A few questions, new to meat birds

[Glenmar]

I have about 30 chicks in a grow out coop right now. Most are blue and blue splash marans and some marans/ white rock mix.
I would like to sell the pullets which will leave me with quite a few roosters. Right now they are 6-10 weeks old. I am still feeding them
chick starter feed. What feed should I switch the roosters to after I sell the pullets? What is the ideal age for processing the roosters.

 

[HEChicken]

You could try a grower or broiler feed.

 

[Glenmar]

That's what I was wondering.
thanks

 

[becky3086]

Feed them laying mash or scratch, if you feed that to them when you have a flock of them and they do fine, why would you feed them something different when they are by themselves?

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Because roosters don't need a laying mash, which is formulated to help hens stay healthy while they lay healthy eggs. When you have roosters in a flock of hens, I agree that you would just let them eat the same thing the hens are eating, but if all you have is roosters, they don't need layer food. And, if he plans to process them, he wants to grow them as efficiently as possible. A grower or broiler formula is going to be higher in protein than a layer formula and therefore they will grow to processing size faster.

 

[becky3086]

I tried that too. I didn't really notice any faster growth. Sorry, try it and you'll see. You really can't believe that just because the feed company tells you that it is better for layers that it must be-Maybe- but I think the amount of "better" is debatable.