Fat chick??

[raylayvay]

Hiya! I adopted a baby chick from a school project 1 1/2 weeks ago. He's about 2 weeks old now and is eating, drinking, pooping and sleeping! He was a runt with wry neck so he's been in his own since he was taken out of the incubator.
My question Might be an odd one and I don't mean it in any bad way but..is he overweight??
This is him at 2 weeks old:

I was told that the eggs we use for school are meat chickens, and from what I can tell from his white feathers he may be some kind of broiler chicken. I'm worried that because of that he may be over eating, or may be experiencing dangerously rapid growth. He eats a LOT...sometimes hell just lay down by his food and eat, or get up and go lay in the container. I know most chickens don't over eat, but if it is like a hybrid meat chicken it said that he may.

If he is some kind of broiler, what can I do to help him stay healthy as he grows so fast? Do I limit his food? Should I take him out for exercise? I don't want him to have extra health concerns, especially since he is alone and doesn't often get the chance to play or exercise. Let me know what I can do!

 

[cmchickens]

That does look like a Cornish X, in which case, there is not much you can do to keep him small. They are meant to grow to 6-8 pounds in 8 weeks. If you want to try to keep him for longer than that, you should fore sure try to restrict his feed and get him as much exercise as possible. People have managed to keep Cornish X chicks around for a while (longest I have heard of is 18 months), but often they develop health problems. In all honesty, the kindest thing for him would be processing at around 8 weeks.

 

[raylayvay]

Thank you for being honest! I kind of took him on without thinking and now I'm attatched to him. But I understand that he's a chicken and a meat one at that...

What's the best way to excercise him while I have him? I read that a chick should eat maybe 2 tablespoons of feed a day, is that what I should restrict him to?

 

[cmchickens]

It's hard to exercise a chick. You can't exactly put them on a leash. I would take him outside to free range as often as possible. He'll walk around and forage. If you can, get him a non-meat bird friend to play with, that might encourage him to be more active. Maybe add some branches or wood for him to jump up on in the brooder. As far as food, I would feed him as much as he can eat in 10 minutes or so, twice a day. Two tablespoons a day will not be enough for him I think. You want to try and make sure he is getting enough food to sustain his rapid growth, but not enough to put on extra weight.

 

[raylayvay]

Thank you very much for your help! I've been letting him have free access to food twice a day, but have taken out the bowl after 10-20 mins. He definitely seems more active haha I also have been taking him out to free range...at first he flew back to me but I think he's getting the hang of it and will even jump around/flap his wings after a few minutes. thank you again for your advice!