Feeding suet as a treat in winter (once in a while)

[cluckmecoop7]

There are great things you can stuff into a suet feeder that entertain and safely feed the chickens. Some folks stuff greens in there, or another vegetable or fruit. And of course, like the suet intended for wild birds, seeds or scratch stuck to something that they can wrestle out of there.

Yeah, lots of other things to give if you don't want suet as a treat.

 

[Happy Chick Home]

How much is too much? I just started feeding tallow because my chickens are so skinny. A few are okay but most just are bony.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

How much is too much? I just started feeding tallow because my chickens are so skinny. A few are okay but most just are bony.

Are you looking to make fatty chickens? Chickens carry fat differently from most mammals.
Too much fat or carbs (scratch grains) will cause them to put on abdominal and visceral fat. That isn't good for health. They will keep a layer of fat under the skin.
They don't have marbling of fat in their musculature. You want good muscular development but that comes from protein, not fat.

All that aside, what I'm sure you are seeing this time of year is molt. Molting chickens look very skinny because they have yet to fully grow that nice heavy winter coat of feathers. A bird fully recovered from molt will look fat and with a beautiful new winter coat.

Another thing that can make them bony is a heavy load of parasites, whether that be lice, mites, worms or other internal parasite. As you put food in them, they are robbed of the benefits by interlopers making a living off of you and your birds.

 

[Penpal]

If the chickens have internal parasites, there are household spices you can give them. For instance, ginger powder, garlic powder. These could be mixed in with the additional fat. I wouldn't give them suet from the store, I would just mix the spice in with some fat from cooking.

 

[Happy Chick Home]

Thank you. I will add the anti-parasitic spices. This is not molt and I'm not judging from looks. Every chicken that I've culled over 15 months has been without appreciable fat. I can feel the skinny ones and occasionally am surprised to pick up a hen with some substance. Some of the variation may be breed. Most are just skinny. They have plenty of feed all day.
They eat more feed if it is wet. I was starting to ferment feed again but got sick so am starting that over. I have 3 hens whose feathers are growing anew! Yay! The rest are already in their new feathers.
Regarding feeding fat: I just rendered some beef fat received from a high quality butcher in town. Some I will use. I am still feeding Feather Fixer with 2.5% fat. Thinking they can use more than 2.5% in the cold weather.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thank you. I will add the anti-parasitic spices. This is not molt and I'm not judging from looks. Every chicken that I've culled over 15 months has been without appreciable fat. I can feel the skinny ones and occasionally am surprised to pick up a hen with some substance. Some of the variation may be breed. Most are just skinny. They have plenty of feed all day.
They eat more feed if it is wet. I was starting to ferment feed again but got sick so am starting that over. I have 3 hens whose feathers are growing anew! Yay! The rest are already in their new feathers.
Regarding feeding fat: I just rendered some beef fat received from a high quality butcher in town. Some I will use. I am still feeding Feather Fixer with 2.5% fat. Thinking they can use more than 2.5% in the cold weather.

That sounds like parasites. What breed/s of chickens do you have?

I might add that if this is your chicken's second or subsequent autumn, they have molted, they may not look like it.
Have they been laying eggs?

 

[Happy Chick Home]

Various breeds but mostly Black Sex-link which are clearly of Marin stock. And a reddish kind that I don't remember now. They look like my older Comets but they are Golden-something. The reddish hens tend to be skinny. These two groups are the same age - about 9 months. The Marin-type are meatier. Then a couple Orps, Comets, Welbar, Legbar, and a white unknown mix. A few others.
The birds over 1 year have molted and look great except for 3 in process. None went naked. There was a slowdown in egg production but it happened at the same time that the younger hens were starting to lay. Young hen production and egg size increase was a long and hectic, confused process (for me) so I wasn't counting and keeping track of everyone.
Correction: the 2.5% fat feed is All Flock, Nutrena brand.

I am back to fermenting feed which they attack. So will put the spices in that.

?: Should I put garlic cloves in the soak? This is pellets or crumbles that I'm fermenting. Chop them up?
Will

 

[Debbie292d]

I am back to fermenting feed which they attack. So will put the spices in that.

?: Should I put garlic cloves in the soak? This is pellets or crumbles that I'm fermenting. Chop them up?
Will

They can overdose on too much garlic, well, too much of anything we all can get sick, so there's that. But, with fermenting, it brings out more vitamins/minerals, of the grains or whatever you ferment, and garlic is one that adds some as well, including probiotics.

I personally don't put anything else in the ferment as it seems when I do they don't like it as much. I was trying garlic, oregano, cinnamon, etc. So now I just put a tiny bit on top of it when serving and they don't seem to notice.

 

[Happy Chick Home]

Ok, thanks! I can put together a spice mix tonight for in the morning and top dress.

 

[Happy Chick Home]

Suet is way too high in fat for domestic chickens. They don't metabolize feed like wild birds..
I'm seeing fatty liver syndrome written all over that diet..

It has been quite a while but I want to thank you for the fatty liver comment. It brought me to my senses - at least about that issue.