Increasing meat bird weight

[BirdGirl2004]

Hello, I was recently looking at my meat birds, and (they're going to fair in 2 weeks) I was wondering if there was anyway that I could increase there body fat? They have almost all of there feathers, and they are getting bigger, but they just don't have enough body fat yet. Right now, I'm feeding them 22% broiler starter/grower. Are there any treats/food I could give them to increase weight? Or is there any tips/tricks you guys know? Thanks so much!

 

[BirdGirl2004]

I've also heard that feeding broilers turkey feed is an option... had anybody tried this?

 

[Hawgfan]

Cornish X? How old?

 

[ShannonR]

Maybe back off the protein a little and add some carbs? Sweet cob in addition to the broiler ration?

 

[BirdGirl2004]

Cornish X? How old?

They are 6 weeks

 

[BirdGirl2004]

I weighed them when they were 5 weeks, and they were around 5-5 1/2 pounds

 

[BirdGirl2004]

Cornish X? How old?

Yes, cornish cross

 

[ShannonR]

My college did a study last semester, they separated broilers into different pens and fed them different rations to gauge differences in weight gain. The group that was fed just corn at finish gained the most weight, but the carcasses were pretty fatty.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

My college did a study last semester, they separated broilers into different pens and fed them different rations to gauge differences in weight gain. The group that was fed just corn at finish gained the most weight, but the carcasses were pretty fatty.

Ok, thanks! Has anybody tried feeding there meat birds turkey ration? I've heard people doing this with good results, but was wondering...

 

[ShannonR]

I always just fed flock raiser then added sweet cob towards the end. Turkey ration is up there in protein, good for growth but if you want to put fat on them it won't help much.