new pullets have no appetite, how to get them to eat?

[AbbyDog]

Hi there,

Two weeks ago I bought two 15 week old red sex link pullets to add to my flock of 4. They are in a separate coop for now. The farm said that they were eating chick starter just fine. I thought they seemed a bit rangy but became worried when they just don't want to eat. I have chick starter for them but have only seen them pick at it. In the past week, one has gained 2.7 ounces and the other 1.4 ounces- so I guess they are eating a little, but doesn't seem like enough to me as they are so young.
I have tried the following foods with ZERO interest:
layer pellets, scratch/grain, oatmeal, bread, yogurt, scrambled egg, various greens and veggies, fruit. They will peck at melon. I noticed that there was undigested grain/melon seeds in their poops, and so gave them grit, but they didn't seem to want it. At least one of them had shed intestinal lining in every poop. I dosed them for worms with Wazine but not sure it made any difference.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get these skinny girls to eat? My older hens are besides themselves with jealousy. It's so weird to see scratch just laying on the ground, uneaten, in a chicken coop! Thanks.

 

[donrae]

If they're gaining weight, they're eating enough. At this age they should look rangy and lanky. Folks on here who feed for production say to feed a hen at peak laying 4-5 oz of feed a day (I think). That's really not that much when you look at it.

They may have never had treats or non commercial feed before and it may take a while for them to grow to like it. I'll bet once they go in with the big girls they'll get the idea, and wish they hadn't wasted the opportunity!

 

[janinepeters]

They're normally slender at that age, and will fill out over the next few weeks. Sometimes it takes chickens a long time to take to a new food, so maybe that's why they are ignoring all those treats. If they are growing and pooping, they are eating enough. Once they are part of the flock of older hens, they will learn to eat now foods more quickly by watching the older ones, and also because they'll be competing with them for food. You'll see - they will gobble up treats more quickly just because their flock mates are. I've been feeding my 12 week old pullets dried mealworms for 2 weeks, and they mostly ignore them, but experience tells me that once they're totally integrated with my older flock, they'll join in the feeding frenzy.

 

[AbbyDog]

Well, I hope my concern is for naught. I just raised a batch of meat birds, so maybe my comparison scale needs to be recalibrated! I didn't want to put these girls in with the others until they had gained some weight...but as they might start laying within a couple of weeks, I don't want to wait too long. They are so slight that they will just get bowled over...I really don't think that any of my other 10 layers were ever this thin.

 

[Den in Penn]

If they have the room to doge, thin, young, and agile should work for them.