Feeding meat birds

yyz0yyz0 · Aug 3, 2021

Just wondering what the effect is of giving meat birds garden produce during their off times where there is no Flock Raiser feed available to them?

I currently have 8 meat birds that are about 7wk old. Due to schedules I wont' be able to butcher them until 9wks. So I'm trying to 'slow' them down a little by only allowing them access to feed for about 10hrs a day. They have feed about 5hrs in the morning and again for about 5 hrs in the evening. In between I let them free range and also give them over grown zuccini which they destroy in minutes. What is the effect of feeding low protein items between regular feed times?
Should I just skip the garden produce and just let them go hungry in between feedings?

iwltfum · Aug 3, 2021

Kind of depends on types of vegetables and amounts. Veggies have less protein so it would probably slow them down effectively as long as you are giving them enough veggies that they are filling up during their "off" times to the point of making them less hungry once their "on" time starts - causing them to eat less. Cant hurt to try it and see. It certainly wont speed them up. But unless you are using the same spectrum and ratio of produce each time it probably wont be a repeatable experiment. That being said, those little bits of nutrient dense garden greens and produce defintiely go into making more flavorful meat in the end in my option.

yyz0yyz0 · Aug 3, 2021

Thanks for the feed back.

Right now it's mostly just zucchini that have gotten away from us. I've also started bringing home some melon scraps from Edible Arrangements. They don't seem as thrilled about the melon as they do about the squash, they just jump on the squash and eat the whole thing skin and all. My layers would always leave a 'skin boat' when I cut the squash in half but with the meaties I just throw the squash in and they start digging into itright through the skin.
I was afraid that feeding too much non-chicken feed would make them just put on the pounds as fat. I'm just looking to slow them down a little and provide something for them to eat. Kind of like keeping carrot and celery sticks handy in the fridge for when we are trying to lose weight.