How can i tell if my chicken is fat?

[GrayChickens]

Wondering what the signs are for a over weight chicken. Are there any chicken exercise routines

 

[eikome]

I was just wondering this myself the other day. From what I gather, you feel under their feathers for their breastbone. If it's very prominent with not a lot of meat on either side, they are too thin. If you can barely feel it at all, they're too fat. Healthy is somewhere in between.

If you have a fat hen, stop feeding all extra treats and only give them their regular feed until they are back down to a healthy weight. Let them out to free range if you are able.

 

[PirateGirl]

I grabbed this from another thread...

Poor hen body condition can be caused by a variety of issues. To confirm that your birds are truly under condition, try performing a body condition test.
To perform this test, locate the keel (or breastbone) of your bird. Place your palm over the chest and keel of the bird. The keel sticks out from the bird’s chest and is surrounded on each side by the breast muscles. You can score the body condition of your bird by the way the keel and breast muscles feel.
If your birds score 0 or 1 using the charts below, then there is a body condition issue.

To help birds gain more weight, ensure that they are eating a balanced and complete diet. A 16% complete layer diet, like Purina Layena is ideal for laying hens and should make up at least 90% of the total diet.
If you would like to accelerate weight gain, consider feeding a diet higher in protein, such as Purina Flock Raiser, which contains 18% protein. You can even consider switching them back to a complete non-medicated starter diet, like Purina Start & Grow, which contains 20% protein. In either case, be sure to supplement with oyster shell, as these feeds do not contain high enough levels of calcium to support proper egg production.
If you do not see an improvement in weight gain over the next 30 days, it is wise to consult your local veterinarian to make sure that there aren’t medical issues holding your birds back.




You can find more information on these charts and body condition scoring here: http://bit.ly/1XVhP1V

 

[DiYMama540]

Love the last line on the description of a 3 body score. "This is a fat bird"
I'm pretty sure my love "Miss Piggy" is a 3! But a 10 in my heart

 

[aart]

Are there any chicken exercise routines

Yes.
The keeper 'exercises' the will power to not give out too much junk food(treats).

 

[PirateGirl]

you could make the chickens run back and forth along the fence 10 times before you set down the full feeder

 

[rosemarythyme]

you could make the chickens run back and forth along the fence 10 times before you set down the full feeder

Mine would probably do that for the tub of BSFL... or peas! I used to shuck peas on the other side of the run and toss them in like you'd toss a tennis ball for a dog, and the flock would chase the peas down.