Question About Restricting Food for Cornish X

[Tre3hugger]

Does natural light cycle do the job of restricting food? It would seem they are getting close to a 12 on 12 off cycle from the sun(closer to 16 on 8 off). They have been in an outdoor brooder since they arrived with 24 hour access to food. Is it ok to leave there food all the time now that they are a week old? Is it only important to remove food if they are on artificial light 24/7? If I should restrict feed, when should i start? I feed Dumor 20% starter/grower. I ordered broiler booster from mcmurray but it hasn't arrived yet. I plan on moving them to pasture in 1-2 weeks. Should I start restricting feed then?(taking it out at night).

I really would appreciate some input. I feel like these birds are fragile and there is conflicting anecdotal reports out there. I want to do this right!

 

[Tre3hugger]

 

[nicalandia]

Does natural light cycle do the job of restricting food? It would seem they are getting close to a 12 on 12 off cycle from the sun(closer to 16 on 8 off). They have been in an outdoor brooder since they arrived with 24 hour access to food. Is it ok to leave there food all the time now that they are a week old? Is it only important to remove food if they are on artificial light 24/7? If I should restrict feed, when should i start? I feed Dumor 20% starter/grower. I ordered broiler booster from mcmurray but it hasn't arrived yet. I plan on moving them to pasture in 1-2 weeks. Should I start restricting feed then?(taking it out at night).

I really would appreciate some input. I feel like these birds are fragile and there is conflicting anecdotal reports out there. I want to do this right!

It will depend on why are you trying to restrict them. For breeding purposes it would not be nearly enough to just restrict the light hours but the actual feed protein would need to be restricted. But if it's to make them grow slower than normal, then I think that is okay then

 

[Tre3hugger]

It will depend on why are you trying to restrict them. For breeding purposes it would not be nearly enough to just restrict the light hours but the actual feed protein would need to be restricted. But if it's to make them grow slower than normal, then I think that is okay then

I want them to grow as fast as possible while still maintaining health. I'm hoping to process them by 8 weeks. Would you continue to offer free choice on a natural life cycle?

P.S. Appreciate your response!

 

[RUNuts]

Do some research on Dumor. Some people have reported issues. I don't use it so have no first hand knowledge.

No, the natural light cycle doesn't work for restricting feed.

Recommendations are to feed them all they can eat in 20 minutes twice a day. Pick up any remaining food. Give them all the water they can drink and forage, if available. For example, determine feed on Saturday morning. Then feed by weight or volume and redo every Saturday.

You can also go by the growth charts, but too many factors to include. The charts will get you close depending on the brand of food you use.

Restricting feed should start on 3rd week as a guideline.

The fun (stress) with animal husbandry is that there is no cook book. You must interact with the animals for best results. Are they huddled all the time? They are too cold. Observe and change based on observations. There are no absolutes, so research and learn. Then choose your path. There are many ways to raise broilers. Most of them work. If you are going for highest efficiency, lots of factors to consider.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Do some research on Dumor. Some people have reported issues. I don't use it so have no first hand knowledge.

No, the natural light cycle doesn't work for restricting feed.

Recommendations are to feed them all they can eat in 20 minutes twice a day. Pick up any remaining food. Give them all the water they can drink and forage, if available. For example, determine feed on Saturday morning. Then feed by weight or volume and redo every Saturday.

You can also go by the growth charts, but too many factors to include. The charts will get you close depending on the brand of food you use.

Restricting feed should start on 3rd week as a guideline.

The fun (stress) with animal husbandry is that there is no cook book. You must interact with the animals for best results. Are they huddled all the time? They are too cold. Observe and change based on observations. There are no absolutes, so research and learn. Then choose your path. There are many ways to raise broilers. Most of them work. If you are going for highest efficiency, lots of factors to consider.

Thank you for the well thought out response. I guess I have a couple more weeks to research and think about it. I only bought 2 bags of the dumor so maybe I will switch to another brand when it runs out.

I totally agree it's a fluid thing working with animals. I just try to gather info from as many sources as possible, my birds foremost, before making any decision. I truly appreciate your input.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Recommendations are to feed them all they can eat in 20 minutes twice a day.

To clarify, this means you should have enough feeder room so they can all eat at the same time. The bullies will be hungry so they will be too busy eating to keep others from getting their share.

That's why you sometimes see the recommendation to have enough feeder space so they can all eat at the same time. It's how commercial operations assure their laying flocks and broiler flocks get the right amount of feed for each individual. I don't worry about that with my dual purpose flock. Feed is always available in scattered feeders so they can all eat however much they want whenever they want to.

 

[Morrigan]

When I've raised CX, I've followed the all you can eat in 20 minutes, twice a day routine. I've had very good luck with that system and have not experienced any CX dropping dead in advance of their butcher date. I've have gotten healthy, large birds that I butcher between 8 and 12 weeks.

@Ridgerunner is correct that means that all birds have to have a chance to eat their fill. You will know when they are done as they will stagger away from the trough when full. If some birds are still frantically eating, it's too soon to pick up the food. A few other thoughts as you are looking into this.

-- I ease them into that routine going from food 24/7 from to the restricted feed over the course of a couple of weeks. I stay flexible, in that how soon they get to the 20minXday routine depends on how fast they are growing and how I think they are moving. Every batch of meat birds is a little bit different.

--I also give them old produce and grass fodder, scattered about their yard, to keep them moving and supplement their limited feeding.

Finally, there are really no hard and fast rules. Depending on weather, time of year, how you raise them,and the strain of CX you end up with, it may be possible to rely on natural lighting. This last winter I added two CX chicks from tractor supply into a larger brood of chicks. For the first time, I did not limit food in any way. Being winter, they only got around 10 hours of daylight. Plus, at 4 weeks they were put in the main coop, and older hens prevented them from camping out in front of the feed dish. They tended to stick with their brood mates and follow (lumber after) them foraging about the yard. Even so, when we butchered them at 9 weeks, they were huge. The rooster was over 8 lbs dressed.

 

[Tre3hugger]

When I've raised CX, I've followed the all you can eat in 20 minutes, twice a day routine. I've had very good luck with that system and have not experienced any CX dropping dead in advance of their butcher date. I've have gotten healthy, large birds that I butcher between 8 and 12 weeks.

@Ridgerunner is correct that means that all birds have to have a chance to eat their fill. You will know when they are done as they will stagger away from the trough when full. If some birds are still frantically eating, it's too soon to pick up the food. A few other thoughts as you are looking into this.

-- I ease them into that routine going from food 24/7 from to the restricted feed over the course of a couple of weeks. I stay flexible, in that how soon they get to the 20minXday routine depends on how fast they are growing and how I think they are moving. Every batch of meat birds is a little bit different.

--I also give them old produce and grass fodder, scattered about their yard, to keep them moving and supplement their limited feeding.

Finally, there are really no hard and fast rules. Depending on weather, time of year, how you raise them,and the strain of CX you end up with, it may be possible to rely on natural lighting. This last winter I added two CX chicks from tractor supply into a larger brood of chicks. For the first time, I did not limit food in any way. Being winter, they only got around 10 hours of daylight. Plus, at 4 weeks they were put in the main coop, and older hens prevented them from camping out in front of the feed dish. They tended to stick with their brood mates and follow (lumber after) them foraging about the yard. Even so, when we butchered them at 9 weeks, they were huge. The rooster was over 8 lbs dressed.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience!