Tag: raising meatbirds

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Maximizing Meatbird Potential Through Nutrition

If you raise chickens for meat, you know the importance of diet in getting your birds to harvest weight in as little time as possible. Because meat birds (for example, Cornish cross or broilers) are harvested between 6 and 10 weeks of age, it’s important to rapidly maximize growth. A diet containing 22% protein may support this rapid development. Probiotics are another important key to high yield in a short time frame. Our new formulation adds essential oils that promote growth and flock health and yucca extract that helps reduces coop odors.

Why Probiotics for Meat Birds?

Proven research studies have found that probiotics help create a bigger bird in the same period of time. According to Dr. Gary Davis from North Carolina State University, quality probiotics “enhance nutrient utilization, uptake, and absorption…[and] an immune response in the bird’s gut. This is an excellent management tool to help birds fight off diseases.” Effective probiotics may include the following strains:

  • Lactobacillus acidophilus
  • Lactobacillus casei
  • Enteroccus faecium
  • Bifidobacterium thermophilum
Beneficial bacteria create a bigger bird during the same time period. These Cornish cross siblings of the same sex are 21 days old. They were fed a 22% protein diet with the following additives: left, no additives; middle, antibiotics; right, live, quality, stable probiotics. The probiotic difference is clear. (Image courtesy of Star-Labs.)

Diets containing high-quality, stable probiotics, such as NatureWise® Meatbird Feed, can boost the number of good gut bacteria, crowd out bad gut bacteria, increase nutrient absorption, and create a slightly acidic gut that favors good bacteria.

Why Essential Oils for Meat Birds?

Nutrena’s new, improved NatureWise® Meatbird Feed taps into the amazing powers of essential oils. These essential oils are distilled from leaves, flowers, stems, and roots. We’ve carefully formulated a combination of oregano, thyme, rosemary, star anise to promote digestion, growth, and a healthy immune system. These essential oils enhance the taste and freshness of the feed, resulting in better feed consumption. Chickens eating Nutrena NatureWise® feed showed more growth compared to chickens eating comparable amounts of other national brands. Finally, we’ve added yucca extract to our feeds. This phytogenic compound reduces the amount of ammonia in your birds’ droppings, meaning less odor in your coop.

oregano
Essential oils from thyme and other herbs contribute to better tasting feed and better growth.

See for Yourself!

Ask for new, improved NatureWise® Meatbird Feed with probiotics, essential oils, and yucca. It will support your birds’ health, healthy growth, muscle development, and livability—all without antibiotics. To maximize the potential of NatureWise® Meatbird Feed, follow these feeding instructions:

  • Provide as the sole ration from hatch to finish.
  • Free feed for the first three days, then use a 12-hours-on/12-hours-off feed rotation to prevent overeating.
  • Keep clean, fresh water available at all times.
  • Clean feeders and waterers regularly.

For more information on these probiotics and their benefits, see the post “Chicken Feeds: They’re not all the same.”

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The Power of Probiotics: Maximizing Meat-Bird Potential

If you raise chickens for meat, you know the importance of diet in getting your birds to harvest weight in as little time as possible. Because meat birds (for example, Cornish cross or broilers) are harvested between 6 and 10 weeks of age, it’s important to rapidly maximize growth. A diet containing 22% protein may support this rapid development. Probiotics are another important key to high yield in a short time frame.

History of Poultry Probiotics

Protein and probiotics didn’t always go hand in hand in meat-bird feed. In fact, probiotic technology is relatively new in the world of poultry farming. In the late 1940s, farmers fed antibiotics to meat chickens to further increase their size and prevent disease. These birds grew 2.5 times faster than chickens on a normal diet.

However, 40 years later, Dr. Leighton Linn, a livestock veterinarian from South Dakota, questioned this practice. He believed that correctly formulated probiotics would be superior to antibiotics.

Linn moved to Missouri in 1974 to found Star-Labs with partners Cliff Boyer and Gary Jones. Through careful research, they created a combination of probiotics to colonize a chicken’s entire digestive system and demonstrated through scientific trials that birds fed with the proper combination of probiotics experience significant growth.

Live Is Better

Star-Labs also found that the heat required for the pelleting process killed some of the probiotic micro-organisms. But they knew that meat birds gain the most benefit from feed with live, stable bacteria. With this discovery in mind, Star-Labs developed technology for poultry feeds that delivers live, effective probiotics able to withstand the heat of the pelleting process.

Effective probiotics may include the following strains:

  • Lactobacillus acidophilus
  • Lactobacillus casei
  • Enteroccus faecium
  • Bifidobacterium thermophilum

Why Probiotics for Meat Birds?

Simply put, the superior, research-based results speak for themselves. According to Dr. Gary Davis from North Carolina State University, quality probiotics “enhance nutrient utilization, uptake, and absorption…[and] an immune response in the bird’s gut. This is an excellent management tool to help birds fight off diseases.”

Beneficial bacteria create a bigger bird during the same time period. These Cornish cross siblings of the same sex are 21 days old. They were fed a 22% protein diet with the following additives: left, no additives; middle, antibiotics; right, live, quality, stable probiotics. The probiotic difference is clear. Image courtesy of Star-Labs.

Diets containing high-quality, stable probiotics, such as NatureWise® Meatbird Feed, can boost the number of good gut bacteria, crowd out bad gut bacteria, increase nutrient absorption, and create a slightly acidic gut that favors good bacteria.

See for Yourself!

Ask for NatureWise® Meatbird Feed with probiotics. It will support your birds’ health, feed conversion, and livability—all without antibiotics. To maximize the potential of NatureWise® Meatbird Feed, follow the below feeding instructions:

  • Provide as the sole ration from hatch to finish.
  • Use a 12-hours-on/12-hours-off feed rotation to prevent overeating.
  • Keep clean, fresh water available at all times.
  • Clean feeders and waterers regularly.

For more information on these probiotics and their benefits, see the post “Chicken Feeds: They’re not all the same.” 

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Raising Meat Birds

Interested in raising chickens or other poultry species for meat? It’s a different game than raising laying hens. Listen in as Nutrena poultry expert Twain Lockhart shares valuable advice on getting started in the meatbird world.

 

Helpful tips:

  • Cornish Crosses are the best bird to raise for meat
  • Separate them from other breeds
  • Restrict their diet to feed 12 hours on, 12 hours off
  • Feed a specialized meat bird diet that is higher in protein

 

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Are Pheasants for You?

Are Pheasants for YouSo you’ve mastered poultry care and are ready for the next challenge, are pheasants for you? These beautiful birds will for sure test your skills, but can be just as rewarding to have as part of your flock.

It’s important to note, that pheasants aren’t for the faint of heart. They require delicate care, and can differ drastically in nutrition and personality compared to poultry. Here are a few basics to consider, if you are serious about exploring pheasants:

Breeds

The more popular pheasant breeds reside in the Ringneck family, including: Manchurian Cross Ringneck, Chinese Ringneck and Extra Large Ringneck. You may also be interested in the Chukar, Melanistic Mutant and K Thunder breeds.

Starting Out

The easiest way to start out with pheasants is to purchase them as pheasant chicks. As with poultry, you want to create a brooder house that protects the chicks from weather, drafts and predators. Heat lamps are important to include into your brooder when bringing home pheasant chicks. It’s not recommended to use wood shavings for their bedding, but instead chopped straw, as they have a tendency to eat the shavings. Adequate space for your pheasant chicks should also be factored in, as with chicks.

Nutrition

Pheasants, in general, require a higher protein starter feed such as Nutrena Country Feeds Meatbird 22% Crumble. When ready to move onto a grower feed, options can include Nutrena Country Feeds Gamebird or Nutrena NatureWise Meatbird poultry feed.

When birds reach 16-20 weeks, maintenance feeds like Nutrena NatureWise Layer 16% Crumble Feed or Nutrena NatureWise Feather Fixer would be a sufficient option.

Remember, just like any other bird, adequate water is highly important. Note that pheasants may be more likely to drown in a water dish, so consider a thin-lipped auto waterer or adding some marbles to your waterer to protect the birds.

General Considerations

  • Pheasants have a tendency to spook easier than other birds, so use caution when working around and caring for your pheasants.
  • Pheasants will pick at each other in captivity, so make sure you have given your birds enough space in the pen, as well as at the feeder.
  • Try not to mix species if you have other birds or poultry. Chickens may have a tendency to pick on the pheasants.
  • The personality of a pheasant is often much different than that of poultry, so recognize that your pheasants may not exemplify the docile characteristics you see in the rest of your flock.

Although a challenge, these beautiful creatures can offer much reward to bird enthusiasts. If you follow these tips, do your research, and provide diligent care, you are likely to see success in the field of pheasant raising!

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