Feeding your meat birds

[max13077]

What is a good amount to feed each day per bird? I have been offering free choice AM and PM, but it seems like they drain the feeders and poop 99% of it out cause they've eaten so much. I'm not sure there is a solution. Just interested in what people think and how they feed. What’s your feeding routine like?

 

[miss_thenorth]

I left my feeders full at all times.

 

[blue90292]

i left my feeders full at all times possible (it would empty out by the time i got home from work). i fed them in the PM also, but after 3 weeks, i turned the light off at night and they only ate when they could see.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Quote:
as soon as mine were out of the brooder box, the light was off--b/c it was warm enough. don't really know if they aite in the dark or not, but I know they drank at night, b/.c I would leave them with enough water , and in the morning, their water was almost empty.

 

[sandspoultry]

When we raised them we fed free choice during the day and took the feed away at night as recommended. We got ours from Welp hatchery and they came with a sheet for feeding and care, I think if you go their website it's there also.

Steve in NC

 

[blue90292]

Quote:
as soon as mine were out of the brooder box, the light was off--b/c it was warm enough. don't really know if they aite in the dark or not, but I know they drank at night, b/.c I would leave them with enough water , and in the morning, their water was almost empty.

that's why i would leave them the food at night even though it was dark. kept them from trying to eat me when i would go out there in the morning. it would start getting light around 5.30am and i didn't go out there until 7am so they would eat whatever was there that i left for them the night before.

 

[UncleHoot]

They eat, they poop, they lay down (sometimes while eating and/or pooping

).

If they don't have light, they stop eating, but as soon as daylight comes, they get really hungry all over again. I feed mine once a day, until I'm forced to feed them more, but I always try to make sure they have food. When the morning feed comes, they go insane, and sound just like pigs as they each try to get their own space at the feeder trough (which is only big enough for about 2/3 of them, in my case).

At 5 weeks, mine are eating somewhere around 6 oz (weight) of feed per bird per day, which works out to around 20 lbs of feed per day. My experience has shown that this will continue to climb slowly over the next couple weeks, ending up at around 8 oz each per day at 8 weeks. I could be off by an ounce or so, as it's harder to gauge given that I'm also raising the Colored Range Broilers along with the Cornish Crosses.

 

[willheveland]

I just fill up the feeders in the morning.I will later on too if they get really low.I never let them run out.If they ever clean it out empty you are not feeding enough. Will

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
That's what I do. I also put feeders high so they have to stand to eat.