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OSUMan is quite right. Buckeyes will do much better (and get much bigger) if you use Turkey starter for at least the first 8 weeks. It really makes a difference! The ALBC has some great articles here: http://albc-usa.org/EducationalResources/chickens.html that cover selection and production of meat, which includes info on improving rate of growth. Well worth the read, see especially page 7 in this PDF: http://albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-1.pdf which talks about protein and the lack of it restricting growth.
oh
i just gave my buckeyes chick starter and now layer pellets. they are 7 month old should I switch them to turkey grower? p.s it would not be a problem for me to switch we have turkeys to now. thanks, Mitch
Yes, if you have turkey grower I'd definitely switch them to that. Layer pellets just don't have enough protein, IMO, for Buckeyes. I don't know that your birds will ever get quite as big as they could have (sorry!) but at least switching them now will help them fill out some.
The thing to remember about commercial feeds (and I had this said directly to me by a specific nutritional specialist at a huge feed company, with whom I had an almost hour long phone conversation), is, they are developed not for small farmers like us, but for the huge commercial layer and broiler houses. Those companies really only want the minimum nutrition they can get away with, while maintaining production. They're not interested in paying a bit more for a higher quality food for their birds (as we are), because when you multiply that by the millions of birds they raise every year, it's a huge expense. So the big feed companies make feed that has just the minimum.
Folks like us have to add things into it to make it optimal, and Buckeyes do need optimal nutrition to really thrive.
I had an interesting phone call from a guy who wanted to know how well Buckeyes produced if left entirely on range, with no supplemental feed at all. I told him I was unable to give him hard data on that, as I had never even considered doing so! Birds who get suboptimal nutrition don't thrive, and won't produce well. As with many things, (to a degree anyway), you get out of a thing what you put into it, and this breed is no exception to that rule.
So by all means, switch them now, and when you raise some more from these birds, be sure to start them with turkey starter, I think you'll be pleased by the difference.
OSUMan is quite right. Buckeyes will do much better (and get much bigger) if you use Turkey starter for at least the first 8 weeks. It really makes a difference! The ALBC has some great articles here: http://albc-usa.org/EducationalResources/chickens.html that cover selection and production of meat, which includes info on improving rate of growth. Well worth the read, see especially page 7 in this PDF: http://albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-1.pdf which talks about protein and the lack of it restricting growth.
oh
Yes, if you have turkey grower I'd definitely switch them to that. Layer pellets just don't have enough protein, IMO, for Buckeyes. I don't know that your birds will ever get quite as big as they could have (sorry!) but at least switching them now will help them fill out some.
The thing to remember about commercial feeds (and I had this said directly to me by a specific nutritional specialist at a huge feed company, with whom I had an almost hour long phone conversation), is, they are developed not for small farmers like us, but for the huge commercial layer and broiler houses. Those companies really only want the minimum nutrition they can get away with, while maintaining production. They're not interested in paying a bit more for a higher quality food for their birds (as we are), because when you multiply that by the millions of birds they raise every year, it's a huge expense. So the big feed companies make feed that has just the minimum.
Folks like us have to add things into it to make it optimal, and Buckeyes do need optimal nutrition to really thrive.
I had an interesting phone call from a guy who wanted to know how well Buckeyes produced if left entirely on range, with no supplemental feed at all. I told him I was unable to give him hard data on that, as I had never even considered doing so! Birds who get suboptimal nutrition don't thrive, and won't produce well. As with many things, (to a degree anyway), you get out of a thing what you put into it, and this breed is no exception to that rule.
So by all means, switch them now, and when you raise some more from these birds, be sure to start them with turkey starter, I think you'll be pleased by the difference.
