Feeding non-Cx meat bird feed

[thlayli]

I have a flock of dual purpose chickens (Ameraucanas, Orpingtons, and Marans) that I can cross to produce sex links. Easy enough to sell the pullets, and I keep the cocks for table. However, I've just been feeding them regular chick feed and then all-flock feed from about 12 weeks on. I want to get more weight on the cockerels before slaughter, and was wondering if the additional protein of meat chicken feed would help with that. I'm not too concerned about the detrimental effects of excess protein since these birds would not be living past 20 weeks, but I wanted to know if anyone has done this before and if they got good results (noticeably heavier birds at processing time).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, its beneficial. The benefits are quite small however. Unless your feed costs are very close AND your Dual Pupose birds are genetically inclinded towards fast growth and large size, you won't notice the difference w/o careful measuring.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have mutts -

You have -
Ameraucanas. Assuming you aren't talking about the mutt with a similar name, that's a medium bird with roughly medium maturity.
Orpingtons - can get quite large, somewhat early maturing.
Marans - not near as big as a full grown Orp, generally bigger than an AmerXXXX, not particularly early maturing.

My guess is you would see the most effect in the Orps, and they can be so heavily feathered you might not see it at all - all that feather makes it hard to judge their weight w/o a scale. Would likely see better luck with quality NHR, Delawares, or Rangers.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have not done that. My thoughts would be to try it and see for yourself how it works in your situation. People that raise chickens for show generally feed a higher protein feed so they will grow bigger.

What percent protein is the all-flock you have been feeding and the percent protein of the meat bird feed you are considering? I'd expect the earlier you start the high protein feed and the more protein to both make a difference. The question is whether it is enough difference for it to be worth it for you.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The question is whether it is enough difference for it to be worth it for you.

^^^ this right here. Thought I had said so as well, but that was response to another poster.

@thlayli I do actually feed my mutts a "game bird" formulation for the first 10-12 weeks of their lives. Its 24% crude protein and comparable to many Meat bird formulations in the AA profile they disclose. The difference between doing it that way and just feeding them my 20% all flock mix all the time is only an ounce or two in average weight, best guess. Even with less than $2/50# in feed costs between the two mixes, its not cost effective. Maybe break even, depending on how you value your chicken meat.

I do it because it helps me identify who are likely going to be my best male of the batch and my worst hens, so I can cull the rest. Starting birds on an exceptional feed increases the chances that any exceptional traits will show early. I'm trying to breed (cull, really) size back onto some laying mutts, so its an investment in my long term future. Investment because there is no short term payoff.

Wish it were otherwise. I should probably do a hatch where half are raised on my usual 20%, half are raised on the 24%, get some measurements (tiny sample size, but better than best guess?) Will have to do it later in the year though, incubating duck eggs at present.

 

[thlayli]

Hey guys, thank you for replying!

@U_Stormcrow: My All-Flock feed is 18%. The meat bird feed is usually 22-24%, but game bird feed where I am runs to about 30%. I have not compared prices between game bird feed and the previously mentioned feeds. My Ams are true Ams, not mixes (I do have EEs but they are smaller than my Ams and excluded from the particular experiment) and my Am cockerel is taller than my Orpington rooster but I would need to weigh them to find the actual difference. The Am is pretty dense. The Orp is definitely heavy and stocky looking, but you're right in that the amount of fluff covering him could easily be hiding his actual size.

I'm limited on space. The most chicks I can raise at any given time to butchering age is about 12-15, and I'm specifically trying to get some use out of my birds beyond eggs. Since I have roosters and the crosses will produce sex links, it's easy to sell pullets, and I'm fine keeping the cockerels for table if I can get decent weight in a reasonable amount of time. If the outcome isn't particularly noticeable though I'm good with soups, stews, and broth from the boys lol.

I guess this will be the year of data collection then.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I guess this will be the year of data collection then.

PLEASE share your results.

and from a cost perspective you may still find it considerably cheaper to process early, young, small & tender than to wait unti thy are "proper weight" and have eaten more feed. It really depends on how fast growth they are.

 

[thlayli]

PLEASE share your results.

and from a cost perspective you may still find it considerably cheaper to process early, young, small & tender than to wait unti thy are "proper weight" and have eaten more feed. It really depends on how fast growth they are.

What do you consider early and young?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

10-16 weeks for a DP bird

 

[thlayli]

I might have to process them closer to 10 weeks than 16. I've butchered 16 wk old cockerels before and they've already entered their gangly teenage phase -- all growth spurt and no meat. I'll try a batch at 12 weeks and 20 weeks and see how it goes.