Rhode island reds not growing

[505RIR]

Maybe you purchased bantams.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Have they had 24/7 access to grain? Is anything scaring them from the grain (mice, older hens, etc.)? Does their grain have all the nutrients they need? What does their faces look like? Can you make out the shape of their skulls easily? Can you post a picture on here of them? (Click the image of the little mountains in the bar above your reply. It should pull up something that says Drop Image. Click that then click on the picture you want. If not laptop, you might have to click the word Done in the top right corner.)

 

[swamphiker]

I bought a few rhode islands a while back and they haven't been growing as much as I would have expected them to... I thought it may just be because rhode islands are slow growing chickens but then today I went and purchased a few rooster because I needed some for my other hens and one of the roosters was a rhode island red. The one I bought today are only 5 months old but the chicks I bought a while back are older but still alot smaller. Does anyone know what the reason for this could be? Maybe a hatching issue from the supplier? Or the wrong feed when they were younger?

Pics would be helpful! Also, if you are able, knowing their weights and ages will help tell us if they are truly undersized or not. Have you had the RIRs since they were chicks? What and how much are you feeding your chickens?

 

[Poultrypassion29]

I would need to know what was used to make up the starter feed. A guarantreed nutritional analysis would be best, but an ingredient list might help with a near guess.

The two most critical nutritional needs for growing birds are Methionine and Lysine - which is why those two appear on US nutritional labels - even though there are plenty of other Amino Acids birds can't produce (or can't produce enough of) on their own. Methinine is needed for building connective tissues - skin and tendons, yes, but also the intestinal tract, which impacts their ability to effectively use what they are fed for much of the remainder of their life - its hard to crawl back from a Met deficiency in early life. Lysine is good for building muscle, particularly breast muscle, and that of course is where most of us "condition score" our birds, and one of the easiest visual clues as to a bird's weight, all other conditions being equal.

Phosphorus is possibly the third most critical, as its needed for bone development at a rate of about 1/2 the calcium they get. Critically, it needs to be a "non phytate", meaning not plant-based, source. Chicken's digestive systems can't effectively absorb phytate phosphorus without help.

Was the feed a local mix??? or do we have a chance at looking it up from here in the US to offer some additional assistance?

Hi, thank you for the information I appreciate it. Yes it was a local mix which is made by one of our feed stores here in Souh Africa. The Rhode islands are 10 months old if that helps. Are there maybe supplements I could give them to help them grow or is it a bit late?

 

[swamphiker]

Hi, I'll upload pics after this reply. So I just checked there weight. The smallest on is 0.7 kg and the biggest Is 1.1 kg. We feed them mixed fowl feed and crushed corn in an open feeder. We have other chickens on our farm aswell which all have access to feed any time they want itView attachment 3049405

Thanks for uploading pics and weights! Try and get a feed that has at least 18% protein, it's also generally advisable not to mix corn in with their feed since corn is low in protein. RIRs tend to be a somewhat smaller breed, plus yours still have growing to do. Best of luck!

 

[swamphiker]

Hi, thank you for the information I appreciate it. Yes it was a local mix which is made by one of our feed stores here in Souh Africa. The Rhode islands are 10 months old if that helps. Are there maybe supplements I could give them to help them grow or is it a bit late?

I hadn't seen before that these chickens are 10 months old, the development of their combs and wattles made them look like much younger pullets, so I had assumed they were more like 3-4 months old. It's possible that their feed isn't nutritionally balanced, if you aren't able to see a nutritional analysis, I would consider supplementing their diet with something like mealworms if free-ranging isn't an option.

 

[Sara S]

My rir hens are definitely smaller than my Easter egger girls. I bought them at the same time and they have grown up together all eating the same feed. I recently hatched chicks from both breeds. The chicks from the rir eggs are all smaller than the ee egg chicks. It’s not a huge difference but definitely noticeable.

Mine are that size too. It’s a little weird, I think they are done Growing, yours looks so healthy though!

 

[SmiYa0126]

I bought a few rhode islands a while back and they haven't been growing as much as I would have expected them to... I thought it may just be because rhode islands are slow growing chickens but then today I went and purchased a few rooster because I needed some for my other hens and one of the roosters was a rhode island red. The one I bought today are only 5 months old but the chicks I bought a while back are older but still alot smaller. Does anyone know what the reason for this could be? Maybe a hatching issue from the supplier? Or the wrong feed when they were younger?

I wouldn't worry about their size. My RIR is the smallest, however she lays the biggest eggs. Check their crops before going to bed to make sure they're full, and empty and squishy on the morning.