Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[foreverlearning]

Question for Bee:
I just came across a really old post of yours showing pictures of your cornish. I know you take really good care of your birds but these seemed to have quite a few bald spots. Is this normal for all meat birds or just a trait of the cornish? This is my first time with meat birds and I have black broilers 4 days old now. If I saw this in my normal flock I would freak out. I would rather know so if I see it I'm not running like a chicken with its head cut off worrying that I'm doing something wrong. I love that you posted time lines for your pictures, also quite shocked at how big they get and how soon.

 

[Beekissed]

Question for Bee:
I just came across a really old post of yours showing pictures of your cornish. I know you take really good care of your birds but these seemed to have quite a few bald spots. Is this normal for all meat birds or just a trait of the cornish? This is my first time with meat birds and I have black broilers 4 days old now. If I saw this in my normal flock I would freak out. I would rather know so if I see it I'm not running like a chicken with its head cut off worrying that I'm doing something wrong. I love that you posted time lines for your pictures, also quite shocked at how big they get and how soon.

Yep...those "bald spots" are from the rapid growth of these birds...they sort of outgrow their feathering at first with their skin stretched out over their massive bodies. In a regular chick, they have the same bald spots under their wings and under their legs but you don't see them as easily because their skin is not stretched to the max. Those spots slowly fill in but since the birds are still just juveniles in big bird bodies, they still seem to have less feathering than regular birds.

Take this pic, for instance...in this pic are two birds of the same age, fed the same feed. They both are still scruffy in their chick feathering and you can see where the little red one is not fully plumed but you can't really see any bald spots unless you pick him up and examine him. But the CX beside him reveals bald spots in those same areas when he walks..then you can see his skin. They also have that really pink skin too, so it kind of stands out more from their feathering.






In this pic you can see it when they stretch their bodies for drinking....




If you aren't real familiar with the CX breed you may not realize that the birds in that pic have way more feathering and better feathering than any other CX of that age that I have ever seen. Most of the processing vids of these birds and those I have seen personally of other people's CX have no feathers on their breast bones from lying down all the time and much more skin showing around the butts because of the faster growth they have had than mine. Mine are slow grown and kept in cleaner conditions and are not lying down much, so they tend to have more of their feathering than most CX of that age.

Here's a pic of other people's CX at the same age as those you see above... the lack of feathering under the wings and along the lower abdomen is typical in this breed until they get much older and then they still don't have the nice plumage of a regular DP chicken, IMO.



If I am thinking of the same pics you saw of my first batch of CX, I'll show you some of those birds when their feathers finally caught up to their bodies...here's one at 7 wks.






And at 11 wks, awaiting processing...clean, white and fully feathered.

 

[foreverlearning]

OK. thank you. It is still disturbing to look at, but at least I know why now. I plan on free ranging with FF supplement. My plan was to grow them a little slower than the hatchery states but with how they went after the crickets and ants today I don't think it will work. I put them outside for an hour with empty crops and they came in with full crops. It was funny watching them play keep away with the crickets. If its not too windy tomorrow I plan to let them stay outside all day. What age do you suggest that they can come out of the brooder? I have a chicken wire pen half covered with a tarp and temps here are 85+ at night. I also have a enclosed coop if for some reason they need it or the temps drop. It's not likely they'll need it though.

 

[Beekissed]

Not likely at those temps. I let mine out at 2 wks into the coop and I think at 3 wks they were out on range..but I can't remember exactly on those dates.. and it was quite a revelation to watch how well this last batch foraged....like mini velociraptors they were!

 

[BlueMouse]

I keep telling everyone that my few free range cornish are the best foragers I have. they're always hungry so they're VERY motivated. We have 25 more coming wednesday. Hoping to get better weights on this lot. The last lot were all around 3lbs when we butchered at 11 1/2 weeks. Just small. Very tasty thought. Best chicken I've had since we came home from Europe. Excellent flavor, firm texture.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

My Cornish crosses hate free-ranging food-wise. I stick them outside and they chirp wildly and sit on the ground and try to clean themselves off and that's about it. They barely nibble at the grass, though they do have fun outside. I can sometimes get them to eat a dandelion if I'm holding it. Sometimes. Wonder what I'm doing wrong...?

 

[BlueMouse]

Are they hungry when you turn them out?? Mine had sod chunks from day 1 in the brooder, which seemed to help them learn to scratch and peck through stuff. Then I would put them out in a dog crate with no bottom in it during warm times of the day so they could pick around in the grass (although it was too cold for them to be out at night yet.) I know Aoxa scatters fermented scratch in the grass for hers to find as a treat and they mow the grass right down in that area...

 

[foreverlearning]

When I put them out for the first time it was time to feed them, I just thought that was the right time and they did great. Bee talks about birds being lazy and not properly foraging when they have constant access to food (last couple of pages). If they are hungry enough it seems that they will eat just about anything.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I put my birds out to forage first thing in the day, 2-5 at a time. They haven't had food for 10 hours or more at that point. Then a few hours later I feed them. Then I put them away at night and feed them again. They're three weeks old today and that system will be changing a little as they move outdoors permanently. Since they're meat birds and I want them to grow fast (8-10 weeks with a 5lb carcass) I have been feeding 2X's a day, what they can finish in about 10-15 minutes, Purina Flock Raiser (unmedicated) with a few grains of wild garlic (helps with worms), fermented with a nice D.E. topping (helps with worms). This is a total of about 5C of FF/day for 13 birds I think, but it could be more like 4C.

They mostly just lay down and dust bathe in the grass. A little sprinkle of dry crumble helps get them going but not for long, they usually stop when then can't easily find crumble anymore.

I have put weeds, grasses and other forage in their brooder since day 2, although not chunks of sod. I would drop in some sandy garden soil for grit, too. Sometimes they ate the weeds, most times not so much. They've been going out in groups of 2-5 birds in a tractor for about a week now with little/no eating of grasses etc.

 

[RoseMarie1]

One of my pullets that just started laying 3 weeks ago (at 19 weeks) layed an extra-large double yolker today! The yolks were big too, full sized. Not sure who it was, there are Australorps, Columbian Rocks and Speckled Sussex. Don't think it was the Sussex. I sure would like to get a bunch of eggs like that one every day!

wow I bet that WOULD be nice to have a bunch of those every day.