Cornish cross growth rate

[newbie645]

I have been raising small batches of Cornish crosses for some years and they usually reach slaughter weight in 6-8 weeks. I have a friend who works at a restaurant and gets lots of food scraps so recently I was considering substituting some the commercial feed with a homemade blend.

I couldn't really find any information about how this will affect growth rate (amusing the food substitute has the right nutritional proportions). Does anyone know if the chickens will still grow as fast? I hear many people say the chickens only grow fast due to selective breeding and NOT the food but others say that the commercial feed contains growth hormones which is necessary to help achieve the fast growth rate.

 

[Mrs. K]

To create muscle and growth one needs protein. Those birds are bred to grow fast, but need a good protein source to do. Commercial meet bird feed is very high in protein. However, I think there would be some lee way, many people have tried for a longer life by severely restricting their feed (I do not recommend that) but I think it does indicate that you could stretch your protein feed, by using the scraps for part of the diet.

I do think it might slow the growth rate, but I don't think it would by much.

I think you need to take a good look at what is mostly IN the scrap bucket. White bread might cause problems if it is a huge part. If it is mostly fruits and vegetables - limited feed value, but vitamins... if it is mostly fat - that will make for high energy, might not be good for CX as they are so hot growing. I can't imagine that it will be high in protein but am sure what you will find, chicken scraps, fish scraps and meat scraps would be fine.

If you feed both at the same time, I wonder if they will prefer one of the other. You should take careful notes and report back.

MRs K

 

[Folly's place]

These birds are fragile, and prone to heart failure and joint issues, and likely will do badly on an unbalanced diet, is any direction. balancing 'food scraps' won't be easy, and may cause more bird losses, offsetting any savings in feed.
These birds are very economical to raise, and are bred to manage ( fairly well) on specific diets.
Maybe try it on a small group?
I wouldn't, myself.
Mary

 

[Mrs. K]

I rather agree with Folly, really the birds are a quick growing food source. Hard to beat! And Folly is right, they are a bit fragile, mine have always done well on the correct feed, but a loss might really cost you.

 

[newbie645]

I know it's important to get the nutrient proportions right and I don't plan to get too random with what I fee the birds. I guess I was more or less trying to find out if anyone has tried substituting some or all of the commercial feed with something homemade and still achieve the fast growth rates.

 

[Parront]

I know it's important to get the nutrient proportions right and I don't plan to get too random with what I fee the birds. I guess I was more or less trying to find out if anyone has tried substituting some or all of the commercial feed with something homemade and still achieve the fast growth rates.

I used to raise them in the '80s. I got scraps from the local Safeway grocery store, mostly produce, and gave it to all my birds including the Cornish-X. They were not big eaters of the green stuff, liked the corn and fruit. It did not seem to slow them down and they ate a lot of their high protein feed. I think it helped keep them healthy longer. They made it to 10-12 weeks and ~ 10 pounds dressed out. Very nice roasters.