- Jul 29, 2008
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Ok, so I've raised several rounds of meat birds for my family, and I know how fast they grow. I ordered 100 chicks to sell at the local farmers market and I'm having a bit of a problem.
I went to a feed store where they mix their own feed. It's non-GMO and non-soy, with no corn ingredients. They guarantee 16% protein, 2% fat, 10% fiber. Ingredients are black oil sunflower, millet, milo, alfalfa pellets, oats, peas, grit, oyster shell, and "organic grain products" that is supposed to be an organic protein supplement. I ferment the feed in a bucket overnight before i give it to my birds.
My group of cornish-rocks from Welp Hatchery don't seem to be growing as fast as what I am used to. I weighed one this morning, and at 2 weeks old it's only 0.20 lbs. I expected at least 1 lb at this stage. They only have their wing feathers and aren't the plump little fluff-balls my last few groups have been. There is always a little feed left in the trough each day, so I know they aren't running out of feed. My thinking is that there is something wrong with the feed, maybe too low protein?
At the same time, when I was pre-selling these birds, there was a big demand for eggs. I bought 25 new layers that were 4-5 months old. I had the usual pull back in production from my layers, but it has been over a week and a half they are just now giving me 4-5 eggs per day from 40 birds. I started giving them the same feed around the same time as obtaining the new birds, so I wonder if the lack of egg production could have something to do with the feed as well.
Anyone have any experience with a situation like this? Low growth rates and low egg production from "inferior" feed? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I went to a feed store where they mix their own feed. It's non-GMO and non-soy, with no corn ingredients. They guarantee 16% protein, 2% fat, 10% fiber. Ingredients are black oil sunflower, millet, milo, alfalfa pellets, oats, peas, grit, oyster shell, and "organic grain products" that is supposed to be an organic protein supplement. I ferment the feed in a bucket overnight before i give it to my birds.
My group of cornish-rocks from Welp Hatchery don't seem to be growing as fast as what I am used to. I weighed one this morning, and at 2 weeks old it's only 0.20 lbs. I expected at least 1 lb at this stage. They only have their wing feathers and aren't the plump little fluff-balls my last few groups have been. There is always a little feed left in the trough each day, so I know they aren't running out of feed. My thinking is that there is something wrong with the feed, maybe too low protein?
At the same time, when I was pre-selling these birds, there was a big demand for eggs. I bought 25 new layers that were 4-5 months old. I had the usual pull back in production from my layers, but it has been over a week and a half they are just now giving me 4-5 eggs per day from 40 birds. I started giving them the same feed around the same time as obtaining the new birds, so I wonder if the lack of egg production could have something to do with the feed as well.
Anyone have any experience with a situation like this? Low growth rates and low egg production from "inferior" feed? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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