Calcium question...

EggsForIHOP

Songster
9 Years
Apr 18, 2010
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Okay...so to explain WHY and HOW this came about that I am asking....

I was talking with one of my brighter counter parts at work the other night and talking meaty chickens no less and then we got into this discussion and I figured I should ask the chicken peoples! SOOOOO......

I've seen that TOO MUCH PROTEIN provided is basically a waste. I have seen that LAYER FEED FED TO CHICKS TOO EARLY can cause problems with their kidneys. BUT ...DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH CRX?

I mean, it would seem that something like we feed the hens - a good 20% layer feed - well, that should make for extra strong boned healthy meaty birds to me. I mean, let's be honest....I HAVE YET TO OFFER OYSTER SHELL. Haven't had a single shell yet on any eggs that was soft or thin - they have ALL been tough to crack! (Not complaining, knock on wood, let me not jinx myself).

DH WANTS to raise at least one batch of the CRX...but I have been putting it off. Multiple reasons - mostly lazy. but I am considering going along for the ride and so I am looking into not only cost effective feeding, but also something that will be easy and reasonable and above all GOOD FOR THE BIRDS.

So would a plan to feed this be a good one? Maybe do the chick starter for a couple weeks than upgrade to the layer stuff? Because I am thinking if it makes egg shells that hard, then it should make chicken bones pretty hard and help avoid some of the leg issues. Also, it would be easier to my way of thinking just to have one kind of chicken food around instead of 2 different diets to pay attention to (the bags are exactly the same with MG, you just have to check the tiny little tag to see what you got - thank god the horse food has a picture of a dude on a horse ON the bag, that makes it easier at least ). also, we would be processing just mere weeks later if you think about it...so it's not like their kidneys are expected to function for years, just months, so the extra calcium shouldn't cause damage in that short a period right?

IDK...I often over think things...someone tell me what you think. I think this might hold some potential here, but what do I know? Not much. so someone tell me what they think...
 
If you check out this University of Florida link, it addresses your questions.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps035

I have not raised the meaties, so I don't have any experience with them. My thoughts are that they have been bred specifically to provide a lot of meat in a specific time frame if fed a certain way. I'd try to feed them that specific way because I don't know the consequences of doing it another way.

On the calcium in layer, the meaties eat so much feed that they would be eating a whole lot of calcium. It's not the percent of calcium in the feed that counts as much as how much total volume of calcium they actually eat per day. I'd think that they would eat so much it would cause kidney problems, even in their short life.

Just my opinion. Good luck!
 
I think you might be over thinking it. Broilers arent suppose to be fed medicated, or anything that you plan on butchering in a short time frame. You could try feeding extra calcium but what is the point if you plan on killing them. I dont think it matters what you feed them to help their legs, they grow so fast and get so top heavy their legs will never be able to support them once they get bigger. Not to metion if they are kept alive until breeding age most wind up having heart attacks because they are too heavy.
 

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