Feeding dual purpose chickens

[Babicatcher]

I have 4 Jersey Black Giants and 2 Buff Orpington that are about 3 weeks old. My only other meat birds have been CornishX, which I will be processing this weekend at 9 weeks. My question is about transitioning feed. Right now, my sticks are on Start and Grow. When they are finished with this, should I move to meat bird feed or flock raiser? Any suggestions on protein content?

They will be free range during the day, but my property is pretty rocky/clay dirt. There are trees with leaves and bugs around. I also have goats that will share the outside area, but chicken feed will be inaccessible to the goats.

I currently have several meat chickens, and also layers. The layers are 13 weeks old and still on Start and Grow, until the first egg. Meat chickens had one bag start and grow than moved to meat bird. Any input or suggestions welcomed!

Edited to add: The dual purpose birds are planned to be meat, unless I decide to replace my roosters in my laying hen flock.

 

[Chicks in VA]

flock raiser

thats what i would use for dual purpose

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I usually recommend that the typical backyard owner, of the typical backyard flock, with typical backyard management practices feed an All Flock/Flock Raiser* type crumble to all their birds, all their lives, with free choice grit, osyter shell, and fresh clean water available at all times in seperate dishes. Without regard to age, gender, onset of of lay, condition of molt, etc.

*Essentially an 18-20% protein, 3.5% fat+/-, 1.5% calcium +/-, 3.5% fiber +/- feed, preferably with about .6% Phosphorus, at least .35% Methionine, and .7% Lysine.

Because its easy for you, and its good nutrition for them.

All of my adult birds - chickens and ducks - get exactly the same feed, which happens to be 20% protein. I feed my youngsters a higher protein mix for their first 6-8 weeks (basically, until they join the adult flock) as I have facilites to separate the flocks. My reasons for that are complicated, its not something I recommend for everyone. But All Flock, all the time, for all the birds of all the genders is a safe and easy way to raise chickens, ducks, geese. Doing something different has limited benefits in limited conditions, and should only be considered after weighing all practical options.

My flock is in my Sig, below. You can see the results of me feed regimen here.

 

[Babicatcher]

Thank you both!! Very helpful information, and makes it much easier to buy food.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Personally, if you're planning on using them for meat, I'd use the meatbird grower. It's a bit pricier, however I think in the end it'll give you better results. Since the breeds you're using are dual purpose instead of solely for meat, they have a higher feed conversion ratio, so they're going to need a greater input of nutrients per desired pound of gain. Are you planning on processing them at a certain weight range or a certain age? If you're basing processing on weight, by increasing nutrient density, especially protein, you should be able to reach that target weight quicker with a meatbird diet than with an all-flock diet. So the question is, do you want to feed a cheaper feed over a longer period of time or a more expensive feed for a shorter time? I honestly can't say which would be cheaper, someone would have to do some trial and error with that since the FCR of backyard birds on modern diets isn't really documented at all, but like I said, for me personally, I'd go with the shorter time frame, especially since the younger the bird at processing, the more tender the meat. Of course, some people like the taste of older birds better (I'm not a fan), but you'd have to wait until after the birds hit puberty to start getting that flavor in.