Does commercial feed affect meat?

[FortCluck]

I have heard a few people say that they can taste the commercial feed they fed their meat birds...

Is this true? If so, how do you prevent it?

I don't want to affect the nutrition factor of my meat birds because some of them are going to be put in our flock if they're pullets. I want them to be healthy. I don't even want the meat birds to be lacking anything nutritionally.

 

[Folly's place]

That's a new one on me!
Meat birds (as Cornishx) grow so fast, and are butchered so young, that they don't taste much like dual purpose, older birds, who actually 'taste like chicken'. Because Cornishx birds are so fragile metabolically, it's going to make the most sense to feed them commercial diets, and manage their access to food too.
Also, these birds aren't meant to live much longer than eight or ten weeks, and trying to 'save' them for a normal chicken lifespan just doesn't work well.
What food ingredients are those folks talking about instead?
Mary

 

[FortCluck]

That's a new one on me!
Meat birds (as Cornishx) grow so fast, and are butchered so young, that they don't taste much like dual purpose, older birds, who actually 'taste like chicken'. Because Cornishx birds are so fragile metabolically, it's going to make the most sense to feed them commercial diets, and manage their access to food too.
Also, these birds aren't meant to live much longer than eight or ten weeks, and trying to 'save' them for a normal chicken lifespan just doesn't work well.
What food ingredients are those folks talking about instead?
Mary

One said they feed corn and oats. That to me is so nutritionally unbalanced.

Some say they feed cat food. Again, it's for cats not chickens.

Some say they do just corn. Obviously this isn't good either.

I have dual purpose breeds (I bred my layer flock) that I am going to use for meat chickens and I am going to process them when they are 20 weeks to 25 weeks... I honestly don't even know because I have never raised dual purpose for meat.

I'm not sure if you need to know what breeds my chicks are but here they are RSL/BJG and Delaware/BJG.

 

[FortCluck]

Right now they're eating chick starter because they just hatched yesterday and today. I use all flock or flock raiser depending on which is in store when I get there.

 

[Folly's place]

People are amazing! I guess commercial feed with corn, and balanced nutritionally, has the birds tasting differently than their corn fed guys? And cat food isn't balanced for birds either, and likely contains chicken. Better, really?
Your birds sound nice!
They will have way more flavor, and be 'tougher', or 'not mushy' like those store bought Cornishx birds.
Home raised Cornishx birds do seem to taste better than store bought too.
Mary

 

[FortCluck]

People are amazing! I guess commercial feed with corn, and balanced nutritionally, has the birds tasting differently than their corn fed guys? And cat food isn't balanced for birds either, and likely contains chicken. Better, really?
Your birds sound nice!
They will have way more flavor, and be 'tougher', or 'not mushy' like those store bought Cornishx birds.
Home raised Cornishx birds do seem to taste better than store bought too.
Mary

That's nice to hear, we want to stop buying store chicken because it just looks unhealthy. Not to knock on big brand companies, but I've seen what their chickens look like heading to the processing plant... All covered with poop, barely can stand, and so much more. We live down the road from a big wig chicken company. Every time they haul out chickens on a truck, I cringe. I don't care if a bird is used for meat or not, they all should be treated fairly.

 

[Folly's place]

It's not only the treatment, it's the breeding. Birds that hurt to walk, and so barely move around, are going to sit in poo a lot. Then there's the heart failure, because their muscle mass grows so much faster than their structure and heats can cope with. Pathetic!
It's market driven, for the most meat at the least cost.
Our home raised birds cost MUCH more per pound to produce!!!
Mary

 

[FortCluck]

It's not only the treatment, it's the breeding. Birds that hurt to walk, and so barely move around, are going to sit in poo a lot. Then there's the heart failure, because their muscle mass grows so much faster than their structure and heats can cope with. Pathetic!
It's market driven, for the most meat at the least cost.
Our home raised birds cost MUCH more per pound to produce!!!
Mary

You have no idea how disgusted I am whenever I see a chicken hauler all of the chickens look so miserable, mine don't look like that. They're happy and healthy. Imagine if the people who raise those birds were put in the same conditions, they'd call it abuse!

 

[Acre4Me]

People are amazing! I guess commercial feed with corn, and balanced nutritionally, has the birds tasting differently than their corn fed guys? And cat food isn't balanced for birds either, and likely contains chicken. Better, really?
Your birds sound nice!
They will have way more flavor, and be 'tougher', or 'not mushy' like those store bought Cornishx birds.
Home raised Cornishx birds do seem to taste better than store bought too.
Mary

we’ve raised 2 batches of Cornish type. Butchered at 7.5-8 weeks old. Yum! Even though it is “similar” to store chicken with appearance and size, the taste is much better than store bought. The only dual purpose we butchered were accidental cockerels at around 15 weeks old. They were tough and stringy and “flavorful”, but we didn’t know we should age them, and my spouse put them on the grill -so 2 things that contributed to less deliciousness. We currently have 2 BJG, and 2 Dorking males. We will butcher one of each this winter, around 20-24 weeks of age to try out their meat. It will be interesting to see how they taste. Those 2 are with the flock now. The Cornish type we keep separate from the regular flock.

 

[FortCluck]

we’ve raised 2 batches of Cornish type. Butchered at 7.5-8 weeks old. Yum! Even though it is “similar” to store chicken with appearance and size, the taste is much better than store bought. The only dual purpose we butchered were accidental cockerels at around 15 weeks old. They were tough and stringy and “flavorful”, but we didn’t know we should age them, and my spouse put them on the grill -so 2 things that contributed to less deliciousness. We currently have 2 BJG, and 2 Dorking males. We will butcher one of each this winter, around 20-24 weeks of age to try out their meat. It will be interesting to see how they taste. Those 2 are with the flock now. The Cornish type we keep separate from the regular flock.

Would you be able to let me know how the Jersey Giants are taste wise?

I was told that you should age them anywhere from 2 to 5 days.