Is it possible to over feed?

[PinkHairGirl]

We got some chicks at the beginning on September they were a few days old. They are now nice and big and have all their feathers. They live outside in the coop with a run underneath and free range the garden twice a day for about an hour each time with the kids supervising that they don't go into the vegetable patch.

My friend who lives on a farm and has had chickens before, got some on the same day and hers are tiny in comparison and they look like little chicks, they have hardly any new feathers. She says I pamper mine and give them too much food. I just have food that they can have access to when they want it. I don;t give treats often, maybe once a week. The rest is the chicken food and free ranging.

She says that they are broilers and that they can't control their appetite and will eat until they get too heavy for their legs. Is this true? Should I be limiting what they eat? and if so how much should I feed them. They are about 8 weeks old.

I am not sure what breed they are, they are all white with red combs and bright yellow feet.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[justbugged]

If you have broilers aka CornishX, then yes you can over feed. That breed of chicken has been developed to grow very very fast and be butchered at 8 weeks. If you raise them much longer than that they will die from heart failure, and things like broken legs.

There are a few members that have raised their CornishXs for much longer but you will need to restrict their feed. It is not easy to keep this breed alive for long. They are simply made to be eaten.

As for nearly any other kind of chicken, I don't think that it is possible to over feed them. You have done the right thing, for the wrong breed of chicken, unless you meant to butcher them this week.

 

[PinkHairGirl]

oh dear so even if i restrict them it is not really going to help?
how much should i restrict them to?
Will they ever lay eggs?
The kids love them to bits. I guess we just love them for as long as they live then, we cant eat them

 

[justbugged]

I am not sure how to keep them much longer than 10 to 12 weeks. That is about as long as I have ever let my meat birds go. At that point my birds are dying of heart failure. You may want to ask this question under the "Meat Birds" heading. I saw the picture of your birds, and they are a CornishX or at least a mix of the meat bird cross. Your birds don't look like they are extremely overweight at this point. So you still have a chance at keeping them longer.

 

[kari_dawn]

you may want to post some pictures so that members can confirm that they are indeed meat birds, and not dual purpose....or even another variety. There are lots of breeds of white chickens. Not all of them are meat birds.

Wait, did you post pictures somewhere else? sorry!

 

[PinkHairGirl]

Thanks I have asked under the meat section
Poor chickens I hope I have not made them obese