feeding capons

[liann]

I have 5 capons, 16 weeks. Free range. 20 laying hens. I feed capons starter and laying pellets to the hens. Can I switch to layer pellet for all birds? I don't want to give starter to the layer hens, it decreases their eggs, correct? Can I feed layer to capons?

 

[CityFarmer202]

cant see why not...alot of people feed layer pellets to their hens and rooster. btw, why would you want a capron instead of rooster? a capron is castrated roo right? is it just so that you wont get fertilized eggs? ive always been curious about that.

 

[liann]

I live in city limits, therefore we can't have roosters. But with caponizing, the roo doesn't crow, be aggressive, etc. AND their meat is much better. The capon will grow to about 9-12 pounds over a 8-10 month time. I don't like the other type of meat chickens.

Thanks for your feedback that people feed roosters layer pellet.

 

[naillikwj82]

If you are raising the capons for meat, then they would require a higher % protein. We raise capons for the meat and feed from 18.5 to 22 % protein. Our target for processing is 22 to 24 weeks of age. The weight gain beyond that doesn't justify the continued feed cost. If on the other hand you caponize the birds for behavior modification or yard art pets then you could use layer feed. I'm not sure though how well the birds would thrive.

 

[liann]

We are raising for meat.
THANK YOU! I have not found any information about feeding them. This helps so much. What food to you use? They are on starter right now and roam around our yard (large) with our hens. I also give meal worms to the whole flock every day as a treat. the capons are not interested in them yet.

 

[Silver Silkie]

I don't have experience with capons, but I raised twenty five Cornish crosses last year. We started our birds on starter for the first week and then we switched them over to Purina's Show Broiler feed which has a high protein content and gets them nice and meaty. I've also heard that mixing carrots and vegetable oil with their feed helps too. You can also use bacon fat, but since we don't eat pork, I haven't tried this. In fact, I've even heard of people feeding their birds with ground beef once in a while, so you are pretty much limited to anything you can think of. Another thing you can do is raise mealworms and feed that to them in addition to their feed.