Anyone feeding chicks with game bird starter?

[Quyen Le]

I figure it's cold here in Oregon so I feed my chicks with 30% protein game bird starter so they can grow faster. With my observation, after 3 weeks, they don't grow as fast as I expect. I think grow rate is the same as chicks starter or maybe slower. I wonder if anyone here feed chicks with game bird starter?

 

[SDHeritage]

I would feed just a chick starter. It is better to have less protein in the cold than more. It is like doing a high protein diet to loose weight. In the winters here we feed a lower protein so the birds get more fat for energy to stay warm.

 

[Quyen Le]

So you think they are not gaining much weight because high protein diet?

 

[Fred's Hens]

I use the Game Bird starter, but mix it or alternate with lower protein product. A bird can only process so much protein and can only excrete so much of it. Nature has a tempo and you really cannot go faster than the biology is designed to go. Too much protein is potentially harmful. Averaging 22%-24% protein for the first 6-8 weeks of life is high enough on the scale.

Are your birds broiler or egg laying varieties?

 

[Chris09]

I feed a straight Purina Game Bird Starter (30% protein) up to about 8 week of age +/- then I switch to straight Purina Game Bird Flight Conditioner until laying age.

My birds grow like weeds on the stuff, plus they have a lot better feather growth and condition on the game bird feed than a feed lower in protein.
The thing that you have to remember is that if you live where it get cold out in the winter time your chicks (in the winter) will tend to grow slower than in the summer (even in a brooder). In the winter chicks don't get as much sun light (vit. D) and use up more energy and protein for warmth than growth so the chick tend to grow slower.

Chris