How do you tell if your chickens are fat?

SCOUT123

Songster
5 Years
Apr 25, 2014
219
6
111
San Jose, CA
I have two RIR's (not heritage) and one seems really skinny and the other.. bigger. I can feel both keel bones very well, but the other one's abdomen feels, well, sort of full. I give them a lot of vegetables and a handful of dry oatmeal every day. They're allowed to roam the whole yard, every day. How do you tell if a bird is fat?
 
I have two RIR's (not heritage) and one seems really skinny and the other.. bigger. I can feel both keel bones very well, but the other one's abdomen feels, well, sort of full. I give them a lot of vegetables and a handful of dry oatmeal every day. They're allowed to roam the whole yard, every day. How do you tell if a bird is fat?




-Kathy
 
You usually tell by exactly what you did, feel the keep bone. If the abdomen feels full there could be something wrong with your hen, internal laying come to mind if she's not laying eggs, but is of production age. If she appears healthy than she most likely is fine. Do you feed an actual ration? Having a good quality one, free choice is the best way to make sure they are eating enough.
 
You usually tell by exactly what you did, feel the keep bone. If the abdomen feels full there could be something wrong with your hen, internal laying come to mind if she's not laying eggs, but is of production age. If she appears healthy than she most likely is fine. Do you feed an actual ration? Having a good quality one, free choice is the best way to make sure they are eating enough.
Yes, I feed an actual ration, but I also dote them with vegetables throughout the day
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At 7 months old they aren't fully matured yet, some will continue to fill out until 2 years old. So expect them to feel a bit thin.
 
They sexually mature at around 6 months, but they do grow more and fill out for a while yet. Most creatures sexually mature before they are full grown. The lighter breeds mature faster, the heavier breeds take a while.
 

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