4-h meat bird diet

[riftnreef]

Looking for some recomendations for a good 4-h meat bird diet mix, and any helpful tips for optimal growth. Both my kids have decided to do a meat bird project this year, and that's a realm I don't have a good deal of experience with. I have an area set aside in my garage and plan to get 12 birds for the two of them to allow for losses and to give some choice between. Each kid has to show 3 birds...my son will be taking the best 3, and my daughter whos focus is on layers will be taking the next three...the rest I will process for personal use.

So, however crazy or pecular the brew of dinner fare, lets hear it....thanks in advance.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

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If you want to be competitive, twelve birds won't be enough to choose from.

We start all of our broilers on 1#/head of Homestead Turkey Starter. For the 4H birds we extend that to 3# per bird then finish on Homestead Fastgrow.

Jim

 

[terri9630]

We've had really good luck feeding turkey and game bird starter free choice from dusk to dawn. We start and finish them on it. I wouldn't keep broilers in the garage unless you want to constantly clean it. They are stinky birds.

 

[riftnreef]

What about mixing wet mash with malasas and such that I've read about...bunch of malarky?

 

[tagra123]

Last year my son raised a meat pen of 2 birds we started with 6 -- his birds combined weight of 15.8 pounds was 1 tenth of an ounce more than the 1st place winner. If we hadn't already raised a large group of birds before we would have chosen a few more.

Recommended by our local 4h advisors -- light on 23 hours a day with feed always in front of them to get the heaviest birds.

We fed 20% crumbles from the start. At the end of each week we checked weight. At week 4 we made a mash using 20% crumbles and yogurt for the morning and regular crumbles for the evening. We had a goat in milk so the yogurt was basically free. It looks like ice cream packed with bran if done correctly. We also added 1/8 tsp of cod liver oil per bird to the mix.

Boy do they put on the weight.

Keep the cool and clean bedding frequently to keep the breast feather intact.

I would recommended at least 6 birds per child -- also ask for roosters.

Good Luck.

 

[terri9630]

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I think that would depend on the fair/judge. The we've been showing broilers for 3yrs now and all the judges we have had have told us that a hen will beat a rooster 90% of the time. It's not the size of the bird, its the build/muscle.

 

[terri9630]

Quote:
I've never heard it but everyone has their own "special" tricks. We just feed the turkey starter and move their pen daily. Not much to eat here in the desert but they picked through the rocks and kept the goatheads down.

 

[riftnreef]

If I'm not mistaken our fair board orders the chicks to ensure every one starts on a level playing field. You can order as many as you want, but they all come from the same source at the same time to keep it all as even as possible from the start. At least that's my take on it...I would imagine that if they order that many chicks, they are getting them straight run, but the meat birds will be a first for us, so this will be our learning year.

 

[terri9630]

Quote:
Our fair diesn't do that. Everyone is responsible for getting their own animals. The rabbit meat class isn't limited by age/breed or weight so you can have a baby rabbit competing against a 3yr old rabbit or in the meat bird class you can enter a leghorn against broilers. No age limits there either.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Here are the rules for our county's 4H Broiler project:

BROILERS - Requirements: (1) Purchase 25 one-day old chicks that will be 5-8 weeks of age at the County Fair Poultry
Check-in. Broilers will be divided by weight in 2 divisions: Light Weight pair – 12 pounds and under; Heavy Weight pair – over
12 pounds but not over 20 pounds. Over 20 pounds per pair will be ineligible to show and will receive participation. Champion
and Reserve Champion awards will be given for each division with both divisions eligible for overall grand champion. (2) Learn
feeding techniques. (3) Learn marketing techniques. Exhibit: Two broilers of the same sex. A receipt showing date of purchase
must accompany June 30 records. Any broilers sold at the auction must be dressed and delivered to the buyer wishes.