Putting weight back on thin birds?

[BuckeyeFoodie]

So I have had a hellacious time with mites in my Silkies this year, and unfortunately didn't catch the latest infestation until I lost a bird (I have since been obsessively treating with Ivermectin and Elector PSP, and I think I can mix permethrin premise spray in my sleep now).

Most of my birds are ok weight-wise, but I have a few who are thin, and I'm concerned about getting weight back on them.

I currently feed 20% Kalmbach All-Flock, but I'm about to switch back to the 22% Meat Bird with Ohio National coming up. I also feed a custom-mix equine sweet feed as a "scratch" several times a week (we order in bulk and have mice chew bags open, and don't like to waste the grain that gets "lost") that they pretty much just pick the corn and oats, but it does have brewers yeast, salt, and a protein pellet as well. They also get plenty of fresh veggies from the garden, and a lot of leftovers from our fridge.

Anything else I can/should be doing? Or is it just a hurry-up-and-wait situation?

 

[NatJ]

Anything else I can/should be doing? Or is it just a hurry-up-and-wait situation?

Mostly just waiting. Chickens might be able to gain fat quickly, but that's not really what you want. You want healthy muscle and other tissue, and that takes time.

I currently feed 20% Kalmbach All-Flock, but I'm about to switch back to the 22% Meat Bird with Ohio National coming up. I also feed a custom-mix equine sweet feed as a "scratch" several times a week (we order in bulk and have mice chew bags open, and don't like to waste the grain that gets "lost") that they pretty much just pick the corn and oats, but it does have brewers yeast, salt, and a protein pellet as well. They also get plenty of fresh veggies from the garden, and a lot of leftovers from our fridge.

Do make sure the thin ones are getting as much food as they want, and not being chased away from the feeders. This can be a problem with chickens that are weak or not feeling well-- they get chased away from the feed, so they eat less, so they get even weaker, which means they get chased away more. You want to make sure that cycle does not happen.

For the ones you are worried about, you could skip the scratch and the veggies and leftovers. That would probably make them eat a little more of the all-flock or meat bird feed, which are probably better for them in this situation. (I do not think this will make a big difference, but it might make a small difference. I'm not sure it would make enough difference to be worth the effort of changing how you do things.)

If the thin ones do not seem interested in eating, you could make a wet mash with some of the normal chicken food (the All-Flock or Meat Bird feed). Chickens usually like that very well, so they may eat a little bit more. It won't hurt the other birds either.

 

[Tonyroo]

Skip the scratch feed, just focus your efforts in a protein diet to get them to put on weight.

 

[Kiki]

I agree with Tonyroo.
Feeding them the treats isn't helping and could be making things worse.
Feed them the all flock or chick feed ONLY.

No scratch, no kitchen scraps, and no horse food. At all.

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

Do make sure the thin ones are getting as much food as they want, and not being chased away from the feeders. This can be a problem with chickens that are weak or not feeling well-- they get chased away from the feed, so they eat less, so they get even weaker, which means they get chased away more. You want to make sure that cycle does not happen.

They are all in large cages for conditioning right now (hoping the problem children will also be in condition to show), so no competing for food, and everyone has a nice healthy appetite. So, hurry-up-and-wait it is! Thanks everyone!