Most broiler feeding programs change diets on a predetermined day. Starter becomes grower, grower becomes finisher, and the schedule repeats flock after flock. The system is convenient, but is always biologically accurate?
Birds do not reach the same nutritional point simply because the calendar says Day 10 or Day 24. Placement weight, sex, genetics, health, environmental temperature, feed form, stocking density and market weight all influence feed intake and growth. A fixed-day transition can therefore occur too early in one flock and too late in another.
