fattening your chickens?

[Dan11934]

I have a small backyard coop that I keep ten chickens in and I love them, but they they never seem to get as big or as fat as other chickens that I see! I feed them layer pellets and occasionally give them some vegetables as a treat and they always seem quite content. All the chickens are in the "very heavy" weight class but none of them are quite that heavy. Is there another type of feed that I should be giving them?
I don't want to get them nice and plump so I can eat them or anything, I just want to make sure that they are okay.Thanks,Dan

 

[Ravishaw]

I know what you're talking about. My neighbors down the road have a yard full of plump chickens... And I want mine to look the same. Somehow plump chickens look happier than thin chickens, right?

There is something I call fat happy chicken syndrome. There's just something really REALLY intoxicating about seeing a yard full of plump fuzzy butts. They chortle, cackle, compete, cluck, pluck, molt, preen and screech. Add crowing if you have a roo. They're just like a civilization unto themselves, and I think the plumper they are the happier they look.

Just my own o-pinion.