BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Fire Ant Farm]

So I tracked down Dr. Brigid McCrea at Delaware State University. She heads up The Center for Small Flock Research and Innovation. She also did the research and wrote the paper on Delaware chicken production vs. Cornish Cross chicken production. In broadest terms it says the following:

Delawares reached a slaughter weight of approximately 2.2 KG at 15 weeks and ate approximately 220 KG of feed.

Cornish Cross reached a slaughter weight of approx. 2.2 KG at 6 weeks and ate approximately 100 KG of feed.

There was a lot of other technical stuff, but I was able to glean that much.

First of all I'm amazed there is a center at a university dedicated to helping people like us. Second I'd like to talk to the woman who makes it happen. So I've emailed Dr. McCrea, and she has graciously offered to talk to me on the phone. Does anyone have any questions they would like to suggest?

Anthony

Importance of value of animal vs. plant-based protein in feed, based on any data she has gathered?

- Ant Farm

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

So I tracked down Dr. Brigid McCrea at  Delaware State University.  She heads up The Center for Small Flock Research and Innovation.  She also did the research and wrote the paper on Delaware chicken production vs. Cornish Cross chicken production.  In broadest terms it says the following:

Delawares reached a slaughter weight of approximately 2.2 KG at 15 weeks and ate approximately 220 KG of feed.

Cornish Cross reached a slaughter weight of approx. 2.2 KG at 6 weeks and ate approximately 100 KG of feed.

There was a lot of other technical stuff, but I was able to glean that much.  

First of all I'm amazed there is a center at a university dedicated to helping people like us.  Second I'd like to talk to the woman who makes it happen.  So I've emailed Dr. McCrea, and she has graciously offered to talk to me on the phone.  Does anyone have any questions they would like to suggest?  

Anthony

I'm in contact with her, too. Maybe we should coordinate our questions. I've been working in a list ... can we PM about it?

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I believe the question of animal vs plant protein has been well answered by research. It's about getting a good balance of amino acids, which is easier with animal protein -- the birds seem to do better with some animal protein. Even insect protein isn't as well balanced for poultry as something like fish meal. But the amino acids can be balanced with supplements if the feed ingredients don't add up right.

If I understand it right, the industry's preference for vegetarian poultry feed is partly due to cost, and partly due to what feed mixers want to handle at their facilities, and partly due to repurposing the waste (litter and spilled feed) as feed for other animals.

 

[Our Roost]

I have been collecting feathers from the molting to make a chicken suit. Most likely a full body suit with hat and gloves! We can lower the heat bills and start to live on chicken feed. Since we don't lay eggs as yet, we can cut down on extra lighting and add more heat in the coops. Gah!

66-68 is eskimo practice in our house! The only added heat we get is from the sun and snuggling like a bunch of chickens.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

There are more nutrients in meat than just a balance of amino acids.

 

[angry rooster]

Here in the north Atlantic the weather is unpredictable one on new year's it was 53° and last year it was 12° and the wind was blowing salt spray 1/2 a mile in Shor so it was raining at that temperature it does not matter how much you wear when it is like that
The pour chickens hated me for locking them up for so long that winter I think they still holed a grudge right now it is a balmy 23° and only 37mph gusts the girls are yet to come out of the coop but the chickadees are having a ball

 

[angry rooster]

I believe the question of animal vs plant protein has been well answered by research. It's about getting a good balance of amino acids, which is easier with animal protein -- the birds seem to do better with some animal protein. Even insect protein isn't as well balanced for poultry as something like fish meal. But the amino acids can be balanced with supplements if the feed ingredients don't add up right.

If I understand it right, the industry's preference for vegetarian poultry feed is partly due to cost, and partly due to what feed mixers want to handle at their facilities, and partly due to repurposing the waste (litter and spilled feed) as feed for other animals.

And I'm jest wondering what the difference is in the % in nutrition
Me I like quality over quantity but if there is a middle ground if fed a proper diet then I can see maybe giving a Cornish x a chance
The only other thing that I can think to ask is the difference in mortality was there a big difference in pree slater deaths

 

[Kassaundra]

I'm with HB on this one...anything above 71* in the winter has me shedding clothes and opening a window, trying to put my hair up because it's dripping with sweat. Must be our mountain upbringing, 'cause I'm outside in shorts and Tshirt when it's 50*-60*.

I used to sleep with my window open in the winter and wake to find snow on my blankets.

You two would fit in well w/ my workmates. I have always (even as a child ) been extremely cold natured. I freeze all the time. It is nearly impossible to get me too hot, and if you succeed I can almost garuntee you would be melting by that time. Being cold has always been physically painful to me. If I have enough covers (my bed has multiple blankets year round) I don't mind a cooler sleeping room, but then comes the problem of getting out of bed.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

And I'm jest wondering what the difference is in the % in nutrition
Me I like quality over quantity but if there is a middle ground if fed a proper diet then I can see maybe giving a Cornish x a chance
The only other thing that I can think to ask is the difference in mortality was there a big difference in pree slater deaths

If you google anything about protein and poultry feed, you will find an huge amount of information. You will need to weed through a lot of links to threads like this to get to the science, but there is a TON of science on this.

There are more nutrients in meat than just a balance of amino acids.

Of course there is. But spelling it out is perhaps beyond the scope of this forum?

One of the questions I often have is how to translate the information about poultry feed that comes from The Industry, where birds are only expected to live a few weeks (Industrial broilers) or a few months (industrial layers), to something that is useful for birds we expect to be healthy & productive for perhaps years.

 

[ronott1]

If you google anything about protein and poultry feed, you will find an huge amount of information. You will need to weed through a lot of links to threads like this to get to the science, but there is a TON of science on this.


Of course there is. But spelling it out is perhaps beyond the scope of this forum?

One of the questions I often have is how to translate the information about poultry feed that comes from The Industry, where birds are only expected to live a few weeks (Industrial broilers) or a few months (industrial layers), to something that is useful for birds we expect to be healthy & productive for perhaps years.

A lot of threads on here try to use studies from broilers(patented 4 to 6 way hybrids that get to slaughter weight in 6 weeks) and apply them to our chickens. There is a problem with hybrid broilers--a muscle atrophies. The person that read about it was worried that their chicks would have this problem and asked if anyone had seen it.

No one had because those chickens are not like ours. They also do not metabolize feed like ours do. If ours were like them, they would be ready for slaughter in 6 weeks!