Poultry Feed for Meatbirds

FAQs About Feeding Meatbirds

If you’re a poultry owner trying to understand the best diet for your meatbirds, it’s important to read these frequently asked questions about ingredients, diet requirements, and what is guaranteed on your feed tag. In order to choose the best poultry feed for broilers, turkeys, ducks, geese, and pheasants, you have to know what factors support raising poultry for meat.

• What’s the difference between raising “normal” chicks vs. meatbird chicks?

  The basic care of meatbird chicks is similar to other types of chicks. You’ll need to provide a heat source along with free choice fresh water and appropriate feed. Another important part of raising meat birds is allowing for enough space for them to grow.

  With a growth rate that is second to none, these birds will become too big for a brooder that seems the right size in just a week or two. Make sure to plan for expansion of your brooder to allow the space to get bigger along with the chicks. A dry and clean brooder is always essential; this will keep the birds comfortable, discourage the development of flies, and help prevent disease.

   

• Why are probiotics important for meatbirds?

  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 is protein important for meatbirds?

  For faster growing hybrid birds, you’ll want to feed a specific meatbird ration from day one. This will ensure that the birds are getting certain amino acid levels and protein amounts to encourage muscle development and growth. Because meat birds have been developed to put on muscle mass quickly, the ration must be balanced to make sure that nutrients are present for skeletal and internal organ development as well.

• Should my meatbird feed have essential oils?

  Yes! 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.