what makes excess fat on my broilers?

Question

i have alot of excess fat on my birds i feed them a broiler crumble from our fleet and farm. is it the by products in the feed OR would restrticting feed at night but still feed them the broiler crumble make a difference. we want them to grow fast but not fat. another option would be to get feed w/out the animal by products. i say either get a non animal by-product feed or restrict feed with the by products in it. any ideas?

Answer 1

I raise ducks, not chickens. But I do HAVE chickens. What farm doesn't? Protein makes them grow, not fat. Fat provides energy for activity.

My thing is, Most poultry feed that you get at the local farm market is for free range type poultry. It assumes that the birds are getting lots of excercise. I'm betting that your birds are restricted.

I'd say go to a feed and seed and have them mix something specific for your birds. Let them know you want a lower fat mix, good protein, probably alfalfa pellets if the birds don't get out to eat greens on their own. If you mix broiler feed with alfalfa pellets (which ups the nutrition and lowers calorie content), throw in some scratch grain, and a little extra protein shreds (No corn!!!)... You'll probably see a lot of improvement. They may already have a mix for it (my feed and seed has a mix for every occasion, but I still have to have my duck feed specially made).

Restricting feed may end up having the OPPOSITE effect of what you want. If they percieve a famine, their systems will start saving up calories. (for fattening ducks, you withdraw feed for twelve hours at a time and add corn to the diet and they kick into migrate mode).

In any case, it's just a matter of balancing out what they are eating when compared to how much activity they get. Increase protein, lower fat, and add greens... that's my advice and I hope it helps.

Answer 2

What TYPE of broiler feed? There is broiler starter, grower & finisher. They have different amounts of protein & fat and are designed to be feed in sucession to meet the needs of vairing ages of broiler. If you feed finisher the entire time you will get small fat birds. I suspect starter fed the entire time will also put on excess weight but they would be better grown.
THe critical part is the gaurenteed anylisis (fat & protein) NOT the presence or absence of byproducts.

Answer 3

Honestly, to get a good answer, talk to a breeder of broilers. They will be able to answer you properly, not guess like 99% of the people here will. Most people on this board have pet birds.