Can you hold meat birds back?

[PikeCo]

There are two of them that I know of. The one we use is Honor Show Chow turkey starter. Some people may not be comfortable using it because it says Turkey on the bag, but it performs well. The other is Showmaster Poultry, but it is hard to find. I plan on switching ours out to Honor Show Chow Broiler (26%) slowly over the last couple weeks to finish them out. The medication levels are identical in both of the Show Chow feeds if it is of any concern. Forgot to mention that we use Broiler Max vitamins and electrolytes as well. We haven't won yet, but we are close every year. The main thing to me is to educate my children, raise healthy animals, and have fun doing it!!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Quote:
My DD feed Purina's Poultry Showchow, I think they call it Honor Show Chow now, right up to the fair. It is rather expensive now. I believe it is 26% protein. It gave her chickens nice red combs and beautiful orange legs. You could tell who feed the Show Chow and who didn't just be looking at the birds legs. My DD had seven wks so hers were fed 24/7. Some years if they were growing slower, we had a low wattage bulb on at night so they could eat at any time. Our fair was the weight couldn't go over 9 lbs. The Vitamins and Electrolytes in the water help with the fast growth.
As far as limiting their feed the only problem with it is when you go to feed them, it is like a feeding frenzy. We did that way once, when one ended with a broken leg, we said never again. If you are getting close to your fair date, I would pick out the ones you think have the widest and longest breast and separate them from the others. It is easier to keep an eye on the weight of a few birds than a whole flock.

 

[LilyD]

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