Any harm in feeding 10 on/14 off?

[HickoryGuy]

I've been following the 12 on/12 off feeding program until now--chicks are exactly 4 weeks old, all males. I'm needing to put in a few more hours at work, would there be any harm in pulling feed after 10 hours? There is no light or heat in their coop, so they'd basically only be in daylight for a couple hours after food was removed, and it's pitch black at night. I can continue doing 12/12 if there's harm that could be caused, but 10/14 would be MUCH easier for my schedule. Don't mind having to grow them out a tad longer to reach optimum weight because of reduced feeding time.

Input is appreciated.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

no, it's fine. If you were a big factory ordering hundreds of thousands of pounds of feed it might factor in, but for you it will be just fine.

 

[blueskylen]

they probably will realize that if they eat more in the 10 hours, they wont be so hungry for the 14 - they seem to pick that stuff up pretty quick!

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

12/12 is bad enough! Don't make it any worse!

If you put them on a sunlight schedule and just leave the feed in the pen they will learn to fill up as the light diminishes (important) and have feed available when they start out the day. Having them settle for the night after feed being unavailable for two hours is all wrong. It does not match the physiology of the bird.

12/12 IS A CROCK OF BS.


ETA From a previous post of mine-

Broiler chickens should not have their feed restricted. Feed should be available to them during all the hours of light.

Restricting the light is the key. But not the 12/12 program so often recommended by hatcheries. It is completely wrong. It must just be easier for them to recommend such a program for growers they consider unable to understand, manage or cope with the realities of the birds.

If the light can be controlled (sunlight not affecting the timing) you will find this program more successful especially if money is not being wasted on rations that are overly dense in proteins.

Day one- 24 hours of light.
The off time should be established and never change for the cycle of the flock. All time adjustments should be made by changing the "on time"
Day two through twenty - one hour of darkness
Starting day twenty-one reduce the darkness by one half-hour per day until there is six hours of darkness per day.
Maintain this schedule until five days before slaughter when the light should be reduced by one hour per day until there is just one hour of light until the birds are a maximum of 9 weeks old. At this point the birds should average about eight pounds (as hatched) and will have reached the optimum maximum weight and be harvested.

If the lighting program includes sunlight the dark period will begin when the birds cease activity due to the onset of darkness. If you can add artificial light come as close as you can to the schedule outlined above.

If artificial light is not available during the post brooder stage you pretty much have to live with daylight. And that works fairly well utill mid September for most of the latitudes in the 49 states.
Alaska with its near continuous sunlight in the summer months would require special consideration.

 

[bigredfeather]

I peeked in one of my tractors last night after dark, and low and behold they were all lined up at the feeder, eating away. I still am of the opinion you don't have to take their feed away as long as they have a set amount each day. Everyday when I go out to feed them after work (evening), the feeders are empty, but they are moving all around the tractor eating clover and grass hay.