BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[gjensen]

When you guys use a dual purpose bird for meat, do you feed them a "broiler" diet or a "layer" diet? I hope to raise at least some of my NN Turkens for meat and I'm not sure if I should feed them differently from my egg layers.

Everyone has different preferences for different reasons.

Buy feed for the purpose. Layer feed is for layers. Pick a brand and follow the directions on the bag. They are each mixed for the purpose. Some better than others.

As was mentioned Flockraiser is a good all round feed for growing and adult birds.

 

[gjensen]

If it weren't for location I could have my choice in rooster breeds. But with neighbors close I must a quiet rooster.
Reason 1 He is quiet. He had has surgery for that.
Reason 2 he is the biggest I could get that was quiet. That is pretty much it.
I'm just working in the perameters I have.

Well if he is quiet, and you need quiet . . . . He will contribute size and flesh.

 

[RedRidge]

This new law for eggs in Calif. could really hurt Alabama. We don't have many businesses here and we do have a lot of chicken farms. Already we have to under price the local grocery stores due to the fact we live in a high poverty area and the people around here will not pay much for the eggs. So we only get 1.50 a dozen for our eggs. If this hits us as hard as I think it might we may have to go down to .50 cents a dozen. 

Something is a amiss here... I'm just north of you and get $5/Doz for my eggs. Have you calculated your expenses and p&l? I'd take a financial beating at only $1.50... and we free range, rotationally, and grow and grind or our ration.

 

[RedRidge]

 
When you guys use a dual purpose bird for meat, do you feed them a "broiler" diet or a "layer" diet? I hope to raise at least some of my NN Turkens for meat and I'm not sure if I should feed them differently from my egg layers. 

 Everyone has different preferences for different reasons.

 Buy feed for the purpose. Layer feed is for layers. Pick a brand and follow the directions on the bag. They are each mixed for the purpose. Some better than others.

 As was mentioned Flockraiser is a good all round feed for growing and adult birds.

We raise dual purpose. Ration is mixed by us with more calcium added for layers, less calcium and more animal protein for chicks. But everyone gets animal protein. One thing to keep in mind is that very few commercial feeds have adequate animal protein for maximum efficiency, growth and output. Chickens are omnivores... it's easy to forget that.

 

[DesertChic]

We raise dual purpose. Ration is mixed by us with more calcium added for layers, less calcium and more animal protein for chicks. But everyone gets animal protein. One thing to keep in mind is that very few commercial feeds have adequate animal protein for maximum efficiency, growth and output. Chickens are omnivores... it's easy to forget that.

Thank you all for your advice!
The brand of feed I currently use includes fish meal and crab meal for animal protein rather than relying on soy, so I feel pretty good about that. I'll check with my distributor to see if they sell a flock raiser. They're a local distributor of all organic, locally grown feed that I order from every 2 months. I also plan to raise soldier grubs this spring to help supplement their feed, and there's always lots of grasshoppers in my yard for them to feed on (even now in January).

 

[neopolitancrazy]

...One thing to keep in mind is that very few commercial feeds have adequate animal protein for maximum efficiency, growth and output...

I agree with you. Dual purpose and meat-type chickens (and probably all chicks,) need more methionine than layers. The animal protein sources are much higher in methionine than plant-based sources, and most commercially produced feeds are rather low in methionine. However, Purina's Flockraiser has recently been reformulated to contain much more methionine than previously, 0.5%, which is as high as my game chick starter.
Best wishes,
Angela

 

[RedRidge]

...One thing to keep in mind is that very few commercial feeds have adequate animal protein for maximum efficiency, growth and output...

I agree with you. Dual purpose and meat-type chickens (and probably all chicks,) need more methionine than layers. The animal protein sources are much higher in methionine than plant-based sources, and most commercially produced feeds are rather low in methionine. However, Purina's Flockraiser has recently been reformulated to contain much more methionine than previously, 0.5%, which is as high as my game chick starter.
Best wishes,
Angela

What is the source and what % of the ration is each source? These questions are can be hard to come by without contacting the mill. Workout the answer to this question you really have no idea what you have - which is why we balance all our own rations here.

Also keep in mind, as mentioned as an option in another post, that fish meal and crab cannot provide enough required animal protein for layers - if it did, you would have fishy eggs. Other "animal proteins" must be fed. This can be problematic in the winter months which is we raise and freeze BSF all summer. It is then thawed and weighed out each day over the winter and added to our ration.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

...all organic, locally grown...

This is NOT a synonym for nutritionally adequate. Unfortunately, my chickens had to suffer until I learned that lesson. Look at the nutrition tag on the feed, and see how much methionine is in your ration. It matters.
The voice of a bad experience,
Angela

 

[gjensen]

The animal protein debate is overrated in my opinion. Though I prefer a ration with it, the amino acid profile is what makes it good feed or not. A ration with no animal protein can be compensated adequately. There are any number of ways to end up in a good place.

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: I am getting killed on the price it does not pay for anything at that price. Luckily we enjoy our birds and don't really count on that. But here in the Black Belt is a very poor area and the grocery stores sell their eggs for 2.00 so to be able to get the customers we have to under cut the grocery store here or not have any one buy them. Sad but true.