Feeding meat chickens

[Yukonchick]

Thats really interesting. The lady at the feed store that ordered my chicks for me told me that if i let my Cornish giants eat all they want that they would eat themselves to death so I've been feeding them twice a day. And yes there is a stampede each time. I've built a feeder too out of white plastic drain pipe but it still seems like i could use two. The birds are getting bigger. It will be nice when they can go outside on wednesday for the first time.

 

[Oregon Blues]

My CX are so calm, I can't imagine what you would have to do to them to scare them so badly they'd have a heart attack.. Shoot them out of a canon? They don't mind being picked up or moved, so even that probably wouldn't do it.

Mine completely ignore my dogs.

They did get scared enough to move a few feet when I carried a black plastic trash bag full of hay into their pen. That caused some clucking, a couple of wing flaps, and a bit of scurrying, but not more than about 5 feet.

I herd them back into their coop at night with a broom. Yes, I actually have to sweep them. They don't move so I have to push them with the broom.

It's not that they are lazy. They will run to see what I am doing and they wander around. They love to come out and supervise when I fill the duck pond. It's just that they don't get upset about anything.

 

[Warlock40]

Haaa yeah the food rush. I'm kind of amused by it to be honest. I can pour on the ground and each time I move and drop some on another spot they abandoned the current spot and run to the next.. so I usually put the feeder in then drop some on the ground for those who don't want the battle.. there is always one or two that will just sit it out and wait.

I ended up going back to the mash/crumble from country lane (I think) distributed by masterfeed here in Ontario. I got a list of the ingredients. I know it isn't going to be organic but I expect it to be free of animal by products and medications etc.

I am worried a bit for the next batch that it gets too warm in the garage for the brooder. I've been keeping an eye on the temp. It seems to stay fairly even in hot peak weather at around 90 degrees.. so I suppose the chicks would be ok without the lamp during the day. I may hold off until August to do the next batch.

 

[chicks4fun]

I feed 100% organic (detest GMO's) and even without restricting feed (except during dark of night) I have NEVER had a single cornish cross expire from heart attack or get leg problems. My birds are active and moving about much of the day. After a few weeks on starter, I keep them on 21 or 22% protein until about 5 or 6 weeks, then switch back to the 16% protein for the remaining time.

I find that 24 or 25 birds get to perfect weight (minimum of 6 pounds dressed out) on a total of 8 bags of feed. Seems like when the 8th bag of feed is gone, they're always ready. Usually takes about 7.5 weeks.

Okay, now I cannot figure what I did wrong. I fed an organic mix for meat birds except for one bag of "meat maker" (from Southern States) because I ran out of my organic & needed feed. I also added fermented grains---all organic too. I just took in 10 birds (9 weeks old) and got an average dressed weight of 3 pounds!
I didn't go back to lower protein the last few weeks---is that what I did wrong?
Any idea?

 

[[email protected]]

Okay, now I cannot figure what I did wrong. I fed an organic mix for meat birds except for one bag of "meat maker" (from Southern States) because I ran out of my organic & needed feed. I also added fermented grains---all organic too. I just took in 10 birds (9 weeks old) and got an average dressed weight of 3 pounds!
I didn't go back to lower protein the last few weeks---is that what I did wrong?
Any idea?

how big of a pen do you have them in, dont give them alot of spece unless they are free ranging because while they are free ranging they a eating.

 

[chicks4fun]

I have them in 4 16x16 cattle panels tied together (with snow-fence along the bottom) and a tarp/tent to keep hawks out. I move it around every few days. I then put them in a shed/coop at night. So they can move around, get some grass, and not sit in their own poop.

 

[backintime]

Okay, now I cannot figure what I did wrong. I fed an organic mix for meat birds except for one bag of "meat maker" (from Southern States) because I ran out of my organic & needed feed. I also added fermented grains---all organic too. I just took in 10 birds (9 weeks old) and got an average dressed weight of 3 pounds!
I didn't go back to lower protein the last few weeks---is that what I did wrong?
Any idea?

Gosh, you must be so disappointed after all your hard work. I don't have any experience with fermented grains. I've only just started reading about it here on the forum. Honestly, I can't think of what would cause them to grow that slowly. Are you sure they were Cornish Cross broilers? Other breeds of chicks would fit your weight description more closely. Also, do you recall the actual brand name and/or product name of the "organic mix for meat birds" that you mentioned? I had 24 birds and used seven and a half 50-pound bags of feed in exactly 7 weeks. Do you know about how many bags of feed you went through during the 9 weeks? I'm curious to see what others come up with on this forum, I'm just as perplexed as you are! Don't get too discouraged, we are all learning all the time.

 

[chicks4fun]

Also I have found one thread that said to lower their protein at the end (16%) and one that said to up it to 24% ????
I am getting more confused.
I have part of the flock left so anyone who has had success please advise. . . . . THANX

 

[backintime]

I'm completely new at this, and I'm really learning a lot from you all.

I don't like the idea of medication or GMO in the feed, so I'm using 100% organic chick starter. The feed store suggested I keep them on this food for their lifespan. It doesn't cost any more than the organic finisher, so I'm taking their advice. My 21 chickens are 6 weeks old and have gone through 4 x 25 kg bags; cost is $22.00 a bag. I feed them at 6 in the morning and 6 at night, and they're always out of food around 2 pm. They scratch and eat bugs and have plenty of exercise. I'm hoping to keep them to around 11 weeks. I don't know how much they weigh yet, but some seem at least twice the size of others. All advice welcome! Thanks.

I'm anxious to find out your results. I did that one year, when I got egg layer chicks and broiler chicks at the same time, and raised them together in the same pen, so I just fed the chick starter the whole time and they all did just fine! (I reasoned to myself that even though the broilers were ENORMOUS, they were after all, just chicks!)

 

[backintime]

I'm buying a 21% grower in bulk. For new chicks I add fishmeal for the first week or two to bump up the protein. After that they are free range on pasture. As they develop I get more and more liberal with the scratch tossed in the grass on the assumption of lowering their protein intake towards finishing. Seems alot of info suggests finishing on a 16-17% diet. Just my way of streamlining my purchased feeds and not wasting the higher priced grower feed. Then again, I'm doing freedom rangers and have experienced few leg problems (handful out of a few hundred chicks. I'm also growing out to 11-12 weeks. I look at the scratch as an economical and efficient way to finish my birds. Is this a mistake? I see scratch as a useful tool in my production scheme.

I wanted to try the last week on scratch this time around, to see if I could get a little more fat on my broilers, but the feed store was out of the organic scratch, so I stayed with my usual program of starter & grower. I don't think you're making a mistake; the freedom rangers are robust birds with a leaner body type, and they are adept at finding bugs and other sources of protein, so using scratch to finish them sounds reasonable. Let us all know your results, ok? This forum shows there are MANY right ways to do things, after all is said and done. It's great to hear details about all the different ways we are feeding our birds.