Good feed for the last four weeks

[TaraBellaBirds]

I have four (15 week) Austrolorps, and three (5 month) Jersey Giants, plus a mean *** columbian wyandotte (hate that bird). What would be a good protein percentage to put them on until D-day?

 

[SunnySkies]

I'm confused, is a Dual Purpose bird not really Dual Purpose?  Sorry but I'm somewhat new to raising chickens.....

You can...I have...eat DP birds. Heck, we had 17 DP roosters at one point that visited freezer camp. But if I want a frying bird, or a roaster, I don't use a DP bird for that. That is when I get out a Freedom Ranger carcass. Those grow a fryer. I have one that got so big he is marked for Thanksgiving dinner. But my DP roosters...nope. They are stew or chicken ala king or something else. They can't grow to look like what you expect after shopping in a store, no matter what you feed them. They are not big enough to feed my family unless I extend them in some way (and they are so old they are too tough to fry anyway). But I found with rooster round number 3 that if I fed a little more protein, they were a little better than their brothers and fathers had been.

I was so pleased with how my FR turned out that I am really thinking rooster cull number four, which will likely be next year, will simply result in dog food. The FR/Rosambros I had were fast to grow, very gentle, quiet and I got a good return for my feed investment. My barnyard mix and SFH roosters are noisy, some have been very dangerous (one attacked one of my kids with no provocation...he was just walking across the drive) and eat a lot but don't yield a lot of meat that my family likes. I just killed a SFH roo, a breed considered DP in their native land, last Friday, and he dressed out at 3.2 lbs, most of it bone. The FR halves were that or larger.

 

[Kelsie2290]

If only feeding one feed, since the lorps are youngest and the giants are a large breed I would go with the lower protein % of Grower (15-16%) so you don't push them into laying early.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

If only feeding one feed, since the lorps are youngest and the giants are a large breed I would go with the lower protein % of Grower (15-16%) so you don't push them into laying early.

This batch is only roos. I've already culled them for optimum growth, and to protect my poor girls from too many roos! Don't they need protein to beef (LOL) up?

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

At the moment they are eating what I feed the rest of the flock, a layer feed mixed with scratch grains.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Ohhhhh .... That kind of D-day .... The recommendation seems to be for around 18% or higher as a Finisher for large breeds or ones like the Rangers unless they are having leg problems. I feed my birds a mix of 20% pellets and scratch grains and usually try to keep the roosters I plan on culling at about that%.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Cool, thanks for the info! I wish my feed and seed sold pellets! But living in rural KS you get what you can, next year I plan to grow my own grains! I can't wait until I have a nice patch of milo, corn and sunflowers for my little flock!

 

[cdstewart]

Cool, thanks for the info! I wish my feed and seed sold pellets! But living in rural KS you get what you can, next year I plan to grow my own grains! I can't wait until I have a nice patch of milo, corn and sunflowers for my little flock!

the bonus' of living in rural ks.. good pasture for ranging.. lots of grasshoppers and crickets and the local co-op has everything we need to make a really good feed.

 

[Kelsie2290]

http://www.uvm.edu/newfarmer/production/livestock/Growing Broilers-Darre.pdf is a good article from the Univ of CT on growing broilers with recipes. Protein is money, so they do have range of feed recipes depending on what you are aiming for. I have really come to like using whole grains / scratch grains with the higher % feed to cut it. I got really lucky and found a mill that makes their own 20% and has 24# pretty close to home.

 

[SunnySkies]

IME, having butchered several roos of those breeds, go with a higher protein. They need all the help they can get to make muscle. I butchered mine at 6 months, when they were driving me crazy, and they were definitely not like a chicken you see at the store. Any younger, and I can't see how it would even have been worth the work. My birds have feed twice a day and free range, all of them, even the meat birds.

Look into turkey grower. I raised my FR on a combination of that and a 20% feed and just butchered the most beautiful birds. They were a bit big but that was from going a bit long on them. The Australorpes will be fine with it.