What Feed?

[baby-blue]

Hello! My keets are about 10 weeks old. They’ve been eating a 22% meatbird feed (not ideal, I know) that’s been fermented as well as a BP (beet pulp) and AC (alfalfa cube) fermented mash 2x a day. They get roughly a quart every time. I finally ran out of the meatbird crumble and I’m wondering what I should put them on - a gamebird starter or a gamebird grower? How long could they be on this food? If possible, I would like for them to be on it even as adults. They also get out to free range for 2-5 hours each day. Their feed will be fermented as I cannot ignore the benefits of fermenting it. Thank you!

Bonus question: could a mixed group of mostly bantam chicks eat the game bird starter/grower, too? They range from 9 days to 47 days (they don’t live together - separate brooders). It would not be their primary of food.

 

[R2elk]

Hello! My keets are about 10 weeks old. They’ve been eating a 22% meatbird feed (not ideal, I know) that’s been fermented as well as a BP (beet pulp) and AC (alfalfa cube) fermented mash 2x a day. They get roughly a quart every time. I finally ran out of the meatbird crumble and I’m wondering what I should put them on - a gamebird starter or a gamebird grower? How long could they be on this food? If possible, I would like for them to be on it even as adults. They also get out to free range for 2-5 hours each day. Their feed will be fermented as I cannot ignore the benefits of fermenting it. Thank you!

Bonus question: could a mixed group of mostly bantam chicks eat the game bird starter/grower, too? They range from 9 days to 47 days (they don’t live together - separate brooders). It would not be their primary of food.

As far along as your keets are, you could switch them to a good 20% protein all flock feed. It will have the higher levels of lysine, methionine and niacin that they need. It would have been preferable to have them on a good high protein turkey or gamebird starter for the first 6 weeks. If you can't find a good turkey or gamebird starter, a quality all flock is preferable to a meat bird crumble because the meat bird does not have as high of levels of lysine, methionine and niacin as does the all flock feed.

The all flock feed will be a good feed for the adult guineas.

I have fed turkey starter to chicks and never had any problems. I personally thought they did better on the turkey feed than they did on chick starter.

 

[baby-blue]

As far along as your keets are, you could switch them to a good 20% protein all flock feed. It will have the higher levels of lysine, methionine and niacin that they need. It would have been preferable to have them on a good high protein turkey or gamebird starter for the first 6 weeks. If you can't find a good turkey or gamebird starter, a quality all flock is preferable to a meat bird crumble because the meat bird does not have as high of levels of lysine, methionine and niacin as does the all flock feed.

The all flock feed will be a good feed for the adult guineas.

I have fed turkey starter to chicks and never had any problems. I personally thought they did better on the turkey feed than they did on chick starter.

Thank you! I had checked with all of the feed stores and none of them had gamebird starter and the highest protein was the meatbird. Not ideal at all and I kicked myself for getting it. I called TSC two days later and they had suddenly found a whole pallet of gamebird starter in the back. Go figure!
Would it harm them to go onto the gamebird starter at their age, or is it simply not ideal?

 

[R2elk]

Thank you! I had checked with all of the feed stores and none of them had gamebird starter and the highest protein was the meatbird. Not ideal at all and I kicked myself for getting it. I called TSC two days later and they had suddenly found a whole pallet of gamebird starter in the back. Go figure!
Would it harm them to go onto the gamebird starter at their age, or is it simply not ideal?

No, the gamebird starter will not harm them but at 10 weeks old the recommendation is to go to a turkey or gamebird grower.

The starter is recommended for the first 6 to 8 weeks followed by 6 weeks of grower after which they can be switched to an adult feed.

Yours are only 2 to 4 weeks from being ready for a good all flock feed.