Starter/Grower all the way

[LeadHead]

When raising meat birds such as Cornish X, I know they recommend to switch to a finish feed after a few weeks. Other than the fact that the higher-protein feed is typically more expensive than the finisher, what would be the drawbacks to just finishing them out on starter/grower if I have plenty of it on hand?

 

[GreenMountainEric]

There will be absolutely no drawbacks to skipping a finisher feed. Finisher feeds were more of a marketing gimmick for feed companies. (trying to get customers because their company manufactured a finisher feed, and brand X did not)

A lot of feed companies have stopped doing finisher feeds, because, there is no point to them. They are slightly cheaper than the grower feed, as they are lower in protein.....However, the finisher will net less gain. It is basically a wash on the feed cost/gain ratio.

 

[LeadHead]

Thank you, Eric. We raised our first batch of broilers last year and finished them out on starter but wanted to verify there wasn't a more compelling reason than simply cost for not doing so. My wife commented just yesterday how she likes the fact that they don't have slabs of yellow fat like the store-bought birds. We buy fresh-ground feed in bulk from our local feed mill which saves us a considerable amount of money, so the little extra cost for higher protein isn't a big deal.