Fattening up the chicks

[Buf Chick 1964]

We have twelve Ladies who are about 8 months old. They are laying like crazy but they seem to be getting quite thin! Should I worry? OK, I do worry! I cook them batches of pasta and rice and give them all our veggie scraps. We live in MA and it's cold. We have food in the coop and water in the run. What else could we do for our flock?

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Welcome to BYC!!!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. You need to up their protein level. They will benefit greatly from a layer feed. It is made for chickens that are laying eggs.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Buf Chick 1964, and

! Pleased you joined us! In the winter I up the protein to 18% instead of 16% and also supplement with scratch grains and more treats. Mine look thin as well but it is because they are coming off the molt and all of their feathers haven't been replaced yet. Good luck to you!

 

[Buf Chick 1964]

Hi Rebecca. Other than wondering how to fatten up my Ladies and Littles (they were born about 4 weeks apart so we still call them the Ladies and The Littles) one has an impacted crop. She's heading to an avian vet tomorrow because I can't perform surgery on her! Hope your chicks are doing well.

 

[Buf Chick 1964]

Love the picture of your dog. We have two golden retrievers. How do I up their protein? I feed them an organic pellet good for layers. Their eggs are big and beautiful but they seem bony! Any suggestions?

 

[The Howards]

Welcome! I have read that some people put crumbled up dry cat food in with their pellets. It is high in protein. I have recently done this for one of our gals coming out of her first molt. I also occasionally give them tuna, ham, turkey bacon, and hamburger, what ever we have leftover, they go crazy over it.

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Anything meaty and scrambled eggs and cat food will help their protein intake. Good luck with the impacted crop situation! Surgery is usually a last resort though. have you looked on the forum here for treatments? Just type "impacted crop treatment" into the advanced search bar.

 

[DDNONIN2016]

Hello and welcome from Ohio....so glad you joined us. I have been soaking dry cat food in warm water then add a little scratch grain and boss and my cochins and silkies go wild over it

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

A balanced layer ration will supply your birds with all the nutrition they need. Oversupplementation with other foods will unbalance their diet and lead to dietary deficiencies. In general, 85% of their calorie intake should be a layer feed.