questions about feeding meat birds..

[momofchicks]

there is a local mill that sales a mixture of soybean, meal and ground corn for $13.50 per 100# which sounds good. Can I feed this to my meat birds from day one? Or can I feed them flock raiser from Purina from day one? Do I need to or can I feed them cracked corn/wheat/milo? Please give me your advice. Thanks.

 

[jhm47]

Any of the above will be fine. The 100# for $13.50 sounds good to me, it's about half price of regular commercial feed. I would start the baby chicks on a regular chick starter for about 3 - 4 weeks before going to the commercial feeds. It's also important to make sure that "meat - type" chickens have adequate calcium in their diets to prevent leg problems. I like to feed a bit of milk several times a week, and this helps a lot. Sour milk works just as well as fresh, and gives their digestive systems some beneficial bacteria to help in digesting their food.