Finisher

[Jocasta]

What's the purpose of finisher pellets? Just curious! Got some chickens due for the camp freezer in about three weeks and also Turkeys in a few months. Just wondering what the purpose of finisher was?

Also, does anyone know if you should have quail on a finisher?

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are two different kinds of finisher. One is the 15% protein finisher, You can use that for chickens that will be layers, not meat birds. You can feed that finsher from week 13 until you switch to Layer. I know that is not what you are talking about but I wanted to mention that there can be a difference to hopefully avoid confusion.

The Finisher I think you are talking about is a 19% protein product. It is intended to give the meat birds a diet high enough in protein to keep them growing optimally without getting them to grow so fast they have premature medical problems. Those broilers can outgrow their skeletons they grow so fast. The 16% Grower is not high enough in protein content for optimum growth. Plenty of people use different products and strategies, including feeding even higher protein levels. The 19% Finisher is an efficient feed, but you need to look at how to feed it too. Some strategies require restricting access.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Finisher is basically just a lower protein ration as the older a chicken gets, the less protein it needs.

For instance I feed a 22% starter for the first 2-3 weeks depending on the size of the chicks and then switch to a 16% finisher till processing day. Since the finisher is cheaper by around $3.00 / 50 pounds, it saves a lot of money.