16 week old barred rocks

[BirdGirl2004]

Hey guys...
I have a little problem that I need help with!
In the past, when I have raised chickens before I didn't know how much feed, and what type of feed to feed my chickens, SO, they would always be much smaller than they were supposed to be, and that's not good considering they were 4-h birds. So now, I need to know if my birds are growing as big as they should be. I wondered if anybody had any 16 week old chickens they could post so that I could see if they were about the same size. Thanks so much!!

 

[junebuggena]

As long as they have had proper nutrition from the start, your birds should be nearly fully grown at this point. The average sized Barred Rock pullet is about 6 to 7 pounds.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

As long as they have had proper nutrition from the start, your birds should be nearly fully grown at this point. The average sized Barred Rock pullet is about 6 to 7 pounds.

Yea, they aren't even close. I just checked there food rations, and I needed to be feeding them more. I just set the CORRECT amount of food in baggies for the week. Do you think they will continue to get bigger now that I have the correct food amount, or did that stunt there growth completely?

 

[nminusyplusm]

Why have you been rationing food instead of free feeding? It's crucial that they get enough nutritious food to eat while they're growing quickly. If they don't get what they need when they need it they can be permanently stunted.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

Why have you been rationing food instead of free feeding? It's crucial that they get enough nutritious food to eat while they're growing quickly. If they don't get what they need when they need it they can be permanently stunted.

alright, thank you. I wasn't sure.

 

[junebuggena]

Yea, they aren't even close. I just checked there food rations, and I needed to be feeding them more. I just set the CORRECT amount of food in baggies for the week. Do you think they will continue to get bigger now that I have the correct food amount, or did that stunt there growth completely?

And there's your problem. Growing birds need unlimited access to feed, all day long, from the very start. You need to allow them to determine the correct food amount. Rationing feed should only be done when raising Cornish Cross meat birds. All other breeds/types of chickens need unrestricted access to feed.

 

[junebuggena]

These are some of my Barred Rocks at 10 weeks of age.

And here they are at 14 weeks.

At 16 weeks, combs just starting to develop.

And 5 months old, fully matured and laying.

 

[speckledhen]

Free feeding high protein feed made for their ages helps, but if they are hatchery birds, some of those are rather small-bodied. My first BR hen was very small all her life, about 5 pounds. My heritage line from Marvin Stukel lineage get really humongous compared to my first hatchery hens.

A few years ago, I had occasion to sell a Delaware cockerel chick to someone. I kept the brothers of that one. Later, at 16 weeks or so, my males were huge and gorgeous. The one I sold looked like a sickly 12 week old. I asked what he was feeding that bird. Apparently, the chick had been raised on low protein corn and such, not chick starter and I'm not sure they did free feeding, either. He was puny, but his genetics said he should be big and hefty like his brothers.

 

[Ryn2011]

I have been free feeding my Plymouth Barred Rocks since I purchased them. I use medicated grower feed and will switch to layer feed around 12 weeks (around 18 weeks is what I meant/typo). The directions are on the bag essentially and in my experience they seem to regulate themselves. Unlike the Cornish Crosses I just slaughtered, my BR's don't overindulge much. I also open the coop up to let them free range in the yard for a few hours a day if they so choose. I have a fairly large fenced in back yard and my four ladies are quite spoiled in my opinion. Now that they are attempting to roost on the perch inside the coop I will be adding several out in the run and move their heat source above. The below freezing cold snaps we've been having worry me and I'm trying to SLOWLY acclimate them to the wet windy winters we have here in Southern Indiana.

 

[Ryn2011]

These are some of my Barred Rocks at 10 weeks of age.
View attachment 1218344
And here they are at 14 weeks.
View attachment 1218346
At 16 weeks, combs just starting to develop.
View attachment 1218347
And 5 months old, fully matured and laying.View attachment 1218348

YOUR BIRDS ARE GORGEOUS!!