Concerned About Stunted Growth

[Joshness]

Hello there, brand new to this site and decided to make an account after hours of searching for hours.

I have 4 chicks of 4 different breeds and they were growing so well in their brood. Once 5 weeks hit, we decided to migrate them to their outdoor coop and full yard. They are currently 8 weeks old and it seems like they haven't gotten much larger. I love them a lot and I may be overly concerned.. but I'm wondering if we made some mistake.

They have food available at all hours except when they are in their coop for the night. They go to bed around 8:30 and we let them out around 4:30-5 am. We use Dumor starter feed and keep it filled. Once every 2 days I spread some of their feed around the yard to maybe encourage more food consumption but I am unsure if that's helping.

I often hand feed them and they seem to always run to me when I do this. Even if their food is right next to me. They act as if they are so hungry. I'm not sure if that's normal behavior or if I'm teaching them a bad habit to eat when I hand feed them. I'm kinda lost here. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Oh! And once a day maybe once every 2 days, I feed them a handful of grapes as a treat. I don't know if that's important or not.

In the photo, The black chick is a Jersy Giant, the grey is a Saphire Olive, the brown is a Buckeye, and the small tan one is a Dutch Bantam. As far as I know they are all hens. Do they seem like they are normal healthy sizes and I'm worrying for nothing or did I screw this up?

 

[LaFleche]

Hi @Joshness , and welcome to BYC!

Your pullets look healthy and well developed in your picture, but if you are concerned about their weight gain, you could weigh them once a week.

In case you should find them not gaining enough, you could deworm them.

Once every 2 days I spread some of their feed around the yard to maybe encourage more food consumption but I am unsure if that's helping.

This is something I would strongly advise against, as spreading the pellets on the ground might get them wet, which leads to mould.

Better spread some whole wheat grains and make sure they have acces to grit all the time.

I often hand feed them and they seem to always run to me when I do this. Even if their food is right next to me. They act as if they are so hungry. I'm not sure if that's normal behavior or if I'm teaching them a bad habit to eat when I hand feed them. I'm kinda lost here. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Chickens can be filled up to the brim and still behave as if they were starving for months, so don't let them trick you into serving even more treats every time they act like this.

Instead of grapes, I feed bananas and my girls love it!

 

[Joshness]

Hi @Joshness , and welcome to BYC!

Your pullets look healthy and well developed in your picture, but if you are concerned about their weight gain, you could weigh them once a week.

In case you should find them not gaining enough, you could deworm them.


This is something I would strongly advise against, as spreading the pellets on the ground might get them wet, which leads to mould.

Better spread some whole wheat grains and make sure they have acces to grit all the time.



Chickens can be filled up to the brim and still behave as if they were starving for months, so don't let them trick you into serving even more treats every time they act like this.

Instead of grapes, I feed bananas and my girls love it!

Thank you for the tips and easing my mind. Haha I greatly appreciate you.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Are their crops full when they go to roost?TBH they look just fine, and they have access to feed and water during daylight hours I would not worry, too much...

The dumor feed gets mixed reviews, check the dates and make sure it is not more than a couple of months old at most.
I feed a higher protein %20 pellets from a mill only 20 miles away and it is always fresh.