How Much Does a Mature Leghorn Hen Weigh?

[jlwquilter]

I’ve got 4 leghorn hens that have been laying for months. I got them from a distressed situation. They were skinny and missing ALOT of feathers. What feathers they had, especially the tails, were ragged and fewer than what I think is normal. At least 2 feather pick the others some of the time. They didn’t have access to any green. They were kept on a rock run.

They’ve come a long way in the 3 months I’ve had them. The feathers have come in quite a lot. They’ve filled out a bit. They still seem super skinny to me. I know they’re not a hefty breed but still seem way thinner than the pics I see posted here.

So that got me to wondering. What does a normal healthy mature leghorn hen weight on average?

 

[DobieLover]

I’ve got 4 leghorn hens that have been laying for months. I got them from a distressed situation. They were skinny and missing ALOT of feathers. What feathers they had, especially the tails, were ragged and fewer than what I think is normal. At least 2 feather pick the others some of the time. They didn’t have access to any green. They were kept on a rock run.

They’ve come a long way in the 3 months I’ve had them. The feathers have come in quite a lot. They’ve filled out a bit. They still seem super skinny to me. I know they’re not a hefty breed but still seem way thinner than the pics I see posted here.

So that got me to wondering. What does a normal healthy mature leghorn hen weight on average?

They are lighter, more streamlined birds. I have two adult WLHs that came to me in similarly poor condition.
One went from 2.95 to 4.14 pounds and the other was in better condition and went from 4.16 to 4.38 pounds.
So I'd say a little over 4 pounds is a good weight.

 

[jlwquilter]

Thanks. Mine are about a pound under then.

I was thinking about this last week while away. I think I’m going to slowly increase their fermented feed, which I recently started making mixing flock raiser crumbles and layena pellets. They do have access 24/7 to dry food (was flock raiser crumbles but is now layer pellets- made the switch when I separated them into their own coop/run). They eat the FF like they are starved. If I give them more in the early afternoon they polish that off right away too. In contrast The other hens will eat the FF, walk away, come back later and peck at it, etc until it’s gone in a few hours. There’s a clear difference in how each approaches the availability of FF.

And everyone gets an evening FF feed Which goes the same way. The leghorns gobble it down and the others eat some, go do something else and then come back.

I’m Not looking for fat hens, just healthy weight hens. I’m more convinced that their lower weight coupled with their eating habits right now signals they still need more food to catch up to where they should be.

I’d appreciate input and thought on this.

 

[DobieLover]

I feed fermented too. A mix of Flock Raiser and a whole grain home brew that I make that includes fish meal and Fertrell Poutry Nutri-balancer. I target 19% protein. I feed both dried, crushed eggshell and oyster shell in separate contains next to the feed troughs. I don't feed layer as I have non-laying pullets, hens coming into molt, chicks, a rooster and a cockerel.

I feed as much fermented as possible. I would let the leghorns eat as much as they want. They won't get fat.

Have you started to integrate these rescues into your existing flock?

I'm not surprised at your original flock picking at the FF. Mine do too now. They were raised on it from day olds. It's not special anymore!

 

[jlwquilter]

I wasn’t entirely clear on the FF. All of them including the leghorns have been getting FF for several months. It’s the mix making up the FF that I recently tweaked. But the leghorns clearly aren’t as tired of it as the others. I’ll give them more feedings tomorrow and see how that goes.

They were integrated for a few months but they have too many bad habits and it was causing issues with the other hens. Feather picking and aggressive territorial behaviours toward the nest boxes making a right mess of everyone laying. So I recently had had enough of the chaos and separated them into their own coop and run within the bigger run the other hens use.

One of the leghorns was acting very off 2 days ago but snapped back after I gave her some vitamins. But she’s also the most underweight and the one most picked on by the other leghorns. I had her with the other leghorns but as she’s not laying (??!) she’s not being aggressive on the nest boxes so I moved her back into the regular flock to give her a break and hope some of her feathers grow back. But tonight she chose to roost in the leghorn coop with the very hen that feather picks her the most! Crazy chicken! Maybe she has Stockholm syndrome!

It’s a mixed up roost night anyway due to the broody hen. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow before all hell breaks loose.