Feeding meat chickens

[cassie]

Scratch is a fine feed for a treat. Period. It is not a complete ration for any type of poultry. I like to throw in a few handfuls of scratch on the bedding every day for my laying chickens. I use a deep litter system, and the scratch makes them keep the litter turned up nicely. I don't feed it to my meaties at all. And unless they have access to grit, you shouldn't feed it to yours either. That said, scratch simply doesn't have the nutrients needed for those fast growing meaties. True, it is cheaper by the bag, but it will cost you in the long run. Remember the old adage, penny wise and pound foolish? Feeding scratch to meaties as a means to save money on feed costs is a good example of that.

 

[threesprings]

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.

 

[Warlock40]

Hmm interesting. I'm taking my meaties to 8 weeks which is officially tomorrow. I'll be processing them on Saturday.
That said if I were to get the white rocks again I'd consider 7 weeks because they seem to be just getting bigger and bigger and by the sounds of it I'm lucky I haven't lost any thus far.

I'll have to track down another place in my area to get the grower. Although I noticed yesterday they were doing a heck of a lot more foraging than normal. I had thought that maybe they were hungry in so much as the feed wasn't cutting it... but perhaps it was just because I was doing more work than normal around them... and paid more attention to what they were doing.

Price wise the scratch was about .50 cheaper by the 25kg bag and they said it would be ok feed. We do feed them kitchen scrapes regularly but I don't really want to fatten them up any more than they already are.. because they are fatties.

 

[[email protected]]

my first year rasing CX I put it up 12 hours and left it down 12, they do not gain as much weight when you do that so for the past 12 years I have left it down and I raise batches all year long leave it down and this year my 100+ broilers I have not lost 1 to deasease only a couple to a cat. and the only health problem I have is when they are so heavy there last week of life you can go up beside them and start clapping and they will be dieing so just dont make loud noise by them.
THANKS

Rohr's Poultry

 

[backintime]

Still wondering why everyone's broilers are so prone to heart attack. My dog races up to the fence and charges the broilers, scattering them in a frenzy several times a day, and not one has ever died! I have never kept them longer than 8.5 weeks, when they dressed out at 7 pounds (no neck/giblets). Wondering if maybe the organic feed I'm using allows better absorption of nutrients, resulting in healthier birds. GMO corn is known to cause severe stomach distress in some animals. Is it possible that even without obvious symptoms, the distressed broiler chickens are not getting sufficient nutrition? My broilers were scampering about, roo's charging and challenging one another, right up to the last day.

This year's chicks came from Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam, WI, and were by far the most active robust Cornish Cross birds I've raised, but even with chicks from other hatcheries I've never experienced a heart attack or leg problems.

I'd love to hear from others using 100% organic feed, to see if their experience is the same as mine.

 

[Island Roo]

Quote:
Great question. I'm not organic - I lost 3 out of 25 in 10 weeks (week 1, week 6 and week 7).
That was my first batch of meaties.
I gradually increase the scratch / additional corn to 50% of their feed for the last 10 days. Got a nice layer of fat (which 1 person did not like)

Maybe there are other considerations to the losses (and your success) - are yours raised in a pen or tractor? Is there something you do to encourage activity?
Quote: May I should train my dogs to do this.

. (disclaimer - I would never really do that intentionally)

But honestly - "enrichment" might make a difference .

 

[AtChaseFarm]

Still wondering why everyone's broilers are so prone to heart attack. My dog races up to the fence and charges the broilers, scattering them in a frenzy several times a day, and not one has ever died! I have never kept them longer than 8.5 weeks, when they dressed out at 7 pounds (no neck/giblets). Wondering if maybe the organic feed I'm using allows better absorption of nutrients, resulting in healthier birds. GMO corn is known to cause severe stomach distress in some animals. Is it possible that even without obvious symptoms, the distressed broiler chickens are not getting sufficient nutrition? My broilers were scampering about, roo's charging and challenging one another, right up to the last day.

I'd love to hear from others using 100% organic feed, to see if their experience is the same as mine.

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.

 

[AtChaseFarm]

I use a long section of gutter as a feeder (mounted on legs) so there is more than enough room for everyone to line up at the feeder without trampling one another.

Using a section of gutter as a feeder is a really good idea. I have round feeders and the birds do always seem to be trampling each other. Thanks.

 

[backintime]

Great question. I'm not organic - I lost 3 out of 25 in 10 weeks (week 1, week 6 and week 7).
That was my first batch of meaties.
I gradually increase the scratch / additional corn to 50% of their feed for the last 10 days. Got a nice layer of fat (which 1 person did not like)

Maybe there are other considerations to the losses (and your success) - are yours raised in a pen or tractor? Is there something you do to encourage activity?
May I should train my dogs to do this.

. (disclaimer - I would never really do that intentionally)

But honestly - "enrichment" might make a difference .

My broilers start out in a refrigerator box in the garage. I follow the program of decreasing temps each week, but probably err on the side of cooler than recommended - maybe 90 degrees max. the first week, 85 the second, and 75 to 80 the third week. Generally right at the 3-week mark I can no longer stand the stink and dust in there, and move them out to their mini-coop and run. They generally aren't "fully feathered" yet but they seem to appreciate the fresh air and cool earth to lie on.

I've got a fenced run about 10' X 20' which is a sparse grass lawn with sandy soil. They have a 4' X 4' by 4' high wooden coop which is built on a concrete slab beneath a covered carport (in the shade). The coop has ventilation around the upper edge, and a larger panel cut out and covered with hardware cloth, which is about 1' X 4'. I use pine needles for bedding, as they're fluffy, airy, and FREE!

They move around and pick at the grass all day but do not "scratch" with their feet like layers. The males spend half their days bumping chests and challenging one another! I use an old section of gutter as a feeder (nice and long, no fighting allowed!) and raise it up so they can't lie down and eat. Our weather here in northern Wisconsin at broiler-raising time is generally 60's and 70's in the daytime, with a few warmer days mixed in, and anywhere from 30's to 60's at night.

Due to the small size of my broiler coop, I can only do 24 or 25 at a time (depending on minimum order at a hatchery). I buy straight run, don't vaccinate the chicks for Marek's or coccidiosis, and they are not debeaked as I've never seen them peck one another like layers do. I've gotten chicks from numerous hatcheries. This year I tried Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam and got the MOST ACTIVE and robust chickens I've ever had.

One year I did lose 3 chicks during the second week when the garage overheated on a sunny 90 degree day. Had the heat lamp off, doors open, fans blowing, and frozen liter pop bottles in the box, but just couldn't cool them down fast enough. Because of that bad experience, I now start my broilers in late May and move them outside at the 3-week mark, feathers or no feathers! Maybe I have just been lucky, and one of these times will experience the dreaded "keeling over" syndrome.

I buy Nature's Grown organic feeds. First the chick starter, then switch to a 21% protein grower for weeks 3-6, then back off the protein a bit (down to 16% I think) for the last week or two. I mix a tiny amount of DE in their feed for fly control (it works!) I don't give them ANY people food, scratch, or treats, just all the organic feed they can eat. This is probably the single biggest difference, and I'm sure the cooler temps help alot. I'm so used to the snow and cold, I feel like keeling over on a hot day myself!

 

[cassie]

Still wondering why everyone's broilers are so prone to heart attack. My dog races up to the fence and charges the broilers, scattering them in a frenzy several times a day, and not one has ever died! I have never kept them longer than 8.5 weeks, when they dressed out at 7 pounds (no neck/giblets). Wondering if maybe the organic feed I'm using allows better absorption of nutrients, resulting in healthier birds. GMO corn is known to cause severe stomach distress in some animals. Is it possible that even without obvious symptoms, the distressed broiler chickens are not getting sufficient nutrition? My broilers were scampering about, roo's charging and challenging one another, right up to the last day.

This year's chicks came from Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam, WI, and were by far the most active robust Cornish Cross birds I've raised, but even with chicks from other hatcheries I've never experienced a heart attack or leg problems.

I'd love to hear from others using 100% organic feed, to see if their experience is the same as mine.

The exercise the dog gives them rather than the feed is probably be the reason they are doing so well. Every little thing you can do to make them move will make a difference. Like having the feeders and waterers hung at t level where they have to stand or even reach to get to it, and having the feed and water at opposite ends of the pen helps too. The fact that the dogs rush them several times a day rather than just once in a while is significant. If the dog rushed them just once in a while I think you might have some keel over, organic feed or not.