Feed/meat ratio - or feed/fat?

[MnDel]

A neighbor I respect, who's raised meat chickens for 30 years, said she butchers when they start putting on fat - because she believes at a certain stage they switch from meat production to fat production. I'd like more than hearsay on this important topic - I want to raise large broilers - but want to be rational about feed to meat conversion (rather than feed to fat conversion.)
I have 65 of the red broilers, feed them on 22% crumbles and lots of veggies: tomatoes / zuchinni & sweet corn that I planted just for them. They are free-range inside 320' of elec. Premier chicken fence, all within our garden/orchard area. They run around a lot.
I'd rather have a 7 or 8 lb (dressed, de-fatted) broiler than a 5, but is there a weight where they switch to mostly fat production over meat - or is it just diet / exercise that determines fat lay down?
thanks much!, this is my first post.
Del

 

[J-Sanders]

Excess carbohydrates are converted to fat and stored. Excess protein is excreted through the waste. To me Broilers are all about weight versus feed bill. I read a study somewhere but can't remember! sorry I got ol' timers. But the jist of it was that over the 8 week mark for broilers and you are just wasting feed as the conversion goes down pretty quickly.

Jim

 

[Oregon Blues]

They have great feed conversion up to a certain age, and beyond that, growth slows and they use more of their feed to live and less to grow.

I like a small amount of fat on my chickens, so I throw in a small handful of cracked corn during the last week to fatten them up a little bit..

There are plenty of studies and lots of charts for you to look at to determine what is the optimum time to butcher Cornish Cross for the very best feed conversion. A bit of google time will find them. Try looking for studies done by agricultural colleges.

 

[donrae]

When we let some cornish cross go too long-- I think they were 12 weeks at butcher---they were huge but not especially fatty. They just cost an arm and leg to maintain at that size!

 

[MnDel]

Thankyou all for your replies. I am aware of the abundant studies on CX birds in confined trough feeding situations. This is why I said my situation is so different - I doubt those studies can mean anything for me. Mine are not CX, they are red broilers (K22's and Freedon Rangers) they forage and exercise much more than CX's. Plus, much of their diet is vegetables, bugs, weeds...... So I don't know how I can relate this to any university study?
thanks again, Del (Is there anyone in this forum that has switched to red broilers? Four of us in this area tried them this year and all 4 say they are sold on them and won't go back to cornish x)