Fat chickens can barely walk

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Two of my hens are extremely fat, about 13 - 14 pounds each. Walking is difficult and having bumblefoot didn’t help. The rooster isnt doing them any favors either. I’m going to isolate them in a nice coop and run area, maybe for the remainder of their lives. We don’t kill our chickens. They are at least 3 years old, but could be as much as 7. If I put them on a diet, how much feed should I give them? I don’t think they are laying anymore. Thanks!

 

[3KillerBs]

 

[Painted Calls]

Waiting for pics and to hear about diet.

 

[Painted Calls]

For a diet, I would cut out all "treats". Give them only the layer feed. If you like, you can occasionally wet a small portion of their feed, and they will devour it as if it were a treat.

 

[Kiki]

You are not helping your birds by giving them too much candy.
You are harming them by doing so.
Your birds will die a painful death by you over feeding them.

 

[DickMidnight]

These two old fat ladies have now been separated into a 4x8 coop with a small run (only 8 x15 plus underneath the coop).

so the fat chickens that need exercise have been stuck in a small place where they can’t exercise?

That sucks. What am I going to tell the adorable things when they swarm me and jump up and down for treats??

nothing. they don’t speak english.

 

[21hens-incharge]

For added fun and entertainment for mine I carry a spade fork and turn some ground for them. They see me with a garden tool and charge over to be first to dig in the "new" dirt looking for bugs or seeds. I flip the dirt and they scratch like mad.

 

[Lizzy733]

That sucks. What am I going to tell the adorable things when they swarm me and jump up and down for treats??

Make them perform a triathlon for a handful of dried salmon or crickets between them.

Keep their treats light and lean and their activity level high.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

so the fat chickens that need exercise have been stuck in a small place where they can’t exercise?

It’s better than being smashed flat on the ground 100 times a day by the rooster that is there to protect all of the girls from hawks. Their run space, though small, is over 75 square feet per bird, about 5 times more than what many give their chickens. They don’t move all day long because they are too fat so at this point it does not matter.

 

[Painted Calls]

Is this for all of them, even the young ones that don’t have any weight problems? I always read about people giving all of the things I do, but I never read it was unhealthy for them. Here I thought I had been doing everything right!

If they all live together, it wouldn't hurt to cut all treats. Start a new routine. Once a day, give them a small ration of their balanced feed wetted down. Use the same dish every time. Soon they will act as they always have with treats when they see you coming with that yummy mash!