"Grass fed" Cornish?

[calamtykel]

Raising a batch of 30 cornish for the first time. At a week old, they are doing well on the fermented feed - I noticed since I switched them, they are not desperatel glugging around the waterer all day!
My question is this - I assume they will stay on the grower feed until slaughter time, correct? It is Purina's and says that it is for all poultry up to 10 weeks of age including broilers.

But I was wondering if anyone had any experience in "grass feeding" or playing around with adding more natural stuff to the diets of Cornish? If they won't free range, if you toss a few handfuls of chopped grass or greens into their pens, will they eat it like the regular chickens do? I figure what they're eating, we're eventually eating....

Just wondering, as grass fed meat is supposed to be better nutritionally (which really after all, is why we're doing this since it is definitely not cheaper than buying 79 cents a pound Oven Stuffers).

 

[galanie]

All grass fed is, with poultry, is birds with access to grass. They don't really eat very much of it. But they do get the chance and might even score some bugs, depending on how much space they have.

 

[triplepurpose]

Yes, access to pasture land for foraging does not mean grassfed in the case of omnivores. To call chickens "grassfed" is confusing, because chickens hardly eat any grass. They are mainly looking for insects that live in the grass (or in the leaf litter, or compost pile) and munching the occasional weed or seed now and then. Chickens are omnivorous, so they cannot digest cellulose like a ruminant. But they can digest very well the bugs that eat the grasses, etc. Therefore, a chicken that has eaten wild insects and to a lesser degree other native forages is the nutritional parallel to grassfed beef or lamb, if you are talking about the Omega 3 and 6 fatty acid ratios, fat-soluable vitamins A, D, etc., and all that other good stuff found in nutrient dense (a k a real) food.

 

[Oregon Blues]

They will be glad to eat young tender grass, as well as tender broad leaf plants like dandelions.

It can't be more than a small percentage of their diet, but I believe that a varied diet makes for better tasting meat. My meat birds also get soft fruit, like melon and over-ripe apples, plus all the veggie trimmings from my kitchen.

They will get out and free range if they have enough room and you start them exercising at a young enough age. Even with free ranging, you have to provide a lot of food for them to grow like they should. The benefit of the exercise is that it keeps them healthier.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Just a note here: long strands of tough grass can cause a crop impaction. So tender young grass only, or chop the older grass into short pieces.

 

[trifecta]

If you introduce your Cornish to foraging early, I think they take suprisingly well to it. I have been releasing my herd of Cornish X, Black broilers, and Std Cornish into my corner veggie patch every evening and they forage very well. They are funny to watch because the broilers and clearly not as agile as my std. cornish but darn do they try! They really seem to enjoy being out there.

Have you thought about raising mealworms for them too? Its an easy way to supplement the insect component of their diet if they're not getting much access to grass. I also grew trays of clover for my guys that they can have in their pen, as they don't get more than a few hours a day access to grass- they REALLY love that stuff.

 

[AlbionWood]

We put CX chicks under broody hens and let the hens raise them - they learn foraging at an early age and seem to stay a little more active. Grass clippings aren't really all that good for them unless you have a lot of clover. Next year I'm planting a stand of kale for them.

 

[calamtykel]

Wow! I never knew that about the grass. I figured that since when I let my chickens out of the run in the afternoon for some free range time, the first thing they do out of the gate is start snapping off blades of grass and eating them. So are they really eating the clover then?

I never thought of mealworms -- we sometimes toss a couple in the brooder in from the leopard gecko's stash.

 

[jaj121159]

I also grew trays of clover for my guys that they can have in their pen, as they don't get more than a few hours a day access to grass- they REALLY love that stuff.

Be careful clover can be toxic.

 

[triplepurpose]

Wow! I never knew that about the grass. I figured that since when I let my chickens out of the run in the afternoon for some free range time, the first thing they do out of the gate is start snapping off blades of grass and eating them. So are they really eating the clover then?

I never thought of mealworms -- we sometimes toss a couple in the brooder in from the leopard gecko's stash.

They WILL eat some tender young grass. And it's a good thing. It's just not the bulk of their diet. It supplies roughage, enzymes, and trace nutrients, but essentially no useful energy or protein. An omnivorous animal cannot live off of grass any more than you can...