I have had them for a little over a week and they got sick the day after we brought them home (I will NEVER EVER buy grown chickens again!) They were quite ill and are just within the last 2 days eating again. We feed in a 7lb feeder, the last week you couldn't tell they'd been eating at all, bt the last 2 days, it has been quite noticeable that they're eating 10 times as much as before. In 2 days they ate about 1/4 of the feed in the feeder whereas before, it was still an inch from the top after 5 days! So my question is are there any treats I can give them that are healthy to help fatten them up a bit? They weigh like half what they did a week ago! They feel so thin and frail and very light when I pick them up to give them their meds compared to how heavy and chunky they were a week ago. It also doesn't help that they have diarrhea from the antibiotic (I will start probiotics in their water or feed tomorrow after their last dose of antibiotics) and I also thought I saw a wiggling worm in a fresh poo this morning, so I put some wazine in their water today. Poor chickies! They are terrified of us and had to go through all this in their first week!
You can give them some cracked corn to help them gain weight. Poor chickies! I ALWAYS buy hatching eggs if anything. I have gotten grown chickens just a few times, and did not have problems, but things like this scare me!!! Not worth the risk. Sorry you had to go through this!
Thank you! I think my husband is really angry and put off by how much money I've been spending on the chickens. He's a city boy, and I was hoping to ease him into livestock ownership starting with "easy" chickens! I'm looking at it as a learning experience. I sure have learned A LOT and am far better prepared for when we start over again next year! I have always had friends with chickens my whole life and I don't remember ANYONE ever going through something like this! Oh well, you live and learn! Maybe this will make goats and horses look easy!
I would give them some yogurt and scrambled eggs to help with protein and get the good bacteria back into their digestive tracks. If they seem okay with that then you can start adding other things like boss, fresh veggies and fruit. The most important thing is fresh water and food. If they are eating their food, that is a good sign. Introduce only one treat at a time until you are sure they are okay with it. I give my girls yogurt 3 times a week to maintain good bacteria in their guts. They love it! Use a nonfat probiotic yogurt so they arent getting all kinds of extra sugar.
Dog food. Because it has alot of protien in it. Dont feed them too much, just alittle to get them fat again. make sure its the round ones and soak it in water to make it soft for them before given it to them.
I think cracked corn should just be called crack. I gave them some for the first time yesterday and already they're doing stuff like this looking for more.
