⠀ Skinny Chickens

[J ALLEN]

I have 7 laying hens; 1- Leghorn, 2-barred rock and 4-buff Orpingtons. All are 1 year old. All are not laying everyday. All feel like skin and bones. Their breast bone sticks out. Can't feel any meat on the breast. Their appetite is good and very alert. I feed them 1 cup of corn everyday along with all the laying pellets they want. Their poop looks normal. Anything I can do to put weight on them.

 

[DrPatrickBiggs]

I have 7 laying hens; 1- Leghorn, 2-barred rock and 4-buff Orpingtons. All are 1 year old. All are not laying everyday. All feel like skin and bones. Their breast bone sticks out. Can't feel any meat on the breast. Their appetite is good and very alert. I feed them 1 cup of corn everyday along with all the laying pellets they want. Their poop looks normal. Anything I can do to put weight on them.

Poor hen body condition can be caused by a variety of issues. To confirm that your birds are truly under condition, try performing a body condition test.
To perform this test, locate the keel (or breastbone) of your bird. Place your palm over the chest and keel of the bird. The keel sticks out from the bird’s chest and is surrounded on each side by the breast muscles. You can score the body condition of your bird by the way the keel and breast muscles feel.
If your birds score 0 or 1 using the charts below, then there is a body condition issue.

To help birds gain more weight, ensure that they are eating a balanced and complete diet. A 16% complete layer diet, like Purina Layena is ideal for laying hens and should make up at least 90% of the total diet.
If you would like to accelerate weight gain, consider feeding a diet higher in protein, such as Purina Flock Raiser, which contains 18% protein. You can even consider switching them back to a complete non-medicated starter diet, like Purina Start & Grow, which contains 20% protein. In either case, be sure to supplement with oyster shell, as these feeds do not contain high enough levels of calcium to support proper egg production.
If you do not see an improvement in weight gain over the next 30 days, it is wise to consult your local veterinarian to make sure that there aren’t medical issues holding your birds back.




You can find more information on these charts and body condition scoring here: http://bit.ly/1XVhP1V

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Well I would recommend a good wormer and u could add a few treats and black sunflower seeds after u worm them to help gain weight and I would also try the meal worms

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Did they put on any weight

 

[illinoischick]

Hi J ALLAN and Roada Red. I joined backyard chickens to read all the threads on skinny chickens. I have wormed mine by following Valbazen recommendations on this site. Mine also act totally normal, laying has been reduced a little. Mine have free access to Layena and scratch, and get several hours of free range time during the day. Any other suggestions would be so helpful. Mine are 2 yrs.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Ok well what all workers have u tryed are they eating till there crop is full do they like the food u are providing them are they drinking anything makes urge they are getting enough protein and vitamins minerals hope this helps

 

[illinoischick]

Someone else suggested vitamins too. They seem to like what they get for food, I think their crops r full (what exactly should I look for ?) Also, we have a mixed flock w 4 ducks (10 chickens) and I am wondering if there is competition? They seem to get along OK.... Thanks for your suggestions. Any particular vitamins u would recommend ?

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Just try vi/mineral supplement u can get it at tractor supply and I would try black sun flower seeds or corn for e protein to maybe help them gain some weight and by leaving them in there run for about a a week doing this from getting so much time to run around so much they should gain a bit of weight I did that once with corn they looked fat I was scared that they might go egg bound or something from being fat so I had cut them back on there feed then and had them work for there food by flinging it around he back yard in small portions so they had to run around the back yard to find it

 

[Siemone]

Hello, I'm also trying to see why my girls are skinny. What is a good wormer? I've tried garlic, and I use diatomaceous earth always in the coop. I will also get some vitamins.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Vitamins arnt going to do anything to get rid of worms if that's what they have valbazen is a good wormer to try