Can I raise baby roosters on corn and table scraps only?

[Debbie09011970]

Commerical feed has only been around for like the last 100 years. Before that, chickens just got whatever was available. My Oma used to live in the German countryside. Folks had little plots along a back road that they used for gardens or animals. One lady had chickens. They were feed via a huge compost pile. The owner and friends/neighbors would just toss whatever they had on the pile, veggie bits or leftover bread, I'm sure the compost attracted a lot of bugs and worms, too. I told my Oma that chickens like meat too, so we gave them a little leftover lunch meat and they went nuts. My Oma got a real kick out of it. Those chickens looked really good, and they laid lovely eggs.

That being said, I'm not sure corn would be the best filler to use. I would look around and see if you can buy whole seeds and grains in bulk. You can also check with local restaurants or grocery stores to see if they might give you the veggies/fruits they might otherwise toss. I also knew a guy that got spent grain from a local brewery for his goats and pigs. That might work for chickens too. I think the most important thing will be to make sure they get a decent amount of protein, so they don't grow too slowly.

I agree with Aart. Just go for it and see what happens.

I'm not just blindly going for it with nothing but corn without advice from people who have done it but I agree, chick starter has not been around long, so table scraps and other meat/fish products might work. Thank you.

 

[lomine]

I'm not just blindly going for it with nothing but corn without advice from people who have done it but I agree, chick starter has not been around long, so table scraps and other meat/fish products might work. Thank you.

If you are looking for advice from folks that have actually tried it, I suggest you try posting in the meat bird forum. BYC may even be able to move this post. I think you'll reach more meat bird raisers over there with more experience with different diets. They'll probably be better able to give more concrete info on what works well. There might already be some posts on the subject.

 

[Klutch]

Gets some scratch and let them free range a bit.

 

[Morrigan]

I think it could work depending on the type and amount of table scraps you have, as well as whether the cockerels are going to get access to any natural forage. They will need some decent protein source, to grow well. If you have a lot of meat, fish, and dairy scraps, and/or there are a lot of insects available for them to forage, they will probable do fine. I say probably, because no one can know for sure what will happen given your set-up, scraps available, etc.

I also second the idea of buying some other bulk grains, like wheat and sunflower seeds, to supplement the corn. You can also sprout the wheat and sunflower seeds. Bulk grains and seeds are cheaper than chicken feed, and the variety will help.

Another thought is to buy some regular chicken food and mix that with the scraps/grains/corn. I've raised broilers before, where I'd say about 40% of their calories were from grains/scraps/garden produce, and they grew nicely. If I had more scraps, I probably could have cut back the chicken food even more.

 

[LaFleche]

First of all, it is important that the male chicks you want to raise are of dual purpose breeds so they will be able to put on some weight. Plymouth Rock, RIR, Marans, Faverolles etc. will take about 5-6 months to gain proper weight and breast meat, but they taste wonderful.

You can feed Leghorn or decorative breeds males whatever high protein feed you want and they will still stay just bones and feathers.

 

[FunClucks]

I'm gonna say, if you want maximum meat for minimum feed cost, you need to skip the roosters from Cackle and buy some CX. They will give maximum meat for your dollar and in the minimum time. There are also 3month broilers that have a decent return on the investment and good size upon processing, with less health challenges, and are still tender when processed. But the rooster assortment (some sellers call them Fry Pan assortment, etc) is best if you can have them run around your farm, eating the other animals food, and foraging, and you are able to raise them to 5-6 months, and don't care if they're a bit tougher than store bought. Also, they'll be quite small compared to meat birds generally. My current favorite vendor for CX is Welp Hatchery. They have awesome deals in January, if you can find their beginning season special you can get CX for 1.50 per bird, or 1.70 if you want them vaccinated. Be prepared to buy 25 at a time. Their normal price is about 2.15 per roo if I recall correctly, so it's not bad at all even at normal prices.

 

[lomine]

I'm gonna say, if you want maximum meat for minimum feed cost, you need to skip the roosters from Cackle and buy some CX. They will give maximum meat for your dollar and in the minimum time. There are also 3month broilers that have a decent return on the investment and good size upon processing, with less health challenges, and are still tender when processed. But the rooster assortment (some sellers call them Fry Pan assortment, etc) is best if you can have them run around your farm, eating the other animals food, and foraging, and you are able to raise them to 5-6 months, and don't care if they're a bit tougher than store bought. Also, they'll be quite small compared to meat birds generally. My current favorite vendor for CX is Welp Hatchery. They have awesome deals in January, if you can find their beginning season special you can get CX for 1.50 per bird, or 1.70 if you want them vaccinated. Be prepared to buy 25 at a time. Their normal price is about 2.15 per roo if I recall correctly, so it's not bad at all even at normal prices.

That's a great point. Nothing really compares to a CX in terms of growth or tenderness.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of a 14-week-old EE cockerel compared to an 8-week-old CX. EE was butchered at 14 weeks because he was being a hormonal terror, but honestly a 6-month-old one I butchered didn't have that much more meat. Most of the old ones end up being used to make broth and then become dog food.

 

[FunClucks]

That's a great point. Nothing really compares to a CX in terms of growth or tenderness.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of a 14-week-old EE cockerel compared to an 8-week-old CX. EE was butchered at 14 weeks because he was being a hormonal terror, but honestly a 6-month-old one I butchered didn't have that much more meat. Most of the old ones end up being used to make broth and then become dog food.
View attachment 3736345

Gotta say, this picture illustrates exactly what's been my experience when processing egger roosters vs. CX. I had a year old Production Red rooster who looked huge, but under the feathers was maybe 30% bigger than the EE rooster shown here.

The 3 month broilers come a lot closer to the CX (since they're usually a CX mix/cross), but like 2/3 the size, and you have to deal with toughness issues to get full size on them.

Thanks for the great picture!!!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

That's a great point. Nothing really compares to a CX in terms of growth or tenderness.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of a 14-week-old EE cockerel compared to an 8-week-old CX. EE was butchered at 14 weeks because he was being a hormonal terror, but honestly a 6-month-old one I butchered didn't have that much more meat. Most of the old ones end up being used to make broth and then become dog food.
View attachment 3736345

I find it interesting that the wings seem similar in size for both

 

[fowltemptress]

My grandfather used to trap and kill mice and rats to throw into the coop for his chickens to eat. His birds went bonkers for it. My own chickens won't touch mice, but mine are well fed and not starving for protein. It sounds like your feed plan will be more in line with how my grandfather kept his birds, so they might appreciate some rodent dinners.