Are my hens thin?

[ochochicas]

A month ago I picked up two hens. They are my first chickens so I don't know how much they should weigh. The hens are 2 years old. They were living in a very small yard in the city before I got them When I pick them up, I can feel a prominent breast bone on both hens. Is this normal? I thought they felt underweight, but they have been eating well and laying eggs. They get a bowl of "treats" in the morning, free range all day, and have a bowl of layer pellets available at all times. They also eat grain left over from the horse feed pans.

The bigger hen is an australorp. She lays 5-6 eggs a week that are about 55 - 60 gram. I weighed her today and she is just under 5 pounds. The info I read says she should weigh 6.5 - 7 pounds.

The smaller hen is a red sex-link. She lays 5 - 6 jumbo eggs a week that are between 70 and 80 grams. Today she weighed 4.5 pounds.

I'm concerned that the hens are too thin. What do you all think? Should I be feeding something different? They both look great and don't act sick. They fly all over the barn and also run after you in the yard. Thanks for the advice!

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

Personally I think they are fine. Hatcheries post those weights because that's what the SOP states the bird should weigh. And what better way to sell chicks than to be able to say "When they stop laying a lot, you can eat them, they'll be X lbs." The DP birds have been breed down to be more of an egg laying standard. Smaller birds means less feed per egg ratio. If the birds are happy and appear healthy I would not worry if they were my birds. It sounds like they have a lot of options for food. For being a simple bird a chicken can tell what it needs and doesn't need for nutrients some how. Cage/factory egg layers are kind of force fed layer rations. Its the only option they have. But free range back yard birds can and do fend for themselves and do a great job staying healthy and laying eggs, well beyond the factory layer "productive" age.
If they were Heritage bred birds they might be considered small but they are most likely hatchery chicks. Bred these days for eggs not meat or DP really.

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks 5 acre! I wasn't sure if I should be concerned with the lack of flesh on them. Honestly, if someone did process them it seems like they would be disappointed with the lack of meat. For as big as they are I thought they'd weigh more. They both seem perfectly healthy and active. I'll keep an eye on them and maybe weigh them again next month.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

Remember a lot of bird size in most breeds are feathers these days. That's how hatcheries sell CX over and over. The DP lack most of the meat purpose they once were bred for. Although they make great stew birds, they have little else when hatchery stock. Even roosters are on the thin meat side. At maturity. And a working hen puts her energy into egg production, not building a meat mass.

 

[donrae]

Personally I think they are fine. Hatcheries post those weights because that's what the SOP states the bird should weigh. And what better way to sell chicks than to be able to say "When they stop laying a lot, you can eat them, they'll be X lbs." The DP birds have been breed down to be more of an egg laying standard. Smaller birds means less feed per egg ratio. If the birds are happy and appear healthy I would not worry if they were my birds. It sounds like they have a lot of options for food. For being a simple bird a chicken can tell what it needs and doesn't need for nutrients some how. Cage/factory egg layers are kind of force fed layer rations. Its the only option they have. But free range back yard birds can and do fend for themselves and do a great job staying healthy and laying eggs, well beyond the factory layer "productive" age.
If they were Heritage bred birds they might be considered small but they are most likely hatchery chicks. Bred these days for eggs not meat or DP really.

This exactly!

All my layers have a fairly prominent keel bone. They're healthy, active, and very productive, so I'm thinking we're good to go.

Even hatchery roosters have a pretty prominent breast bone. Here's a link to some carcass pics I took of my dual purpose roosters, you can see how narrow they are. And these were handsome, decent sized roosters, too!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/877558/dual-purpose-carcass-pics

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

Yeah maybe its just more pronounced w/o the massive breast CX have. Just not what you normally see in a carcass, picture perfect grocery story birds. But they still have a good breast, even complete free range birds. From keel tip to rib was probably 2 inch deep on the rooster I processed other day, BA x BPR (BSL). My theory is simple, if the hens look happy healthy and are laying, mostly that, they are healthy. Backyard birds don't generally get sick and continue laying at least my birds don't. Cage birds might because that's al they are kept alive for. IDK I have had some retired layer birds and if they seemed off they wouldn't lay. The Egg machine chickens are bred to lay no matter what.