Is it true that......

[Brown Chick]

Is it true that fat chickens don’t lay well? I feed 18% layer feed free choice and a few kitchen scraps not much. Free range a few hours a day. Someone told me to feed 1/2 cup per hen per day and no more and on the ground not in the feeder. What do you guys think about this advice?

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

What do you guys think about this advice?

In a word, that advice is "bad". Unless your chickens are overeating and look fat, they're likely fine.

 

[NatJ]

Why on earth would they suggest the ground? It would be wasted, get wet in the rain, and get trampled in poop.

If the food is going to be limited, then scattering it all over the ground means that all hens have a change to get their share, so the dominant hens cannot gobble it all and leave the others to starve.

If the food is severely limited, there is little worry about the food being wasted, because the chickens will pick up every speck quite quickly.

That kind of feeding program could be appropriate for the hens that produce Cornish Cross chicks. They have the genetics to gain a lot of weight, but they need to be kept slender so they can lay eggs and not die young. It might also work well if someone was trying to raise Cornish Cross past the usual butcher age, because they wanted to breed from them.

For almost every other kind of chicken, in almost all management systems, limiting their food like that is NOT good advice.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Different breeds will need different amounts of food. You wouldn’t feed and bantam the same as a standard. So need more protein some less. It also changes if they free range. You can tell if a hen is overweight by feeling her breastbone. I can’t remember that exact rule for that so I’ll go look it up. It is bad for a chicken to be overweight especially hens it makes them more likely to get eggbound. It would also be impossible to know which hen eats how much unless they were separated. The hens higher in the pecking order would still eat the same amount and the lower ranking girls would go hungry

 

[Malkaris]

Is it true that fat chickens don’t lay well? I feed 18% layer feed free choice and a few kitchen scraps not much. Free range a few hours a day. Someone told me to feed 1/2 cup per hen per day and no more and on the ground not in the feeder. What do you guys think about this advice?

Why on earth would they suggest the ground? It would be wasted, get wet in the rain, and get trampled in poop.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I'll let someone better at determining chicken obesity weigh in....I'm just not that judgmental and refuse to body shame your flock.

 

[iwltfum]

Who ever gave this advice has heard it through a game of telephone!

No reason to not free choice feed with a small flock.

I ration feed with my birds only because I have a big flock (fluctuates between 100 and 150 birds) and I watch feed consumption really closely - I literally hang my feed on a scale every morning. I generally go by 1/4 pound of feed per day per bird and I will adjust it throughout the season based on things like how much forage they are able to get from free ranging, how cold it is during the winter months, how filled out/skinny they look, etc.

I've heard that 1/4 cup = 1/4 pound, but that is NOT accurate in my experience. It depends entirely on the type of feed and the consistency. my feed weighs about 1/3pound per 1cup

so you definitely can't go by volume anyway.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Is it true that fat chickens don’t lay well? I feed 18% layer feed free choice and a few kitchen scraps not much. Free range a few hours a day. Someone told me to feed 1/2 cup per hen per day and no more and on the ground not in the feeder. What do you guys think about this advice?

I have feed and water available 24/7 in my rodent proof coops, when pop door is closed after sunset.

I feed a Non-medicated Starter Grower feed 18% Protein to my hens and pullets, 30 and 10 months old with a separate container of Oyster Shells.

Obesity can happen if you give too many treats, like Scratch Grains.
I limit Scratch to 2 Tbsp daily per chicken during winter season and 1 Tbsp daily during the rest of the year, scattered in their pen. I haven't had a fat hen in 4 years. GC

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I would free feed, they know how much they need better then you.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The only thing I agree with as far as the advice OP was given, is that fat birds can have trouble laying (plus other health issues, just like humans carrying excess weight). However most chickens are very good at regulating their feed consumption, so as long as you aren't offering excessive, unhealthy treats, it's likely your birds are somewhere within a normal weight range.