How to fatten up my hens

[beeconeofhope]

i bought three americans at a year old who's beak are also pre-cut ..poor things "don't really get the point in it either" , they were also very skinny i wormed em and waited and waited and waited and finally 7 months later they are starting to fill out i feed them all flock raiser from purena it is highest in fat and the only feed that has a good size list of vitamins and minerals in it they are doing great now , Hope this helps

 

[beeconeofhope]

Oh and they lay about every other day but it took them two weeks from the time i got em till they layed their first eggs

 

[Sylviaanne]

corn will put weight on them quicker then anything pretty much... check them often, when they get in good shape cut the corn out, otherwise they will get FAT... And that wouldn't be very good for this time of year when it's going to get hot.. i would use Crack corn, I've watched roosters/hens in large fowl choke to death on whole corn.. some of my favorite ones to be exact, seems to be the ones that always die.

-Daniel

ETA: when was the last time they were wormed? it wouldn't hurt to worm them and possibly put some vitamins in their feed or water.

I know this is old but I want to fatten up my chickens and so looked up how to go about it. Has anyone run across chickens that don't seem crazy over cracked corn? I buy scratch grain for treats and the corn is the last thing my chickens eat.

Up above, at the 2nd post, someone mentioned corn meal, is that the same stuff I have in my kitchen? It's kind of old and I could feed it to them if it's ok. Thanks.

 

[Sylviaanne]

As for worms: someone suggested, on another thread that the eggs be fed back to the chickens. If you are treating your chickens for worms, and feed the eggs back to the chickens, wouldn't you have to wait longer to eat the eggs?

If the eggs are not fit for human consumption because they still have medication in them, wouldn't the medication go back into the chickens by feeding the eggs back to them? Making the medication last longer in their systems?

Sorry if my question explanation seems pedantic but I wanted to make sure I was understood. Thanks.

 

[gruffy]

This is an old thread but I thought I'd add my 2 cents I found ways to add weight to chickens... mostly by accident since we consider them pets and don't want to eat them. Anyway they are FAT! I do enjoy having big birds as they look really healthy with vibrant plush feat hers we think they are beautiful. Even our ancona is a bit pudgy she didn't turn into a meat bird she's still slim looking. We're constantly giving them treats. Sun flower seeds can really add on weight as well as peanuts dog food and peanut butter or buttered bread. I also go out at night for roach hunts with a flashlight. They spend all day free ranging so they are very muscley. I do have to say it's worth it since they make the best tasting eggs I've ever had

 

[justin7]

I feel like our red sex links, and Easter egger's are a little under weight. We just started getting eggs from the Red Sex Links 2 weeks ago. We have 9 Red Sex Links, 1 Barred Rock Rooster, 3 Silkie's, and 2 Easter Egger's. The only male we have is the Barred Rock. The silkie's are bigger then both the Red Sex Links, and the Easter egger's. When should we start getting eggs from the silkie's and EE's? We feed them all Layer Mash at the local farm feed store. They always have mash in there feeder. I fill it every morning, mid day, and night. They do free range and chow down worms, toads, frogs, crickets.... And everything else that moves. Oh also, they are roughly 6 months old. Is it because they are still real young? I feed like when they were chicks they great way quicker then they are now.
Any advice will be much appreciated. Thank you!

Oh also! How long will these eggs be small for?! Lol