What do you feed meat Broilers?

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

My meat chickens always look like they have softball stuck in their crop. Its normal.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

QUESTION: My broilers are 5 or 6 days now and every time I look at them their crops are completely distended.
Is this normal?
I take the food out at night, but they have access to a small bowl of it (there are 10 of them) during the day. There is always more than half the bowl left at the end of the day, but they are tiny. I go look at them plenty of times, some they're lying down or drinking water or sunning themselves. So they aren't eating non-stop.
Should I be regulating their feed better?

And it was hard to find feed, so we ended up with a high protein organic game foul crumble because it was 30% crude protein vs. 18% in other chick feed.

Sounds about right. I do question the "small bowl" part. You should have a large enough feeder or several feeders so they can all get access to food at the same time. If you don't, when they get bigger, they'll pile on top of each other to reach the feed and can break legs or suffocate each other. Unlimited food during the day and no food at night seems to work well for many people, us included. That's far more regulation than I do for my layers that have feed 24/7.

If this is your first time with broilers, you're in for a shock. They simply don't act like regular chickens. They eat and eat and eat and poop and poop and poop. And then they take a nap.

Ours are outside and have a grassed area to play in, and they do waddle around and chase bugs and play fight, but they also need to lie down a lot. And their reason for living is FOOD! My layers come running for treats, of course, but you'd never see them come running because I opened up a bag of layer pellets. The meaties act like they are starving, all the time.

And they feel different to hold, too. When you hold a layer, it feels like a bird. When you hold a broiler, it feels like a supermarket chicken. Kind of creeps me out.

We have broilers for two reasons--#1, we also feel terrible about how factory farmed birds are raised. #2, we like the flavor of a broiler that's been allowed to be on grass better than supermarket chicken. I wish I could say they were cheaper than supermarket birds, but we pay about $5 more for one of our birds than one from the store.

Sigh. At least they're kind of cute, the way they waddle around and chirp. And they're tasty. I couldn't handle it otherwise.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Mine are still in a brooder since they're less than a week old.
It's big enough for them all the access at once, but it's not very deep so it doesn't hold a huge amount, and keeps them from spilling it.
I have the 7lb hanging feeder and 3.5 gallon waterer for as soon as they go in their pen.

 

[dutchbunny83]

I was vegetarian for years and years, I don't know how I'm going to be able to go through with this.
Which is the main reason I went for broilers because if you don't slaughter them they will die a painful death from heart failure, broken joints, etc so it's going to make me have to go through with it.
Also, the less time they are here I figured the less time I had to get attached... but I'm already super attached and it's only been a couple days!!!

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

As they grow, the less cute they are. Just keep reminding yourself that they are food, not pets. That they are not cute. Yes they deserve to live a good comfortable life while they are with you but their purpose is to sustain your family with healthy protein that was raised humanely.

Understand, though, that raising meat birds (or any meat animal) is not for everyone. No one will hold it against you if you decide its not for you.

 

[Island Roo]

I would not feed 30% protein to broilers.

Those birds are genetically predisposed to grow at astonish rates and giving them more than 20% protein can accelerate the growth so much it will cause problems. They can get leg problems so they cant stand or walk, heart failure, ascites, etc. Those are some of the most common problem when they grow to fast.

If you like the game fowl crumble, maybe you could find a low protein filler to dilute the protein. Maybe some ground grains or seeds?

And its true - by the time they are 8 or 10 weeks, you will not be as attached as you would be to your hens.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I would not feed 30% protein to broilers.

Those birds are genetically predisposed to grow at astonish rates and giving them more than 20% protein can accelerate the growth so much it will cause problems. They can get leg problems so they cant stand or walk, heart failure, ascites, etc. Those are some of the most common problem when they grow to fast.

If you like the game fowl crumble, maybe you could find a low protein filler to dilute the protein. Maybe some ground grains or seeds?

And its true - by the time they are 8 or 10 weeks, you will not be as attached as you would be to your hens.

I missed the 30% protein part. Yes, that is too much. We feed a 35% protein supplement cut down to 23% with ground corn. Corn usually runs about 5-7% protein, and it's cheap. Using such a high protein feed will also cost a bunch. The 35% feed runs $19/bag, but the ground corn is only $9/bag.

I will say that getting the mix to be the right protein percentage is a pain. My husband is a statistician, so he was able to do the figuring for me. Turned out that I needed to take 12 pounds out of my bag of corn, then mix the remaining corn with 50 pounds of the 35% supplement to get the resulting feed to 23%.

 

[Stang65fst]

Have you ever used Bartlett feed??

I have not, honestly did not know they existed until this thread.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Okay thanks, I was told I needed 25% or higher and all they had at store over 18% was this.
Obviously not throwing out a massive bag of food, should I cut it with some chick feed?

By the way...
Obviously I prefer the idea of heritage breeds, though this is my first time and I am going to have a VERY difficult time with the processing so I figured I needed to go with a broiler that wouldn't be at my home as long and I'd have to go through with it because their quality of life would deteriorate if I didn't. (Other wise we'd probably have an extra 20 barred rocks running around...)

I am obsessed with not giving my children GMO's at all. We live in the city and just planted a 900 sq foot corn field in our front yard!!! (I called the city to make sure it was okay. I don't think my neighbors are happy about it, but probably chalking it up to me being the "crazy chicken lady" and secretly hoping the Army makes us PSC!) I only feed my chickens organic feed, but who knows if they are lying about what goes into it, almost all the corn in the US in genetically modified.

Does anyone else harass you about broilers being Genetically Modified??? Because they're not, they are hybrids. I did a lot of research on it before getting the chicks. And on my facebook page I am slightly zealous about Monsanto and genetically modified foods, and knowing your dinner from field to plate. I've had a LOT of people criticizing me and some in-laws practically attacking me about using genetically modified meats by raising broilers. Just curious if anyone else goes through this???

 

[dutchbunny83]

I missed the 30% protein part. Yes, that is too much. We feed a 35% protein supplement cut down to 23% with ground corn. Corn usually runs about 5-7% protein, and it's cheap. Using such a high protein feed will also cost a bunch. The 35% feed runs $19/bag, but the ground corn is only $9/bag.

I will say that getting the mix to be the right protein percentage is a pain. My husband is a statistician, so he was able to do the figuring for me. Turned out that I needed to take 12 pounds out of my bag of corn, then mix the remaining corn with 50 pounds of the 35% supplement to get the resulting feed to 23%.

That almost gave me a headache reading it, so many numbers, ahhhhh!
I'm glad you're married to a statistician because I'm the math whiz in this family and that's not saying too much!
Thanks for the tip though, I will have to figure out a better mix for them.