How much feed for Cornish X

[The Island]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are raising 80 Cornish X out on the pasture on Vancouver Island. We have been letting them eat unlimited feed since we got them as day old chicks and now they are five weeks old. We knew they were going to eat a lot but this is crazy We have 80 of them and they eat about 20-25 lbs of feed a day. Our question is how many times and how much feed should we give to these birds? We read somewhere that they get stressed if they dont have feed in their feeder and they get leg problems, etc. If anyone can help us that would be great. Thank you so much.
Meg & Ilke

 

[RedMini]

Mine just turned 3 weeks of age & have unlimited feed for 12 hours a day (8-8:30 am to 8-8:30pm).
It's recommended to feed only 12 hrs a day after reaching about 3 weeks old to prevent problems.

 

[LindaB220]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are raising 80 Cornish X out on the pasture on Vancouver Island. We have been letting them eat unlimited feed since we got them as day old chicks and now they are five weeks old. We knew they were going to eat a lot but this is crazy

We have 80 of them and they eat about 20-25 lbs of feed a day. Our question is how many times and how much feed should we give to these birds? We read somewhere that they get stressed if they dont have feed in their feeder and they get leg problems, etc. If anyone can help us that would be great. Thank you so much.
Meg & Ilke

Hi Meg & Ike, Glad to have you. Immediately start feeding 2 x a day all they can eat for about 15 min. That's plenty. Another option is to look into fermented feeds. I do this and save myself a bundle on feed. It's wet like thick oatmeal and none is lost by slinging out. Fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full of water and start adding feed and stirring. Let it sit a while and you may need more water. Stir daily for 4 days and start feeding out. Start another bucket a couple of days later. When you have about 3" left in the bottom, add water and stir and start with the feed again. Cover lightly so air can get in . I just put a lid on. It's ready overnight after the first time. This gives you so much more nutrients and you don't have to fill the waterers nearly so much. You use less feed and save money. You feed in troughs or rain gutters. It's worth looking into.

http://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/

 

[The Island]

Thank you for all of the info! We will totally look into the fermented food idea! In the mean time, do you know approximately how much feed in lbs or kgs we should be feeding 80 per day? Thanks again!

 

[bowhunter862]

 

[kakayona]

80 is a lot! I suggest adding water like other poster said. Fermentation is not a complicated issue. It starts right away and adds protein percent immediately and turns the wasted powder into feed and is digested easier. For instance I feed my X's 1 time a day from arrival till 6 weeks then twice a day till 8 weeks then harvest. I have reduced leg issues(death) dramatically by cutting back on feed for first 6 weeks. Finished product is roughly 9-10 lb average. I use a medicated free 20% feed from local mill.

 

[The Island]

Thank you all for the help. We started feeding 2 times a day. We save a lot of feed this way but when I go out to feed them in the morning they look super hungry like they are actually flying to the feed bag is this normal or it means they don get enough feed? I also really want to try some fermented feed. Can I ferment mash chick starter or it has to be whole grain? Thank you so much again.

 

[The Island]

My chickens are 6 weeks old now and based on this info I should give them 16kg of feed everyday. That sounds just crazy to me

 

[JessicaThistle]

I am raising 29 Cornish X right now and I use this chart as a guide (just a guide). I do not feed 24/7 and I give them about 3 hours of free range time per day. I don't know kg, so I can't help in that area and I am raising a smaller amount. I am using a 2 cup scoop, so I am feeding mine around 23 cups of food per day split into 4 feedings. (My office is in my home, so I have the luxury of this). When figuring cups to pounds it would be about 11.5 pounds of feed day for this week using that chart as a guide. I am re-figuring each week. I feed between 7-8 am and refeed (roughly) every 4 hours with the final feeding at bedtime after free range time. This equals about 6 cups per feeding (my 4 pm feeding is 5 cups because it is right before free range time). You would definitely need to do some math based on your numbers.

Do they always act starved when I feed them? Yes but that's their job. They are bred to eat, drink and poop nonstop to create fast cheap meat.
Are mine happy and love me despite this? Yes! They run to the door to see me, chase me across the yard and would roost on my feet if I let them. I can barely walk through them because they surround me.

If you haven't seen my videos of mine, check them out! Go to the thread: First run of Cornish X and so excited!

So I say, control their feed and let them out to run around. They are so fun to watch waddle-running around and looking for buggy goodies. Who needs TV?!

 

[kakayona]

you can ferment any feed