you know....I dont know what to think about the skipping the feed...the statements made here make a little sense to Me especially about the show part but I know that whole corn tends to rise the body temp of cocks so I pick all that out of My mix(pre made) in the warmer months. My boys are ALWAYS pulling on their tie cords in the morning as soon as they here the door close and there faces are right in that bowl in the morning. Some even think I am a hen lol...Anyways is there any proven fact that skipping a feed benefits them in the warmer months?

Whole corn raising the body temp is bunk in my opinion. When you hear about people talking about burning up your fowl, it's not literal heat, it's running too much protein through them, which is hard on them, especially in the summer. I know this will probably ruffle some feathers, but it's what I believe. My birds get whole corn year round as part of my custom mix.

Does anyone have actual controlled observations to backup assertions made? I skip feed my animals, not because it benefits them but because it makes economic sense. The economic benefits must out weigh potential stress on animals or better yet cause no harm.

How do you quantify benefits of short food deprivation?

there is no need to be picking the whole corn from the feed mix...although corn may make a "rise in heat"..like cuda said..it's the protein levels that burn the fowl up..not entirely corn. Corn also has beneficiary components..B vitamins..albeit small. Leave the corn.

Ayeee there are many that feed there fowl different then others. Ive only been into raising My own fowl for a little over a year but have been around fowl on and off all My life. I will never be perfect and hope to always learn. I have a friend who has about 100 birds and I know that he has skipped feedings on purpose as well prior to show but other then that he says he doesnt. He also feeds his fowl around 630 in the evening everyday which I feel is odd but it works for him. If I could see some kind of proven fact benefitting the bird, then I too would skip feed. Everyones entitled to there own ^^

The heat rise mentioned seems to be used here in the same context as "heat increment"
or "heat of digestion". If so, then we are discussing a real phenomonon where heat is produced by breakdown, movement and assimulation of nutrients. Foods higher in carbohydrates (i.e. starches) result in a higher heat increment than protein and especially fat rich foods.

The reason I skip feed once a week is it helps to keep your fowl in good shape. If your feeding alot of cords you have to handle your cocks often and adjust daily feedings per cock after awile you get to know each rooster individualy. Even with 200 cords. If you are raising game fowl to look at it realy dosent matter. If you are raising them for the reason there on this earth then there health and weight is very important. He must be without excess fat. For me skipping a day keeps things from getting out of line as fast. You still will get fat cocks thats why you have to get them in your hands every couple days. Corn is your friend dont go without it. If they dont want it they wont eat it. As far as skipping a day for economical reasons thats plain rediculous. If you want to save money on feed cut down on the amount of animals your feeding. No I dont have a scientific reason or years of hand written data to back this up only forty years with gamefowl and a whole lot more W's than L's. Thats good enough for me. If your just raising for fun none of this matters just keep throwing feed and spend money on medicines. If your raising athletes then you better have you act down tight.

I used to feed grain mix feed and was told by several old timers to skip feed on Sunday... Two reasons for this was to one clean up for feed that might be there but to also clean out the roosters and why Sunday? Because it made sense as you would go to church then family activities afterwards.. Its perfectly fine and even good for the humans to miss or fast for a day.

As to my comments about missing every other day.... For the past 15 yrs I have been a full choice pellet feed so its always full... I do not advocate leaving any food on the ground as it can lead to different problems besides the rats.

In reference to Finch, I withhold feed on weigh day since food in gut and digestive tract (GIT) can make accurate determination of weight difficult. It is the weight when not fed that I adjust feedings by.

Woodland, on days I withhold feed the birds also moved to another location (greener pasture) where they breifly pound down some virgin greens. Therefore, they get at least some nutrition and added greens can help flush GIT.

The reason I started this thread is because I miss a day once a week with my hunting dogs and wanted to know would fowl get the same benifits.
In the case of a dog it takes nearly 24 hours for him to fully digest his food. As a result his digestive system would never get a rest unless a day was missed. Carnivores in the wild don't eat every day.
Humans on the other hand pass food through their system quiet quickly. Hence we're always hungry. I think I read somewhere once that bananas take the longest for us to digest, 11 hours I think (although I could be wrong).
Now I realise that the way a bird breaks down and digests his food is completely different to the way us humans and dogs do it. But I wondered do their digestive system need a rest. Remember fowl are quiet carnivourous in their diet and birds of prey do not eat every day either.
Last Sunday I took Finches advise and skipped a day. On Monday morning when feeding I didn't find birds extra hungry nor had they drank extra water. They just went about their usual buisness.
And with the extra scratching they would have done in their straw I could only see it be of benifit to them.
Have to agree, financial savings shouldn't be a reason for skipping on food. With that frame of mind I think people would be looking for inferior food too.
There's no short cuts IMO with these birds.