Question about baby chicks born in coop with mother

[Naser]

Baby chick food will make your laying hens fat and egg production will drop, they will also eat a lot more as they like it, that will cost you good money, layers pellets is not good for chicks. if you can get a plastic container put the chicks feeder inside and make a hole just enough for the chicks to get in, it will be difficult to train them to use it as they listen to their mother who has no access to the feeder but yo can try anyway

 

[junebuggena]

Baby chick food will make your laying hens fat and egg production will drop, they will also eat a lot more as they like it, that will cost you good money, layers pellets is not good for chicks. if you can get a plastic container put the chicks feeder inside and make a hole just enough for the chicks to get in, it will be difficult to train them to use it as they listen to their mother who has no access to the feeder but yo can try anyway

Chick starter does not make hens fat. Extra grains, sunflower seeds and corn make hens fat. The higher protein content of chick starter can actually help boost egg production.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chick starter does not make hens fat. Extra grains, sunflower seeds and corn make hens fat. The higher protein content of chick starter can actually help boost egg production.

Exactly.

 

[Naser]

A few months ago I isolated 4 layer hens and fed them starter crumbs for three weeks, then I slaughtered them, the amount of fat in them was unbelievable, I don't know why but that what happened, I guess they like the taste of it and ate so much

 

[junebuggena]

A few months ago I isolated 4 layer hens and fed them starter crumbs for three weeks, then I slaughtered them, the amount of fat in them was unbelievable, I don't know why but that what happened, I guess they like the taste of it and ate so much

The fat deposits most likely predated the chick starter switch. It also could have been due to confinement and less activity rather than the food. It was not the starter that made them fat.

 

[Naser]

The fat deposits most likely predated the chick starter switch. It also could have been due to confinement and less activity rather than the food. It was not the starter that made them fat.

Could be, I don't know

 

[aart]

The fat deposits most likely predated the chick starter switch. It also could have been due to confinement and less activity rather than the food. It was not the starter that made them fat.

Could be, I don't know

How old were the hens...were they laying?

 

[Naser]

How old were the hens...were they laying?

They were about 3 years old but they were troublemakers or frequent broodies "I was of tired getting them in and out of the broody cage all the time"

 

[aart]

They were about 3 years old but they were troublemakers or frequent broodies "I was of tired getting them in and out of the broody cage all the time"

Older non-laying hens tend to put on the fat.
I slaughtered one 3yo that had a 3/4" thick fat pad on her back and a bunch inside, others from that batch of same age and status, did not.
Every bird has a different metabolism, so blanket statements don't work.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A few months ago I isolated 4 layer hens and fed them starter crumbs for three weeks, then I slaughtered them, the amount of fat in them was unbelievable, I don't know why but that what happened, I guess they like the taste of it and ate so much

Before a hen even starts to lay she builds up extra fat. This fat is mostly what she lives on if she goes broody since she spends so much time on the nest instead of out eating. Different hens and pullets build up different amounts but some can store huge amounts. Most of it is in a fat pad in the pelvic region but it can be spread around. I don't know how many other hens you have butchered but I butcher hens and pullets, roosters and cockerels, a lot. The amount of fat in any of the pullets or hens of laying age is always a lot more than in a cockerel or rooster.

Another thing is how were they fed before you confined them? What was the protein content in that Starter versus what they normally eat. Most chicken Starter has fairly high protein content. I don't know if three weeks was enough to explain that much fat increase but the difference in feed combined with lack of physical activity may have contributed.

I don't know your experiences or all the details of how you've kept them but I don't think this one observation is conclusive.