Fat Hen

[RickMiller]

We just got 7 new hens in the spring to add to the two existing hens. All are healthy, doing well, and starting to lay. The three Barred Plymouth Rocks we got have developed into what you would call "healthy" girls if you were trying to be polite. One of them though, Florida, is downright fat. She is in with the rest of the flock; they all get the same feed. I am sparing with the scratch, they get a lot of veggies from the garden, get to free range for a couple of hours every evening and on weekends but this one chicken is huge. She has started to not walk around as much and when out of the run with the others she spends more time lying around. She still makes it up on the perch at night but she is definitely a little lethargic.

My question is, is this more common in the Barred Rocks? Could it be another health issue causing the weight gain? All the others seem fine and Florida even seems fine aside from the weight. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

 

[so lucky]

Wondering if you could have accidentally been sold a Cornish X (meat bird). At my local feed store, the chicks were jumping over the containers into the next one. I know there were a lot of unhappy surprises when those chicks matured at someone's home!

 

[speckles]

Could she be a Barred Cochin mix? We got some on accident and they were huge!! No feathered feet because of the mix but wow on the size!!

 

[CCFarms9559]

Maybe she's just big boned like me

 

[RickMiller]

I don't think she's a cross. She developed at a normal pace, just like the rest of them, she just continued to get fat. I am mainly concerned because she is lying down a lot now. If she were a person, she would be riding around on a Rascal. Her weight seems to be interfering with normal behavior. We raise them just for eggs (we are vegetarians) but if not, I think we would just cull and have dinner. I don't want to seperate her from the flock but maybe I should remove her and put her on a restricted diet?