feed question

[chickenmomma6]

I am about to order my Cornish cross meat birds. should they be on a different feed then my other babies.

 

[Hawgfan]

You'll get a lot of opinions on this, and they all have merit. I don't raise them, but have read the suggestions from Cobb and Ross. Initially the protein content is higher, 20% or more. The amount of protein is decreased as the bird ages to help avoid excessive weight gain. Withholding feed can also help accomplish this. What are you currently feeding? If they are kept on grass, I assume they'll eat it as well, like any other chicken. That can dilute the protein intake some also.

 

[chickenmomma6]

You'll get a lot of opinions on this, and they all have merit. I don't raise them, but have read the suggestions from Cobb and Ross. Initially the protein content is higher, 20% or more. The amount of protein is decreased as the bird ages to help avoid excessive weight gain. Withholding feed can also help accomplish this. What are you currently feeding? If they are kept on grass, I assume they'll eat it as well, like any other chicken. That can dilute the protein intake some also.

I planed on feeding a starter/grower like I do with my other babies

 

[Northern.Ontario]

I planed on feeding a starter/grower like I do with my other babies

I use a medicated 18% broiler starter feed for the first 4 weeks then gear down to the 17% broiler grower feed. The nutrient levels in BROILER feed are meant for Cornish cross while the nutrient levels in layer feed are meant for egg layers (ie. more calcium).

 

[Hawgfan]

Your starter/grower is probably 18-20% protein, depending upon the manufacturer. There shouldn't be a problem feeding it to them their entire, albeit short lives. However, you may not be able to leave it out continuously as they get older. Some around here suggest letting them eat all they can for a certain amount of time, twice per day. I believe 20 minutes is common. If that doesn't fit your schedule, you could ration the amount and let them eat it until it's gone. If you want to have continuous feeding, a lower protein finishing feed might be more forgiving as they approach harvesting time. I think that most would agree that the important thing is to closely monitor their health, and adjust your practices accordingly if necessary. You have several weeks to get a feel for them before excessive weight will become an issue.

 

[Hawgfan]

For reference, here is the recommended nutrition and performance data for the Cobb 500, a popular Cornish Cross strain. You can see what they feed, and for how many days in a commercial operation. This will also give you a basic idea of the weights you might achieve at a given age. You obviously won't have to follow this to the letter, and your results may vary, but it's interesting information.

https://cobbstorage.blob.core.windows.net/guides/5a171aa0-6994-11e8-9f14-bdc382f8d47e

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Do you plan on letting the Cornish mix with your egg layers? This would present a problem as the Cornish will just eat any feed left on the ground for them (meant for the layers). Mine are on a strict diet now where they are fed once a day.

 

[chickenmomma6]

Do you plan on letting the Cornish mix with your egg layers? This would present a problem as the Cornish will just eat any feed left on the ground for them (meant for the layers). Mine are on a strict diet now where they are fed once a day.

no I plan on separating them

 

[JDN]

I raised mine with the layer babies and fed them all the same stuff, butchered at 7 weeks, 5.5 pounds after butchering.

 

[mrs_organized_chaos]

I did a small batch of Freedom Rangers and fed them a starter/grower that was 18% protein. They weighed within the averages at 10 weeks. I just got a batch of Cornish X. I am going to feed them the same and see what happens this time because it worked for me. I was going to look at a higher protein feed but considered how much faster Cornish X grow and having to switch feeds out to lower protein as they get older. I am going to keep better feed records than I did with my Freedom Rangers just to get a better idea of cost per bird.