Bresse Chickens

[cutipatooti]

What do you all feed your bresse? Mine have been on organic starter17%, which is also the grower for that brand. They make a grower for broilers mostly, it's 22% with extra calcium for the bone development on the higher protein. I was wondering if I should feed my bresse and any of my excess cockerels the grower? I have started fermenting their feed but need to get bigger buckets. Most free range but I have lost a few to fox and have penned the ones I want to keep for breeding. I pick pasture grass and weeds for the penned ones daily and my kids dig worms for them. I put so much into feeding them I would like to get a little more out of them when they are on the table.

 

[DCchicken]

What do you all feed your bresse? Mine have been on organic starter17%, which is also the grower for that brand. They make a grower for broilers mostly, it's 22% with extra calcium for the bone development on the higher protein. I was wondering if I should feed my bresse and any of my excess cockerels the grower? I have started fermenting their feed but need to get bigger buckets. Most free range but I have lost a few to fox and have penned the ones I want to keep for breeding. I pick pasture grass and weeds for the penned ones daily and my kids dig worms for them. I put so much into feeding them I would like to get a little more out of them when they are on the table.

Blue Seal Multiflock. It is either 22% or 27% depending upon which variety you can order. I don't do organic feeds since I don't eat everything else organic. Plus it seems such a waste to spend $34 a bag when I go through a 50 pound bag every other day even with fermenting their feed.

 

[cutipatooti]

Thanks DCChicken! At what age do you start feeding it? We try to do organic but mostly we do organic milk and eggs. The rest of the time depends on the budget for the week. I go through 50 lbs in about a week. The organic I buy is in mash form not crumble but it's $23 a bag, better then the 34 you mentioned. I've been debating going to non organic. There is a feed mill by be and I can get it for $13 a bag. I'm defiantly going to look into the multi flock. Do you feed this kind to all your chickens or just your bresse?

 

[DCchicken]

Thanks DCChicken! At what age do you start feeding it? We try to do organic but mostly we do organic milk and eggs. The rest of the time depends on the budget for the week. I go through 50 lbs in about a week. The organic I buy is in mash form not crumble but it's $23 a bag, better then the 34 you mentioned. I've been debating going to non organic. There is a feed mill by be and I can get it for $13 a bag. I'm defiantly going to look into the multi flock. Do you feed this kind to all your chickens or just your bresse?

I feed Blue Seal to all of my chickens. I start them with the Multiflock since it is very high in protein and the chicks love it. I keep them on that until about 5 months. Then the ones that will be layers get switched to their Extra Egg product which is lower in protein but has the right amount of calcium. The ones that will be processed stay on the Multiflock. Technically you could keep all of them on the Multiflock. But since I have 150+ birds, it is easy to use different feeds for different groups.

I originally tried Purina. It was ok but the birds seemed to waste a lot of it. I also noticed a lot of yellowing in the feathers from the Purina. High corn content can cause that in white birds. But since Purina is regionally produced, it may be better in other areas.

I would love to have a local mill. But most of the local mills use paper bags. Maryland, where I live, is a swamp. So I need the thicker, coated bags that premium brands like Blue Seal use, to protect the feed from moisture.

 

[enola]

I have the same problem in July, August and September here in SC. The rest of the year I usually buy 6 bags at a time.

 

[cutipatooti]

I did not know that about the paper bags. I will be changing to a higher protein. I wasn't sure if it would effect the kidneys .

 

[DCchicken]

I did not know that about the paper bags. I will be changing to a higher protein. I wasn't sure if it would effect the kidneys .

You want to give them a balanced diet. So make sure to give them lots of greens and fruit to balance out the protein. But they need protein as they grow fast.

 

[cutipatooti]

If they continue to free range would the protein be to high?

 

[Double Kindness]

So it's ok to feed my ayam cemani, haffies, bresse chicks 26% protein feed as long as I supplement it with lots of fruits, veg and grasses? I have all this high protein feed, but after I had a slw not able to walk, I switched them over to 18% and they got greens, fruit, veggies. Did I not give them enough? I fermented their feed too.

 

[DCchicken]

So it's ok to feed my ayam cemani, haffies, bresse chicks 26% protein feed as long as I supplement it with lots of fruits, veg and grasses? I have all this high protein feed, but after I had a slw not able to walk, I switched them over to 18% and they got greens, fruit, veggies. Did I not give them enough? I fermented their feed too.

I don't free range my Cemani anymore so I worry about their protein. If you fermented the feed and they are eating it, you probably don't have to do anything special. I have not switched my Cemani over to fermented feed yet. You do need to watch the hens if any go broody. They will almost let themselves starve to death while letting the chicks have all the feed. I have not seen that behavior in other breeds than the Cemani. But yes, the Cemani and probably all of your breeds need green stuff too.

The Bresse need more protein because they build muscle faster. I free range mine and I am sure they get plenty of bugs. But I am just starting fodder for them as they have already cleared out a section of the forest.