- Dec 28, 2012
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- 0
- 9
Is it possible to over feed your chickens?
over feeding
- Thread starter clarissanders
- Start date
It's not if you plan on raising a bird for meat, it is if you buy a meat-specific breed. You can raise any bird for meat and a lot of people raise dual-purpose birds for eggs and meat. These birds grow like normal chickens and do not need a special diet.
However, there are a few hybridized breeds, like the Cornish X for example, that have been created specifically as modern commercial meat birds. They have huge, over sized breasts and grow extremely fast -- fast enough to be processed at 8 weeks. If they are allowed to live for awhile they grow too big to stand and function. They are usually on very specific, controlled diets.
These birds are the exception but as the OP did on mention what type of birds she was raising I thought it worth mentioning. If you are interested in a fast-growing meat specific breed I would highly recommend the meat birds section of the forum, Some great, smart folks over there with lots of experience.
However, there are a few hybridized breeds, like the Cornish X for example, that have been created specifically as modern commercial meat birds. They have huge, over sized breasts and grow extremely fast -- fast enough to be processed at 8 weeks. If they are allowed to live for awhile they grow too big to stand and function. They are usually on very specific, controlled diets.
These birds are the exception but as the OP did on mention what type of birds she was raising I thought it worth mentioning. If you are interested in a fast-growing meat specific breed I would highly recommend the meat birds section of the forum, Some great, smart folks over there with lots of experience.
There are a lot of different kinds of chickens. Some have been developed by selective breeding to lay a whole lot of Grade A large eggs for the commercial egg industry. These are kind of small and real good at converting what they eat to eggs, not body weight. In the commercial setting, what they eat is carefully controlled to get the most efficient pounds of feed to Grade A large egg ratio.
Some have been developed to grow real fast and be really good at converting what they eat to meat without a lot of waste. These meat birds have been developed by selective breeding to grow so fast that they can outgrow their skeleton’s ability to support them or their heart’s ability to pump enough blood. Some grow so fast their feathers can’t even keep up and they have bald spots. If you get some of these, you might need to restrict how much they eat just to keep them alive.
Then you have all the chickens we normally have, anywhere from those cute sometimes tiny decorative chickens to the dual purpose breeds which are pretty good for eggs and OK for meat. I suspect that is what you have. These chickens generally won’t overeat.
There are several different kinds of chicken feed. Layer has extra calcium for the egg shells and should only fed to grown chickens. That excess calcium can damage growing chicks.
There are a lot of other chicken feeds; Starter, Grower, Finisher, Developer, Flock Raiser, Combined Starter/Grower and some things called something else. The significant difference in these is the percent protein. Basically any of these can be fed to any chicken of any age. If they are laying just offer oyster shell on the side for those that need the extra calcium for egg production. Just like the names for these can vary depending in who makes it the percent protein can vary a bit. Starter is usually around 20% to 24%, Grower maybe 16%, Finisher and Developer maybe 15%, Layer 16% to 18%, and Flock Raiser or the combined Starter/Grower maybe 20%.
The reason there are so many different percent proteins in these feeds is that they are best for specific times in their life. A general progression in chicks that will be a laying flock is to start them off with a fairly high percent protein to get them off to a good start in life, then after 4 to 8 weeks cut the percent protein back as they mature. It’s not that the higher protein level hurts them, just that they don’t need it. They need to grow but their body also needs to mature. Last time I checked there was a $2 difference in the price of a bag of Starter/Grower and Grower/Developer.
When raising dual purpose breeds for meat you are not worried about them growing too fast so there is no need to give them extra time to mature. You normally feed them a higher percent protein to get them to butcher size faster. The faster they reach butcher age the more tender the meat.
A lot of people feed the 20% Flock Raiser to a pure laying flock with oyster shell on the side. This does not hurt the chickens and is just personal preference. The basic purpose of the Flock Raiser is for a flock where some are going to be layers and some are going to be for meat. It’s a compromise.
I’m doing a lot like you are talking about except I eat a lot of my pullets too. Not all pullets become members of my laying/breeding flock. Mine forage for some of their feed so I’m not as concerned about getting them to butcher weight as fast plus I like the extra flavor in an older bird. We’ve all got different conditions and different goals. I generally start them off with a 20% Starter/Grower. Whenever that bag runs out after 4 weeks, I switch to a 15% Developer. I often have mixed age chicks in my flock so I seldom feed Layer. I just stay with the 15% Developer and offer oyster shell on the side. Since mine forage for some of their food I don’t have precise control over everything they eat anyway. The quality of forage is good enough that they manage well.
Some people really get hung up on how they are feeding their chickens. In my opinion for a lot of people that concern is way over the top. Relax and enjoy your chickens. Some people have legitimate concerns about this stuff. We all have different conditions and goal. But for most of us, there is such a wide range of things that work it’s not worth getting all stressed about it.
As for your specific original question about them overeating. Don’t sweat it. As long as you stay somewhere reasonable in what you are feeding them, it’s not a concern at all. If you feed an extremely high percent protein feed, yeah, you could have a problem. But I’m talking about a really high percent protein, not what we normally feed.
Some have been developed to grow real fast and be really good at converting what they eat to meat without a lot of waste. These meat birds have been developed by selective breeding to grow so fast that they can outgrow their skeleton’s ability to support them or their heart’s ability to pump enough blood. Some grow so fast their feathers can’t even keep up and they have bald spots. If you get some of these, you might need to restrict how much they eat just to keep them alive.
Then you have all the chickens we normally have, anywhere from those cute sometimes tiny decorative chickens to the dual purpose breeds which are pretty good for eggs and OK for meat. I suspect that is what you have. These chickens generally won’t overeat.
There are several different kinds of chicken feed. Layer has extra calcium for the egg shells and should only fed to grown chickens. That excess calcium can damage growing chicks.
There are a lot of other chicken feeds; Starter, Grower, Finisher, Developer, Flock Raiser, Combined Starter/Grower and some things called something else. The significant difference in these is the percent protein. Basically any of these can be fed to any chicken of any age. If they are laying just offer oyster shell on the side for those that need the extra calcium for egg production. Just like the names for these can vary depending in who makes it the percent protein can vary a bit. Starter is usually around 20% to 24%, Grower maybe 16%, Finisher and Developer maybe 15%, Layer 16% to 18%, and Flock Raiser or the combined Starter/Grower maybe 20%.
The reason there are so many different percent proteins in these feeds is that they are best for specific times in their life. A general progression in chicks that will be a laying flock is to start them off with a fairly high percent protein to get them off to a good start in life, then after 4 to 8 weeks cut the percent protein back as they mature. It’s not that the higher protein level hurts them, just that they don’t need it. They need to grow but their body also needs to mature. Last time I checked there was a $2 difference in the price of a bag of Starter/Grower and Grower/Developer.
When raising dual purpose breeds for meat you are not worried about them growing too fast so there is no need to give them extra time to mature. You normally feed them a higher percent protein to get them to butcher size faster. The faster they reach butcher age the more tender the meat.
A lot of people feed the 20% Flock Raiser to a pure laying flock with oyster shell on the side. This does not hurt the chickens and is just personal preference. The basic purpose of the Flock Raiser is for a flock where some are going to be layers and some are going to be for meat. It’s a compromise.
I’m doing a lot like you are talking about except I eat a lot of my pullets too. Not all pullets become members of my laying/breeding flock. Mine forage for some of their feed so I’m not as concerned about getting them to butcher weight as fast plus I like the extra flavor in an older bird. We’ve all got different conditions and different goals. I generally start them off with a 20% Starter/Grower. Whenever that bag runs out after 4 weeks, I switch to a 15% Developer. I often have mixed age chicks in my flock so I seldom feed Layer. I just stay with the 15% Developer and offer oyster shell on the side. Since mine forage for some of their food I don’t have precise control over everything they eat anyway. The quality of forage is good enough that they manage well.
Some people really get hung up on how they are feeding their chickens. In my opinion for a lot of people that concern is way over the top. Relax and enjoy your chickens. Some people have legitimate concerns about this stuff. We all have different conditions and goal. But for most of us, there is such a wide range of things that work it’s not worth getting all stressed about it.
As for your specific original question about them overeating. Don’t sweat it. As long as you stay somewhere reasonable in what you are feeding them, it’s not a concern at all. If you feed an extremely high percent protein feed, yeah, you could have a problem. But I’m talking about a really high percent protein, not what we normally feed.
You might be feeding visitors too; is that possible? Last summer we had a visiting ground hog, who was a real disaster, until finally we got her. Rodents are possible too, and rats are really bad to have out there.
Mary
Mary
Two gallons in two days for three chickens. Nope, their crop is not that big, they can't physically eat that much a day. Three possibilities come to mind, it may be a combination.
Tops on the list is what Mary said, visitors. Probably something big. Mice and rats aren't that big either, they can't physically hold that much so it would take a lot of them. They poop all the time too so you'd see a lot of their poop, small black pellets. It doesn't have to be a groundhog or wild animal. Goats are my first thought but sheep, cattle, or horses are possible. Maybe a flock of wild birds? And Mary, groundhogs aren't always easy. Congrats on getting that one.
This one is unlikely the sole cause, but may contribute. Waste. Unless you have one really weird feeding set-up you should see a big pile of feed if they are scraping it out. What does your feeding set-up look like?
The last is a human. It doesn't have to be a thief, it could be someone playing a practical joke. Humans usually leave no clues.
Could the dogs be eating the chicken food? Some dogs seem to like the flavor.
Their feed is kept is a red gallon bucket. No other animals or people. The girls just started laying. Funny thing is they haven’t eaten that much again. I usually only have to fill it once a day or every other day. These three are killing me
. My white one keeps escaping the run and I’d let them free reign if my neighbor could control her dogs. Two of my girls were attacked last fall when they escaped.ive heightened my fence to 6 feet and my Houdini still flies out.If it just happened once and then quit, you may not have to do anything about it.
Is your run covered? Maybe some migrating birds came through, ate a lot of feed, and then flew away on their journey north?
- May 25, 2012
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i was wondering the same thing
No, as long as you put food in a trough and make it optional to them, I do not believe it is possible to overfeed them!
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