Lazy chickens

[Jasonb61]

Okay so I already had a "flock" of game chickens consisting of a rooster, hen, and four chicks. My dad had about 14 white chickens that were given to him by the school. This was a little much for him so I took in two of the hens and added them to my flock. Well, the two I took seem rather lazy. They are content with laying next to the food and water all day and doing nothing more. The other chickens love to get out and scratch during the day.. How can I encourage the other two to do the same? It can't be healthy for them to lay in one place all day and they are also poop where they lay. I've had to physically carry them outside at times but even then they will find a shady place and just sit. Is this a breed issue? This is my first time raising chickens so any tips or advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Judy]

Can you post a pic? They could be "meat chickens," or Cornish X; this would be normal behavior for them.

 

[Jasonb61]

I will post some pictures when I get home but I believe they are "meat" chickens as they came from the local school which got them from a chicken hatchery here. Was it a bad decision to combine them to my other chickens?

 

[Judy]

It shouldn't harm the other chickens, but Cornish X are usually fed quite differently. The link below will give you an idea how many people handle this -- but this is for butchering, which is usually done around 8-12 weeks. If you plan to keep and raise them, this has been done, though not often, and 2 or 3 years is a ripe old age in most cases, I believe. You almost have to limit their feed, and you have to find ways to get them to exercise. I wish I had a link to a thread here about how someone successfully raised a meat bird through adulthood. They exist, but I don't have a link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/436974/meaties-101/0_20

 

[Jasonb61]

I would be interested in that link if anyone else happens to have it. I would like to let them live our their lives as I do not plan to butcher these two. I've been toying with the idea of removing the feed from the coop so they will be forced to go out and scratch or find food when I let them out for the day. My yard is very large and there are plenty of insects and plants for them. In addition to this, I may give them limited access/quantities of feed at noon and maybe again right before I close the coop for the night. My other chickens would be fine with this as they seem to prefer scratching to eating feed. However, I'm worried about starving them too.

 

[Judy]

You might try making a new thread in Feeding and Watering, or even Meat Birds, to ask specifically how to feed these birds for longer term survival.

I wish you luck.