Question about withholding feed

[SandraMort]

When I show up after the feeders are empty, even if they've only been MOSTLY emptied, the 3 week old freedom rangers act as if they're mid-riot. I really worry about their safety if they run out of food! So... how do people safely feed their birds 12 hours on and 12 hours off? I don't want them to kill each other while they're hungry!

 

[hinkjc]

Nope, this is typical behavior of meat birds. We feed ours 3 times a day (morning, lunch and before dusk). They are ravenging maniacs at every feeding, but they get to live and walk until slaughter time. Overfeeding causes sudden death and weak legs. You're doing the right thing.

Jody

 

[the simple life]

I am not sure what you mean. I leave my feeders full at all times and they have access to it at all times, they free range for at least 8 hours a day but I still don't want them to run out of feed. Its very stressful for them not to have food and water when its needed.
If you are trying to only feed for so many hours a day but are running out of food before that, then you are not leaving enough out for them to begin with.
Is there a reason you don't want them to have full access to it? Just trying to keep them foraging more?
I am not sure if this helps because I am not entirely sure what you mean exactly.
But if they are going crazy by the time you feed them, then you probably need to leave more out for them.

 

[coffeemama]

I think there are probably very different answers based on which type of birds you have. As you stated, you have Freedom Rangers, and I'm sure the need to restrict their food is not as great as with cornish x. Maybe some Free Ranger owners will pipe in-Greyfields?

 

[SandraMort]

Some people limit access to food to 12 hours a day for broilers to prevent the growth from being too rapid. I am not currently doing it -- I'm just trying to learn how often to fill the feeders and sometimes miscalculate. I'm certainly NOT getting up in the middle of the night to check, so sometimes they're out by morning.

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[UncleHoot]

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I have feed available 24/7 for both my Rangers and my Cornish X. But definitely, it's not a problem to have feed available 24/7 for the Rangers. They grow more slowly, so overfeeding should not be an issue at all.

 

[SandraMort]

It's less about wondering if I need to withhold feed, since I wasn't plannign to, but more that I can't imagine it being SAFE to do so. They really don't kill each other?

 

[UncleHoot]

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Yeah, that's a more difficult question. Cornish X are generally pretty mellow (or lazy), but my Rangers are quite a bit more energetic, and I have seen the males get into fights that lasted a bit longer than I'm otherwise used to. I don't think they would literally kill each other, but it's quite possible they could get injured when vying for feeder space.

 

[moenmitz]

I went about a week, withholding food at night for my FR to keep them from getting TOO fat, too fast...needless concern it would appear as their growth rate has now significantly slowed down and tehy are back to getting feed at night again. However, while they were without feed, we had no incidents of violence or cannibalism. I dont leave lights on at night in the barn, and they all just curled up and went to sleep. Seems they limit most of their eating in the coop to thirty minutes or so after going in (while the lights are on so I can do chores), and from the time the sun shines through the window- they are always hitting the feeders hard when I come in in the morning. I wouldn't worry too much about them hurting eachother, judging form my experience. You can just get a bigger feeder- like a five gallon homemade one even- then you dont have to worry about them running out at night-I have 90 rangers, and that usually lasts at least two nights.

 

[SandraMort]

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It's definitely too cold for no lights, but the red heat lamp is all they get.

You can just get a bigger feeder- like a five gallon homemade one even- then you dont have to worry about them running out at night-I have 90 rangers, and that usually lasts at least two nights.

Do they eat from it at all during the day?​