What to Feed Chickens to Gain weight?

[Chickenyouout]

im being over run with roosters...there is like 20 to 10 hens...and i dont kill chickens and then only one who eats them is my father but he says there not fatt enough...i feel like im working for the devil here but what can i feed them to make them gain some weight....im thinking 43% protein...oh and yess they have been wormed.

 

[smith2]

I feed mine whole milk and corn when I want them to gain weight. Chickens do not gain weight in the same manner as other animals. Cows, hogs, etc. put on weight in the meat muscle. Chickens don't do that. They will only put on fat around and between organs and deposit fat in certain undesirable areas. The weight of healthy chicken is largely determined by the breed and genetic make-up of that breed, so if they are healthy they will only eat so much or they will keep eating and put on fat in bad places. Some breeds of chicken are just thinner than others.

 

[bantyman]

Hey all

I have heard that corn will put weight on birds But mine make pigs of themselves on cracked corn and dont put on anything and yes they have been wormed They get it every 2 months Whats the thing with milk and how do you feed it? In a bowl? Or mix it with something

Mike

 

[cmom]

What kind of birds are they and how old are they?

 

[Chickenyouout]

they are buff orps....but there not as heavy as they should be there about 6 months old...i started feeding them broiler feed hopefully that helps..

 

[Omran]

Quote:
If you have a bout 20 roosters for 10 hens, that is the first and bigest problem you have if they stay all together, first I will take all 19 roosters and put them by themselves away from the hens, and keep only one rooster for the 10 hens, then the other roosters will stop fighting and start paying attention to thier food, and eat.

Omran.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Quote:
If you have a bout 20 roosters for 10 hens, that is the first and bigest problem you have if they stay all together, first I will take all 19 roosters and put them by themselves away from the hens, and keep only one rooster for the 10 hens, then the other roosters will stop fighting and start paying attention to thier food, and eat.

Omran.

That's excellent advice, Omran.

 

[Chickenyouout]

lol...yeah thats what ill do

 

[Poohbear]

Cracked corn is dry inside and doesn't have the nutrients that whole corn has. If you need to feed cracked corn, find a grinder to crack it at each feeding. I have a hand crank feed grinder I used as a boy and my mother used as a girl to grind corn. She is 86 years old. To fatten a chicken, feed buttermilk mixed with corn or lay pellets. buttermilk, corn, or Calf Manna pellets, which is a REAL fattening feed.wheat especially will make one fat. I feed bread alot to my layers and they STAY fat. 2 day old bread from the thrift store works just fine. Remember what made the hens so fat in the OLD days? Bugs, corn and TABLE SCRAPS. Just make sure they are healthy from worms and mites then start feeding twice a day. I mix feed for mine at:
50lbs whole corn
50lbs whole oats
50 lbs hen scratch
50 lay pellets
50lbs wheat in the winter
5lbs Alfalfa pellets in the winter when there is no grass. mix it in proportion.
Find an old deep freeze someone is giving away on craigslist and mix your feed to keep in it. Makes a good, rodent free feed bin.

 

[dlhunicorn]

If they free range, restrict their movement to say the run (free range birds are "thinner" and leaner than a cage system bird > not saying to cage your birds but restricting their movement will help as far as weight goes)
Formulate feed to that which takes the least amount of energy to digest... cut down any high fiber feed supplements.