Feed to finish out cornish crosses.

[Ndahly]

This is my first time raising meat birds. I got 10 roosters to start with to see how it goes.
My question is what do people like to feed them before being butchered? Is there anything that makes the meat taste better? Do people throw food scraps out? Maybe this is a silly question but I was thinking about it like cattle. Some people choose to add corn at the end to help with the tenderness and marbling so it got me thinking about chickens!
Right now they're a week old and I have them on 18% grower/starter medicated feed. Then after the second week I plan on switching them to a grower but what % would be ideal? Once they have more feathers I'll move them outside to a coop I have set up where they will he able to free range some as well.
Can you tell the difference in taste if your chickens were allowed to be free range or not?

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

This is my first time raising meat birds. I got 10 roosters to start with to see how it goes.
My question is what do people like to feed them before being butchered? Is there anything that makes the meat taste better? Do people throw food scraps out? Maybe this is a silly question but I was thinking about it like cattle. Some people choose to add corn at the end to help with the tenderness and marbling so it got me thinking about chickens!
Right now they're a week old and I have them on 18% grower/starter medicated feed. Then after the second week I plan on switching them to a grower but what % would be ideal? Once they have more feathers I'll move them outside to a coop I have set up where they will he able to free range some as well.
Can you tell the difference in taste if your chickens were allowed to be free range or not?

Hey I just butchered my first five cornishes yesterday so I don't really have much experience with them but I just fed them straight flock raiser the whole time I had them

 

[Acre4Me]

What breed do you have? Are they Cornish cross meat hybrids?

If they are Cornish X, they are meant to have the best feed to muscle conversion. They drink ALOT of water - ALOT. They run hot and need shade. Did I mention they drink ALOT of water? Feed: often a meat bird chick (Cornish cross) are fed meatbird crumbles. These are usually 20-22%protein. This is fed their entire life. They don’t free-range very well. If you provide any chicken food other than pelleted or crumble feed, they need access to grit. Grit stored in the gizzard and is used to grind up food before going into the gut. Manufactured feed pellets do not require grit. I only feed my Cornish cross meatbird crumble 22% and butcher at 7-8 weeks.

If you have a dual purpose or a freedom ranger flock for meat, you can keep them on meatbird crumbles or feed an all-flock (20%) pellet. Typically these are butchered around 14-18 weeks for most tender meat. These type of birds will free range more successfully than a Cornish cross type. Currently I have 24 male White Rocks from a line that should produce a good size carcass. I do not have much room for free ranging, so all my chickens get feed. These males are being fed meat bird crumbles until around 8 weeks then I’ll switch them to the 20% all-flock I feed my main egg laying flock. We plan to butcher them at 16 weeks.

 

[Geena]

Some people choose to add corn at the end to help with the tenderness and marbling so it got me thinking about chickens!

Chicken meat doesn't "marble" like beef, the more or fattier stuff you feed will just result in great gobs of fat in the body cavity. Some people enjoy the schmaltz, personally I do not, and all that fat makes processing more difficult.
A good meat bird or all flock feed is best.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

^^^ echoing this.
No amount of corn, vegetable oil (of whatever type), etc will result in marbled chicken meat. They don't have the genes to deposit fat in that way. The only thing it will do is increase the line of fat at the keel, along the edge of the thighs, and MOSTLY deposit it inside the body cavity, where it puts stress on the heart and liver, promoting (in part) some of the high mortality reates that CX are known for.

Now, for a commercial facility selling by the pound, all that extra fat, put on by finishing with (very cheap) extra corn is more valuable than what they lose in additional dead birds. But unless you have some remarkable use for lots and lots of chicken fat the rest of us have not discovered, recommend a short life on high protein feed - 20-24% for all their brief span on this planet. Yes,its more expensive, but you save in having to feed them for a shorter period and by maximizing growth the whole time.

If you should be fortunate enough to have the choice between a 20% protein feed and a 22% protein feed at the same/similar price point, look at the nutritional tags. Choose the one with the highest Methionine and Lysine levels. Some have also had success by mixing a game bird feed (often 28% +/-) in some ratio with an 18-20% All Flock type to get their numbers where they want them.

You may find this instructive - its from an old manual no how to raise the Ross 308 Commercial Broiler most efficiently. Note that they start with the Amino Acids, NOT with the total protein.

 

[Ndahly]

Chicken meat doesn't "marble" like beef, the more or fattier stuff you feed will just result in great gobs of fat in the body cavity. Some people enjoy the schmaltz, personally I do not, and all that fat makes processing more difficult.
A good meat bird or all flock feed is best.

Okay I was misunderstood. I'm well aware chicken meat doesn't marble lol. I was just saying cattle people finish their cows out differently. I was wondering if there's something that makes your chicken more tender? Or even more tougher if it makes a difference what you end up feeding them that's all.

 

[Ndahly]

Thank you everyone for the replies!