Enrichment for disabled chicken?

[HappyClucker7]

I have a 4 year old barred rock hen that is very fat and heavy. She doesn't go onto the roost at night, and she can't go onto any of the roosts I have out in the run. I feel like all she does all day is stand, eat, drink, and dust bathe occasionally. I feel really bad for her, and I want to give her something to entertain her during the day. Either some way to help her get on and off the roosts, or something else to keep her busy.
Does anyone have any ideas for what I can do for her?
Thanks!

 

[Owenp_2]

I have a 4 year old barred rock hen that is very fat and heavy. She doesn't go onto the roost at night, and she can't go onto any of the roosts I have out in the run. I feel like all she does all day is stand, eat, drink, and dust bathe occasionally. I feel really bad for her, and I want to give her something to entertain her during the day. Either some way to help her get on and off the roosts, or something else to keep her busy.
Does anyone have any ideas for what I can do for her?
Thanks!

Do you free range your chickens?

 

[HappyClucker7]

Do you free range your chickens?

No. Unfortunately, I live very close to neighbors that aren't fans of my chickens, and I can't put up a fence. I also have a lot of chicken predators where I live. I let them out of the run at least once a day for some supervised free ranging though.

 

[CHlCKEN]

I have a 4 year old barred rock hen that is very fat and heavy. She doesn't go onto the roost at night, and she can't go onto any of the roosts I have out in the run. I feel like all she does all day is stand, eat, drink, and dust bathe occasionally. I feel really bad for her, and I want to give her something to entertain her during the day. Either some way to help her get on and off the roosts, or something else to keep her busy.
Does anyone have any ideas for what I can do for her?
Thanks!

Is she eating to much or is this from something else? If it’s from food I wouldn’t give her food as enrichment. If it’s unrelated, my girls love a plastic bottle hung from their coop roof! It has holes drilled in it and I fill it with scratch, they peck it and the scratch falls out and they can eat it off the ground, they spend hours doing that! Of course you can’t give it to them often bc scratch is not a replacement for their feed!

 

[Owenp_2]

No. Unfortunately, I live very close to neighbors that aren't fans of my chickens, and I can't put up a fence. I also have a lot of chicken predators where I live. I let them out of the run at least once a day for some supervised free ranging though.

Okay. I would say that if the chicken is overweight put her where she cannot eat all day but with lots of water so she can lose some weight because chickens can lose weight fast. So feed her very little food for three days but let her free range a little more than the others.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Okay. I would say that if the chicken is overweight put her where she cannot eat all day but with lots of water so she can lose some weight because chickens can lose weight fast. So feed her very little food for three days but let her free range a little more than the others.

Yes they do, i would be sad for her if she was overweight, I chicken who can only stand around is not a happy chicken- and only a happy chicken makes me happy. Don’t separate her completely from her sisters, but separate her so she can still see them, like with a run divider. Then don’t leave the feed out all day and only give it to her during meals.

 

[Owenp_2]

Ye

Yes they do, i would be sad for her if she was overweight, I chicken who can only stand around is not a happy chicken- and only a happy chicken makes me happy. Don’t separate her completely from her sisters, but separate her so she can still see them, like with a run divider. Then don’t leave the feed out all day and only give it to her during meals.

Yea.

 

[luvmigirls]

Is she eating to much or is this from something else? If it’s from food I wouldn’t give her food as enrichment. If it’s unrelated, my girls love a plastic bottle hung from their coop roof! It has holes drilled in it and I fill it with scratch, they peck it and the scratch falls out and they can eat it off the ground, they spend hours doing that! Of course you can’t give it to them often bc scratch is not a replacement for their feed!

I love this idea!!

 

[HappyClucker7]

Okay. I would say that if the chicken is overweight put her where she cannot eat all day but with lots of water so she can lose some weight because chickens can lose weight fast. So feed her very little food for three days but let her free range a little more than the others.

Yes they do, i would be sad for her if she was overweight, I chicken who can only stand around is not a happy chicken- and only a happy chicken makes me happy. Don’t separate her completely from her sisters, but separate her so she can still see them, like with a run divider. Then don’t leave the feed out all day and only give it to her during meals.

She's not eating that much. She's a barred rock, so she's bred to be fat. I can't really change that. Believe me, I've tried. I can't get her skinnier. It just doesn't work.

 

[luvmigirls]

Okay. I would say that if the chicken is overweight put her where she cannot eat all day but with lots of water so she can lose some weight because chickens can lose weight fast. So feed her very little food for three days but let her free range a little more than the others.

https://timbercreekfarmer.com/how-much-food-chicken-need/

Yeah, perhaps she is getting to much enriched meals instead of foraging.