Feeding Meat Birds
When it comes to feeding meat birds, you have a few options!
Last week, I shared that we choose to feed our meat birds chick starter feed all the way through.
Something else that we like to do with our feed is ferment it. This is just a fancy way of saying that we put out feed in a 5 gallon bucket, cover it with water, and let it sit and ferment for a set amount of time. Super simple, but this easy step allows our chickens to obtain more of the nutrients and feel fuller on less food. It’s a money saver and helps boost good bacteria in their guts.
We typically ferment for 12 hours - mostly out of ease between feedings… but, I’ve had friends ferment their chicken feed for 24-72 hours and they like their results as well!
Two other things you can consider adding to your feed while fermenting (or without fermenting) is organic gut solution (OGS) and organic kelp powder.
OGS allows the bird to absorb more nutrition out of the food while supporting their immune system and function.
Kelp Powder acts as a prebiotic and compliments the OGS properties well for the chicken's gut function.
We, also, give our chickens raw cows milk, in addition to scraps from the kitchen. What you put into their bodies is what you will get out of their bodies when they go from the farm to the table!
If you choose to feed your chickens differently, that’s completely okay! There are other options for feeding meat birds!
Some opt to start with chick feed and then around week three switch to broiler feed. Broiler feed has a higher protein index and supports the birds with getting bigger faster.
I’ve also had friends who start out with chick feed and then feed layer feed at the 3 week mark to their meat birds.
All three ways produce a good, healthy bird. Do I think there's a huge difference between the three methods? Not enough of a difference to make me change my ways 😉 our birds are anywhere from 4-7 lbs depending on when we butcher (the 8 or the 9 week mark!).
Sometimes we let them grow another week if they aren’t looking big enough - there will be some chickens that are lower in the pecking order and don’t get to the feed as quickly as the bigger, more dominant in their flock. Those birds often need an additional week before processing so that they can bulk up a bit more.
Another important thing to note with feeding meat birds is that we don’t leave food down from them after a certain age.
From week 1-3, we treat them how we would laying hens, but at the week 3 mark, they get moved outside to a chicken tractor and they drop down to twice a day feedings (this is typically where we start fermenting the feed). As mentioned in the previous post, meat birds will often have a tendency to over eat and it’s important that we don’t provide too much feed and allow them to eat themselves into a heart attack!
As far as their water goes, it’s a great idea to drop some apple cider vinegar and oregano into it to help boost their immune systems as well. We typically do this when they are chicks to give them a little boost and then here or there when they get older.