Not too sure about this 12 on 12 off feeding schedule

[pattgal]

I gave it a try because i was worried they (cornish X) were eating too much. this is the second day in the new feeding schedule and they are eating twice as much this way. they completely gorge themselves in the morning and by noon i have to top up their food. they werent eating this much when they had all they wanted.
is this normal

 

[schmism]

how old?

I didnt move to ration feeding till about week 3.5-4. (we harvested at 7) Then i put a measured amount of feed in the feeder that i knew would run out or come close in 12-16 hrs.

 

[pattgal]

they are only a week old but they were panting alot so I thought they were gonna overfeed themselves

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
What is the temperature in your brooder when you see them panting ?

 

[Dogfish]

The 12 on and off usually starts end of week 2 or 3 from what I read. I never did do that, and noticed that the birds were panting around week 5, but that is when I moved them to the Coop/run, where they experience night and day, so they don't feed when it is dark. No issues with flip, no more panting. Freezer camp for 9 on Sunday.


Just a guess, but maybe it was beause I had mine in a heated room with heat other than the lights, so they got accustomed to night and day, and didn't feed 24/7.

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
What is the temperature in your brooder when you see them panting ?

the reason why i mentioned them panting was because i saw someone else mention that they pant when overfed
ive already checked if it was temperature related and they are fine that way. they are not directly under the light and not hiding from it either. when they do the panting thing they are laying down but not with their mouth open and they still keep their wings close to their bodies. I toyed with the thermometer at first but i ended up taking it out because they aren't playing by the rules. i had it set to 100 and they were clearly too hot. i played with that for a bit and finally left it at 90ish. I haven't really checked the temperature since. I just raise the lamp once a week.

 

[pattgal]

Quote:
So do you think its because we started to early? they are only a week old today

 

[blueskylen]

i have noticed, too, that since i am not using heat lamps and no lights at night, that they are not so ravenous in the mornings , as they were when the lights were on all night. mine are at 6 1/2 weeks now and have been 12 on 12 off for 3 weeks.

On a hot day( above 75 ) they start to pant, so I have put a fan in the coop which seems to help.

 

[Dogfish]

I would keep them on a regular feeding schedule until 2 weeks, and then adjust as needed. The 12 hour on and off would pretty much regulate itself once they are getting exposed to normal day and night, as all of mine pile up into their nests at night and don't venture out for food.

 

[protodon]

Consider the fact that they are also growing and their food intake will increase exponentially whether or not you do the 12 hour feeding schedule. I tried the 12 hour thing but it didn't seem necessary because they acted starved every time I went to feed them. So instead I switched from 20% protein feed to 16% layer and they have that all the time and they seem to regulate their feeding pretty well if you ask me aka they are not constantly eating.