Feeding advice required please!

[BCChicky]

Hello all, I have a flock of 12 days old Cornish Cross broilers. I have never had meat birds before and need some advice on feeding as there are so many differing opinions. The articles section on BYC says that a light should be left on during the night to encourage feeding but I am fearful that these guys will overeat. They are already HUGE and I don't want to cause health issues. I would rather have a lighter chicken than overfed ones. Is there a rule to the amount of feed that each broiler should eat within a 24hr period? Can I work it out based on feed weight? I have been free choice feeding up to now (12 days) but i'm going to put them out to pasture around 3-4 weeks and I want them to be healthy. They are active in the brooder and do forage and I feed them treats, mealworms, boiled eggs and salad greens. Should I be removing the feed at night and should I be weighing it out daily? Help please, I really don't want horridly overfed, lethargic, horrid looking birds!

 

[Pork Pie]

Chicks do actually eat before sunrise - I’ve observed mine eating 2 hours prior. I’d suggest keeping 24 access to feed, and no lights on a nighttime. I’ve only raised a few rounds of broilers, but that’s what I did and was satisfied with the results.

 

[BCChicky]

Chicks do actually eat before sunrise - I’ve observed mine eating 2 hours prior. I’d suggest keeping 24 access to feed, and no lights on a nighttime. I’ve only raised a few rounds of broilers, but that’s what I did and was satisfied with the results.

Thank you, that's exactly what I am currently doing. I filled the feeder around 8.30pm last night and it was empty and tipped over this morning around 7am. All three waterers were also nearing empty.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Hello all, I have a flock of 12 days old Cornish Cross broilers. I have never had meat birds before and need some advice on feeding as there are so many differing opinions. The articles section on BYC says that a light should be left on during the night to encourage feeding but I am fearful that these guys will overeat. They are already HUGE and I don't want to cause health issues. I would rather have a lighter chicken than overfed ones. Is there a rule to the amount of feed that each broiler should eat within a 24hr period? Can I work it out based on feed weight? I have been free choice feeding up to now (12 days) but i'm going to put them out to pasture around 3-4 weeks and I want them to be healthy. They are active in the brooder and do forage and I feed them treats, mealworms, boiled eggs and salad greens. Should I be removing the feed at night and should I be weighing it out daily? Help please, I really don't want horridly overfed, lethargic, horrid looking birds!

Don't leave a light on at night. I just sent 86 Cornish to the processor a few weeks ago. They were 10 weeks old. Weighed out between 6 and 9 pounds after processing. I let them eat as much as they want during the first 3 to 4 weeks. They were on an 18% broiler starter. From weeks 4 to 10 they were on a 17% broiler grower and a strict schedule where they only access to food between 7am-7pm. They were also foraging in a grassy area measuring 50'x50' protected by electric poultry netting. And always have access to lots of water. I also added poultry vitamins once or twice a week during the 10 weeks.

 

[BCChicky]

Don't leave a light on at night. I just sent 86 Cornish to the processor a few weeks ago. They were 10 weeks old. Weighed out between 6 and 9 pounds after processing. I let them eat as much as they want during the first 3 to 4 weeks. They were on an 18% broiler starter. From weeks 4 to 10 they were on a 17% broiler grower and a strict schedule where they only access to food between 7am-7pm. They were also foraging in a grassy area measuring 50'x50' protected by electric poultry netting. And always have access to lots of water. I also added poultry vitamins once or twice a week during the 10 weeks.

Thank you! Ok, i'll not be concerned for the first few weeks then. Thanks

 

[Mosey2003]

It's up to you how you want to do it. I don't see why you can't give them day and night cycles, something like 16 hours light, 8 hours dark. And you can ration their feed, or not. Most people do ration at a certain point to prevent early death.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Any extra artificial lights just stresses them out and they eat more. I let the sun do its job. The chickens are active from just before sunrise, where they go outside and forage around until I put feed in their feeders and at sunset they all go back inside their tarp coop.

 

[cassie]

Hello all, I have a flock of 12 days old Cornish Cross broilers. I have never had meat birds before and need some advice on feeding as there are so many differing opinions. The articles section on BYC says that a light should be left on during the night to encourage feeding but I am fearful that these guys will overeat. They are already HUGE and I don't want to cause health issues. I would rather have a lighter chicken than overfed ones. Is there a rule to the amount of feed that each broiler should eat within a 24hr period? Can I work it out based on feed weight? I have been free choice feeding up to now (12 days) but i'm going to put them out to pasture around 3-4 weeks and I want them to be healthy. They are active in the brooder and do forage and I feed them treats, mealworms, boiled eggs and salad greens. Should I be removing the feed at night and should I be weighing it out daily? Help please, I really don't want horridly overfed, lethargic, horrid looking birds!

I'll tell you how I fed mine and this is roughly what the hatchery told me to do. I took the feed from my broilers away at seven at night and gave it back to them at seven in the morning. During the hours they had feed available they could eat all they wanted. I had the feeders and waterers high enough so they had to stand to eat and drink and the feed and water were on opposite sides of the pen so they had to walk from one to the other. I also put something called Broiler Booster in the water. It is a vitamin supplement formulated for these fast growing chickens and it really seemed to help with leg and other issues the Cornish X are prone to. It is available from Murray McMurray hatchery. One time I called Foster Farms, a large broiler chicken producer near me, and they told me they did not use artificial light on their broilers.