Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[ak rain]

I'm trying to feed 3 turkeys and 6 Cornish cross. They are 1.5 weeks old. They eat fermented feed. Flock raiser crumbles right now. Can they both go to the same grower at 4 weeks? Same brooder and going to same coop/run. Ak rain

 

[Beekissed]

I'm trying to feed 3 turkeys and 6 Cornish cross. They are 1.5 weeks old. They eat fermented feed. Flock raiser crumbles right now. Can they both go to the same grower at 4 weeks? Same brooder and going to same coop/run. Ak rain

I don't see why not....grower is for putting on weight and you want that in both sets of birds.

 

[BCMaraniac]

My steers have green grass pastures for their main food source, it's just for taming them to come to the feed bucket that we use a bit of grain the last 2 weeks before slaughter.

Sounds like I will try to ferment some dry cob and see how they do. My husband thinks they need wet cob with molalsses but I think molasses would turn into alcohol in a ferment bucket! I don't want drunk cows!

Just don't "drive" them to slaughter.

 

[wyoDreamer]

My steers have green grass pastures for their main food source, it's just for taming them to come to the feed bucket that we use a bit of grain the last 2 weeks before slaughter.

Sounds like I will try to ferment some dry cob and see how they do. My husband thinks they need wet cob with molalsses but I think molasses would turn into alcohol in a ferment bucket! I don't want drunk cows!

Might make them very tender ...

 

[KittieChick]

My meat birds are 6 weeks old. I would like to slow their growth a bit and process them closer to 9 or 10 weeks, due to a knee surgery on Tuesday.

I'm feeding FF with free range in the backyard. Reviewing this thread, and I'm getting the impression that I'm way overfeeding these birds. I give them about 1-2 cups per bird per day of FF. They eat it all, and their crops are HUGE!

My guess is that I need to cut that back pretty drastically and let them scratch for stuff more and gorge less?

 

[Beekissed]

My meat birds are 6 weeks old. I would like to slow their growth a bit and process them closer to 9 or 10 weeks, due to a knee surgery on Tuesday.

I'm feeding FF with free range in the backyard. Reviewing this thread, and I'm getting the impression that I'm way overfeeding these birds. I give them about 1-2 cups per bird per day of FF. They eat it all, and their crops are HUGE!

My guess is that I need to cut that back pretty drastically and let them scratch for stuff more and gorge less?

Only you can gauge that and only by watching your bird's progress and their mobility. It also depends on the genetics of the broiler you are raising.....some genetics won't stand up to getting to the 10 wk mark, no matter how much you restrict feed and make them try to free range. Some do it very well.

I've had two batches that ranged well and lasted quite easily to and beyond the 10 wk mark and then the last batch barely made it to 8 wks, even with restricted feeds and free ranging from 2 wks onward.

 

[KittieChick]

Only you can gauge that and only by watching your bird's progress and their mobility. It also depends on the genetics of the broiler you are raising.....some genetics won't stand up to getting to the 10 wk mark, no matter how much you restrict feed and make them try to free range. Some do it very well.

I've had two batches that ranged well and lasted quite easily to and beyond the 10 wk mark and then the last batch barely made it to 8 wks, even with restricted feeds and free ranging from 2 wks onward.

Thanks, Beekissed. These are the Cornish X, or CX? that I have. They seem pretty active. More so since the FF! I think they're right about 5-6 lbs at 6 weeks of age. I have one that's larger, but active. It's been fun having birds in the yard, so I'm definitely hooked on the idea of chickens.

We just need to get an official hen house in place with better protection.

 

[larry529]

A real meat bird cornish, is not going to free range well. For a couple weeks if you are lucky they might scratch around, but even that's not likely. You figure you keep them in a brooder for 3-4 weeks, by the time they come out of that they are probably at least 3-4 lbs,and laziness sets in soon after. If you want a meat bird that will free range a lot, you can buy the more expensive freedom ranger. I have always been curious on them, but hear how much people lose on them as far as feeding longer, and their feed ratio is between 4-6 lbs of feed to 1 lb of meat. Supposedly a good cornish meat bird the ratio is 2 to 1 lb of meat. I am curious on the freedom ranger for there foraging ability but when you see people posts pics of cornish and the ranger side by side I cringe lol.

 

[KittieChick]

A real meat bird cornish, is not going to free range well. For a couple weeks if you are lucky they might scratch around, but even that's not likely. You figure you keep them in a brooder for 3-4 weeks, by the time they come out of that they are probably at least 3-4 lbs,and laziness sets in soon after. If you want a meat bird that will free range a lot, you can buy the more expensive freedom ranger. I have always been curious on them, but hear how much people lose on them as far as feeding longer, and their feed ratio is between 4-6 lbs of feed to 1 lb of meat. Supposedly a good cornish meat bird the ratio is 2 to 1 lb of meat. I am curious on the freedom ranger for there foraging ability but when you see people posts pics of cornish and the ranger side by side I cringe lol.

I bought these 6 as a favor to a friend who was overwhelmed with all 26 birds. We're maintaining okay, the birds are foraging more and more every day, and not losing size or weight. At 6 weeks, I'd guess they're right about 5 pounds or so. (I have a 5.5 lb. puppy that I pick up regularly). I guess I'll see what happens. I'll have about 12 days of recovery on my knee when these guys are 8 weeks. If I can keep them healthy and alive to 9 weeks, I'll be soooo happy! So far, they're all fat and sassy and I'm not feeding at quite the 2:1 ratio.

I think my next batch will be a straight run for dual purpose birds. I like the idea of my own meat that I've raised, and also eggs and chickies...

 

[Triple Willow]

A real meat bird cornish, is not going to free range well. For a couple weeks if you are lucky they might scratch around, but even that's not likely. You figure you keep them in a brooder for 3-4 weeks, by the time they come out of that they are probably at least 3-4 lbs,and laziness sets in soon after. If you want a meat bird that will free range a lot, you can buy the more expensive freedom ranger. I have always been curious on them, but hear how much people lose on them as far as feeding longer, and their feed ratio is between 4-6 lbs of feed to 1 lb of meat. Supposedly a good cornish meat bird the ratio is 2 to 1 lb of meat. I am curious on the freedom ranger for there foraging ability but when you see people posts pics of cornish and the ranger side by side I cringe lol.

CX will free range and will do it very well. I have some that are 11 weeks old and they can't wait for me to open the door to their pen. At 11 weeks they all still run, jump and fly all over free ranging. The problem most people seem to have is in feeding CX. Sure you can feed them 24/7 and push them to a fast finish then try to get them slaughtered BEFORE they lay down and die of a heart attack or one of the other common conditions. Or you can limit their feed and give them time for the growth and have happy, healthy, active birds to the end.
Here is a video of a batch of Beekissed's 5 week old CX: