Help! Obese chickens!

[Urchickchic]

So...I'm still really confused. My girl that died weighed 5 lbs -- which appears to be an average size for a barred rock. I don't give them many treats, just one handful of meal worms for all of them to get them back in the coop. They don't get corn, scratch, etc.
They are plump, but barred rocks are well defined birds.
So those of you who have been around and not had these issues, please recommend a good commercial feed, preferably organic but not necessary, which they can eat free choice and will be healthy for them.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm not sure that diet is the problem here, but my choice has been Purina Flock Raiser, with oyster shell on the side, and free ranging as often as possible. That's not so much in winter with snow cover! My birds get a very small amount of either scratch or kitchen scraps sometimes.
I have Belgian d 'Uccles, EE bantams, nd standard birds of several breeds. I do necropsy birds who die here, and haven't had a 'fatty liver' death yet.
Some of my birds stay for life, and some are sold as one or two year olds, so I can't speak for every individual. I do keep hens who are broodies for life, and again, no fatty liver.
Your hen may be the only one you ever have! If you have her siblings, who knows about them. Otherwise, maybe never again. If more happen, for sure look at your diet.
Mary

 

[Urchickchic]

Thanks Mary. It's been suggested that I take their food away at night. They pretty much go to roost and don't come out until daylight. If I lose anymore, I will have them necropsied. I just want to do the right thing for them.

 

[Birdsong 82]

That is strange. Sounds like your chickens are pretty normal weight. Was the one that passed bigger? Doesn’t sound like diet is an issue

 

[sirrobyn0]

Ok, I don't think anyone is even close on this. A "fatty liver" has nothing to do with weight, at least not in humans. You can be overwieght and have a fatty liver, but you can be perfectly normal weight and have on too. A "fatty liver" is a loosely used term indicating a problem or inflamtion of the liver. If left untreated it can progress into cirrhosis, the same condition that alcoholics get. And death can occur. I don't really know how you learned this is what you're hen died from but basically I would take from it, she had an unhealthy liver and likely the cause of death. It's unlikely you'd feed anything to cause that, I'd think it would be much more likely to be a defect given the young age of the hen.

 

[2 many chickens]

I'm surprised a few of my hens aren't dead then. I have several lards. One is the fattest and her Name's Adele. Like the once fat singer.
She's fat and healthy and happy. Just fat.

 

[beans2]

fats are necessary but fat types vary greatly. corn contains the wrong type of fats and phytic acid which inhibits absorption of nutrients.
hence the fact that early settlers to the Americas suffered mass starvation even though they got plenty of calories.

I'm also aware that maize is corn.
Here we call oats corn because corn actually means 'the principle grain grown in an area'
I totally agree about balance. i think Allen&Page get the balance right with corn well down the list of ingredients.

The focus should be on better quality fats.
Like i said, corn is mostly omega 6 which birds will find in insects anyway and isn't needed as much as omega 3 - so for simplicity's sake focus on omega 3s and avoid omega 6.

 

[beans2]

Ok, I don't think anyone is even close on this. A "fatty liver" has nothing to do with weight, at least not in humans. You can be overwieght and have a fatty liver, but you can be perfectly normal weight and have on too. A "fatty liver" is a loosely used term indicating a problem or inflamtion of the liver. If left untreated it can progress into cirrhosis, the same condition that alcoholics get. And death can occur. I don't really know how you learned this is what you're hen died from but basically I would take from it, she had an unhealthy liver and likely the cause of death. It's unlikely you'd feed anything to cause that, I'd think it would be much more likely to be a defect given the young age of the hen.

In my experience of goats, sheep, chickens and cows they all get fatty livers when fed too much molasses and corn.

the poor quality fat is difficult for the animals to handle so they store it around organs instead of in specialised fat cells as a healthy animal would.

the simple sugars also unbalance the animals hormonal system which, your right, leads to inflammation.

 

[beans2]

I'm surprised a few of my hens aren't dead then. I have several lards. One is the fattest and her Name's Adele. Like the once fat singer.
She's fat and healthy and happy. Just fat.

often animals that can produce fat storage cells, called Adipocytes, don't suffer the effects of excess calories as fast as those who send the fat to their organs, where it can go undetected and then suddenly kill them.

you see this in humans. genetically slim people are often at a higherrisk of type 2 diabetes because their bodies don't produce Adipocytes so well.

 

[beans2]

here's a good video o the subject in relation to humans.

some of it applies to other species.