how to tell if chicken is overweight?

[Cazook]

hello there. i have 3 pullets and two cockerels around 5 months (plan to get a dozen POL by next month.. ah necessary chicken math) the pullets are a light sussex, a bluebell and a cream legbar. the light sussex matured fastest and seems about 50% bigger than the others - faster developing wattle, size etc. she is also mad for corn. i will give them all a small handful as a treat (throw so they can scratch around, or they eat it from hand) but i think she is getting the most of it. other treats i feed are spinach, kale, peppers (the inside seedy part especially), grapes, cooked egg, sometimes dried mealworms. they get free choice of pellets all day, maybe eating about 2 cups between the five of them. they get the run of a woodland/grassy area (though weather has been terrible lately and they hide in their hut once the wind picks up) eating grass and whatever they can find.

i wonder if it could just be breed differences, but the light sussex is very big and her high pecking speed results in her getting most of the treats even if i try distracting her lol. is there a way to tell if a bird is overweight? i don't want to end up making her unhealthy. though locking her away while i feed the others corn seems unnecessarily cruel

 

[azygous]

They are highly unlikely to be overweight at this young age. They are still growing and filling out until age two, and some even add a bit more size after that.

You will need to watch them after around age two. Carefully limiting the amount of carbs will help. I would decrease the corn even further. Free ranging regularly helps tremendously to help them keep their girlish figures.

A hen will accumulate fat under the tail and below the vent and you can feel it, so plan on doing regular checks.