HELP MY CHICKENS ARE GETTING SKINNY

KellyReed said:

I could use some advice. I have 5 Silkies, one rooster and 4 hens. (He is a very sweet, non aggressive rooster). My birds have access to quality layer pellet 24/7, they get a hand full of scratch in the morning when they come out to free range (they can go back in if they want) and when they go up at night they get some fresh fruit/vegetables. My concern is that they seem thin. I treated them 30 days ago for mites and scrubbed and treated everything just to be safe but they look thin to me. They don’t act sick, feathers look good, they eat and lay. What am I not doing? How can I fatten them up? Is it cause it’s winter (their coop is heated)? Their poop is solid, no visible worms....any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Lollipop said:

henhouse, to check for lice and mites, pick one or two off the roost at night and check around the vent and under the tail with a flashlight. If you didn`t do it this way you probably missed something.

I agree that having a vet check the droppings is a good thing. That way you can identify what you`re up against. If it`s just round worms, an old trick is to add cayene pepper to their feed. chickens don`t have heat recceptors like other beings and will eat it right up. Ceyene in the front, worms scrambling out the back. Cheap and you can still eat the eggs. Repeat in 10 days to get the newly hatched worms. Other types of worms require different methods.

One more thing. When it`s cracked, corn loses it`s nutricional value at an alarming rate. In three days it`s as good for them as dirt.

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