Fat chickens can barely walk

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I asked about the feed because in my experience they don't get too heavy on just layer pellets and I thought maybe you were giving lots or scratch grains or corn.

Yes, I do give too much “candy” (scratch) because they are so cute when they run up to me asking for it. I just can’t disappoint them! I took some pics with a quart sized mason jar next to them as a size reference. I know the pics aren’t great, but it was so cold out. Red has her back feathers messed up because she was being tormented by the rooster since she is too fat to get away.

 

[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.

 

[LaFleche]

You could treat them by giving them some whole carrots for entertainment. Works great as boredom buster and fills their greedy selves nicely without getting them fat.

 

[Lizzy733]

To properly determine if they are fat, you should check their breast muscle and the prominence if the keel bone. You can't go by weight alone as this can vary greatly from bird to bird.

I know with my slw, she's quite a meaty girl, with some fat, but it's still mostly muscle around there and you can easily feel the keel, but it is not prominent. - if comparing, compare by others of a similar breed or lineage. Hybrid layers can be quite wiry with much less developed breast than their heavy breed counterparts and both would be normal for their body type.

Do check her abdomen as well. Weight gain can also be a sign of acites, as others have mentioned and that is a terminal condition, so you want to rule this out if you can.

Getting a hen's weight under control isn't all diet. They need to be active and able to get around to shift that fat. You may need to lead them in this for a while as there's a threshold where they do become less active due to their weight.

 

[NatJ]

If you like, you can occasionally wet a small portion of their feed, and they will devour it as if it were a treat.

This works really well. Chickens usually love wet feed.

If you are limiting their food to make them lose weight, of course you can serve that measured food dry or wet or part each way, so long as it is the same total amount of food each day. (Weigh or measure it dry each day so it's a consistent amount, then add water if you want to.)

 

[3KillerBs]

 

[bruceha2000]

Yes, I do give too much “candy” (scratch) because they are so cute when they run up to me asking for it. I just can’t disappoint them!

Even if it is killing them??

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I have 17 chickens. I got these 2, which were very sick chickens, from a horrible person, and they were my first chickens ever. They have been unhealthy since I got them. Constant poopy butts, bouts of respiratory illness, severe bumble foot, scaly leg mites, and lice. Now this. They have been awful, but I still love them. My other 15 are healthy and vibrant. They do not seem to be at all overweight. They range from 4 months to 2 years.

Some of the “candy” I feed them is organic scratch purchased from a local farmer. Some is when I scramble them up some eggs. Some is when I bring them into the garden for bugs and tomatoes. I cook them things like broccoli and cauliflower if I can’t eat it all. Summer is full of watermelon. They line up at my patio door very early in the morning waiting for their fermented food. They free range over 1.5 fenced acres, which also has apple and pear trees. Everything they get is organic. Their food supply is not limited. Are you saying all of this has to stop for them?
I ADORE my chickens! They are not just my pets, they are my family.

These two old fat ladies have now been separated into a 4x8 coop with a small run (only 8 x15 plus underneath the coop). Isolation is also so the rooster cannot half break their legs while they try to support so much weight. They will only get 1/2 cup fermented food and 1.5 cups of layer feed to share throughout the day. I will monitor to make sure their food isn’t gone too early in the day. Going to check their chests and bellies tomorrow.

Do they still need layer food when they don’t lay eggs anymore? I so much appreciate everyone’s thoughts and advice!

 

[3KillerBs]

Do they still need layer food when they don’t lay eggs anymore?

No, layer has too much calcium for non-laying birds.

Better to give them all-flock feed.