Putting fat chickens on a diet

[K0k0shka]

I have English Orpingtons, which are prone to obesity. I used to give them treats only about once a week (a handful of scratch for 8 hens), the rest of the time they only eat their crumble (Purina flock raiser). However, they are still overweight (said their vet). I stopped even the once a week treats, but I don't think that's enough. How do I put them on a diet, given that if I restrict the feed, the pushier ones will eat more and the meeker ones will not get enough? I also have some Barnevelders in with them, who are a normal weight but rank lower and will definitely not get enough if I restrict the feed. So... What are my options here? I was thinking maybe I can feed them a bunch of roughage that's high volume and low calorie (leafy greens, vegetable peels from the kitchen, etc.) to displace some of the feed. They'd still have their crumble free choice, but if they fill up on greens, maybe they'll eat less of the feed and their total calorie intake will drop some. What do you think? Any other ideas?

@ColtHandorf how do you keep your beauties from getting too fat for their own good? I love their round fullness, but it's not good for them... My favorite one (pictured here) has another issue which is being complicated by her excessive weight

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Two options come immediately to mind.

1] If you have huge choice in feed, and actually know the mKe of the feed (rarely disclosed) you can go to a low energy, low nutrient feed, forcing them to eat more to meet their needs.
2] (and this is what I did with my Cx, much to my regret), you can go with a high nutrient , moderate energy feed, and restrict their feed times, forcing them to free range forage most of the day.

and if your feed doesn't disclose its mKe (as most don't), try and avoid corn as the first ingredient, here in the US. Look for something that starts with wheat.

 

[ColtHandorf]

@ColtHandorf how do you keep your beauties from getting too fat for their own good? I love their round fullness, but it's not good for them... My favorite one (pictured here) has another issue which is being complicated by her excessive weight

I must be a bad Orpington dad. I don't actually know if mine are overweight, but I think not. Mine have access to pellets 24/7. I toss them a scoop of hen scratch 2-3 times a week, and they finish it off in less than 10 minutes. I do toss them kitchen scraps (mostly fresh produce, although they did get a chicken carcass and some other interesting food items during the holidays).

Most of mine are in fairly large breeding pens which you can see here:

I can't remember the exact dimensions of those pens in the barn, but I think they are nearly 50 feet from front to back and 11-ish feet wide. They also get to "free-range" throughout the day or the afternoon under the watchful eyes of myself or Fergus the LGD, so they get to chase bugs, eat grass, and get into piles of leaves and whatnot to forage for what they see fit. Most of the pens have some form of stuff they can get some exercise on. Tires for dust baths, logs for climbing, and perches they have to fly up to. Most of the pens also require the birds to jump or fly up to their roosts. Very few of them have ladders.

Did your vet specify how overweight they were?

I'll tag @Faraday40 and @homeschoolin momma to see if they have issues with their birds being overweight.

 

[NatJ]

if I restrict the feed, the pushier ones will eat more and the meeker ones will not get enough?

You can avoid that by making sure all chickens can eat at once: long troughs, or lots of bowls, or pellets sprinkled on the ground, or something like that.

I do not know whether you should restrict the food or not. I'm just saying that is one way to let everyone get their share if you do restrict it.

 

[Faraday40]

There's only so much one can do. Orps LOVE their food but I don't feel it's wise to restrict nutrition. Mine have always had pellets available in the run but they prefer to free range. I don't routinely give treats but if available I give leftover fruits, veggie peels, & eggshells. If I'm weeding, they'll get dandelions or find a worm. Scratch and mealworms are for training treats or used in winter boredom busters. Those are generally the culprits for chicken weight gain - so moderation.

The Orpington's round appearance is mostly from the loose feathering, "fluff." Yet, I feel it's easier for an Orpington to grow overweight than other breeds. Pecking order is also a consideration. If I throw down a handful of treats, the top hen will peck others away in order to eat more than her fair share.

 

[aart]

I have English Orpingtons, which are prone to obesity.

How do you determine the level of their obesity?
Keel check and/or weighing?

 

[K0k0shka]

Thank you everybody for weighing in!

If you have huge choice in feed, and actually know the mKe of the feed (rarely disclosed) you can go to a low energy, low nutrient feed, forcing them to eat more to meet their needs.

I was hoping I'd get some recommendations on here, if people know of a low calorie feed for overweight chickens... Feeds for other animals (cats, dogs etc.) have a "light" version for weight control, I was wondering if chicken feed has an equivalent? I can't find anything by googling.

(and this is what I did with my Cx, much to my regret), you can go with a high nutrient , moderate energy feed, and restrict their feed times, forcing them to free range forage most of the day.

I don't free range, so that's off the list of options unfortunately.

Most of the pens have some form of stuff they can get some exercise on. Tires for dust baths, logs for climbing, and perches they have to fly up to. Most of the pens also require the birds to jump or fly up to their roosts. Very few of them have ladders.

I knew I'd be getting lazy birds prone to obesity when I built my setup, so I don't have ramps or ladders anywhere - they need to jump to get places. I know they can't jump high so they have mid-level logs or branches as stepping stones. I built them a jungle gym thing for the run, but they only ever use the bottom one or two levels...

Did your vet specify how overweight they were?

This particular hen from the photo, the vet said weighs 8.5 lbs when she "should" weigh 7. How much do yours weight? Google says the normal weight range for Orpington hens is 6-8 lbs... So I guess she's not that far off from that, but the vet reiterated that "she's fat" I had one die of fatty liver disease before reaching 1 year old, a few years back, but he was an absolute glutton and ate like there was no tomorrow. One died of heart problems last year and the necropsy stated, as a side note, that she was overweight, too, at 8 months old...

The Orpington's round appearance is mostly from the loose feathering, "fluff." Yet, I feel it's easier for an Orpington to grow overweight than other breeds.

There is a lot of fluff for sure... Which makes it easy to hide extra weight. There's no way to tell visually.

How do you determine the level of their obesity?
Keel check and/or weighing?

I struggle with this a lot. I have posted on here before, asking for help determining if my chickens are overweight, but can't seem to get good guidelines. Some people swear by the keel check, but I find that very unreliable, with my birds especially. They all have very prominent keel bones, and yet they are very heavy and, apparently, overweight. Going by pounds alone is imprecise, too, because the healthy weight is a range. So if the healthy range is 6 to 8, is that for the same size bird? Or some are taller/wider/etc.? If I have two of the same size, but one is 6lbs and the other 8, is one of them overweight? The chicken in the photo is 8.5, so I guess that one is a little over regardless, but she has also been living with egg yolk peritonitis for a long time and the vet says she's full of "stuff", which adds to her weight... So then is she really overweight, or just full of fluid and scrambled eggs? Chickens are so hard to place when it comes to weight and health!

 

[ColtHandorf]

How much do yours weight?

I can honestly say I've never really weighed mine. I know I've got some chonkers though.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

English orp hens can easily top at 9-10 pounds, while males can reach 12-13 pounds. 8.5 pounds doesn't sound too bad, but it would also depend on her actual frame size. I had a huge beautiful black hen last year that was easily 10 pounds. Her frame was large, so her weight fit her. Her half sister has a smaller frame and weighs much less.

You could also try fermenting your feed. I have heard that chickens tend to eat less when feeding fermented feed. I cannot speak from experience on that though. But it could be something you can research.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'm unsure if the bird in question is overweight. How many eggs a week is it laying?

If overweight it would lower egg production.

8.5 lbs seems fine. Your vet is ignorant. A full grown pullet weighs 7 lbs.