rustles some papers around, gives up hopelessly* I do remember that corn is notably missing one of the essential amino acids, can't remember the name, darn missing notes. One of the best grains, as I remember, was wheat, however human consume such massive amounts of wheat it's generally considered too expensive to feed animals (mind, we were studying commercial dairy/beef/pork/performance horses farms, not itty bitty mice)...

EDIT: by "best grains" I meant, content of protein, and quaility of protein (meaning how many essential amino acids)


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

How corn is dried has a big effect on whether or not it develops the fungus that produces aflatoxin. Moisture content in corn varies a lot depending on the weather and growing conditions.

Traditional methods of preparing corn for human consumption removes an esssential vitamin, I think it's thiamine, resulting in a disease called pellagra that used to be quite common among poor populations, including the Deep South here in the US.


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