Skinny chickens

[Kubotabear]

Have you weighed them? Birds, regardless of breed that were selected for egg production are relatively skinny.

I haven't weighed them, but the vet told me the hen I took in to check for worms was too thin because of her breast bone not having much meat around it. She is my Delaware. I picked up one of the reds the other day and she seems to be the same.

 

[Kubotabear]

Oh my gosh, I made a mash out of their pellet/crumble mix and warm water with a little apple cider vinegar added. They are scarfing it down. Maybe this is the solution. I'll have to watch them closely now so they don't get too fat. Thanks for all the input.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Oh my gosh, I made a mash out of their pellet/crumble mix and warm water with a little apple cider vinegar added. They are scarfing it down. Maybe this is the solution. I'll have to watch them closely now so they don't get too fat. Thanks for all the input.

You don't even need the ACV. I have no idea why but for chickens, wet feed is often like gourmet food and dry is "you expect me to eat this swill?"

 

[Venumfire]

Even though you can't tell by looking at them, my girls are too thin. I can feel their sharp breastbones when I pick them up.

I had to take Delilah into my vet for possible worm issues and brought up that all 5 of my girls were very thin. My suspected worm issues did not turn out to be the case. No worms of any kind. She asked what I feed them. I said Layer crumble, kitchen salad scraps, mealworms and regular scratch. I throw out about a scoop of scratch and mealworms daily in addition to their crumble which is available to them 24/7.


She told me to switch them to layer pellets (more calories per bite) and to discontinue everything else. No scratch, mealworms or salad! The problem is they don't like the pellets. I tried to switch them when they were 4 months old and they'd hang around the gate all day waiting for me to come down and give them worms or scratch. When I went back to crumble they started eating that again.

I've added pellets to their regular crumble, about 1/2 and 1/2 and intend to switch them over to just pellets after this mixture is done. But I'm really puzzled as to why I'm not to give them anything else until they fatten up. Seems the more I feed them stuff they'll eat the more calories they'd consume.

So, anyone else had skinny chicken and what did you do to fatten them up? Oh, they are laying hens, not for meat, but they do need a bit more meat on their bones to be healthy.

Maybe sprout serenity sprouts feed. https://www.serenitysprouts.com/product-page/sprouts It is the right balance of protein and nutrients which I think is the vets objective in stopping feeding scratch/mealworms/scraps However, it is not like the nasty pellets that they are going on strike and not eating. It is whole grains that you sprout for 3-5 days to give them fresh food. They will need oyster shells in addition for calcium. If you don't want to sprout, the have a chicken cereal that is rollmilled and contains 17 herbs each herb fulfilling a nutrient need to be a balanced diet. Hope this helps.

 

[Suedan]

Oh my gosh, I made a mash out of their pellet/crumble mix and warm water with a little apple cider vinegar added. They are scarfing it down. Maybe this is the solution. I'll have to watch them closely now so they don't get too fat. Thanks for all the input.

Isn't funny how the mash makes such a difference. Mine love it too. I'm glad they are eating better for you!

 

[sciencegrrrrl]

Those are actually duel purpose Birds. Not actually strictly laying hens

I have a lot of dual purpose hens and they need a lot more calories and protein!

 

[sciencegrrrrl]

My kids definitely prefer crumbles. I do usually switch to pellets in the spring since our weather is very wet and crumbles make a huge mess when spilled or scattered. I did go organic last winter when everyone seemed disinterested in anything other than snacks and they went nuts for it! If I could get $10 per dozen eggs I'd probably still be buying that, but...

 

[adriennelisa]

My hens don’t like pellets either. What I do is wet them with some water and become crumble. They will eat it this way.

 

[Linda_Gephart]

Even though you can't tell by looking at them, my girls are too thin. I can feel their sharp breastbones when I pick them up.

I had to take Delilah into my vet for possible worm issues and brought up that all 5 of my girls were very thin. My suspected worm issues did not turn out to be the case. No worms of any kind. She asked what I feed them. I said Layer crumble, kitchen salad scraps, mealworms and regular scratch. I throw out about a scoop of scratch and mealworms daily in addition to their crumble which is available to them 24/7.


She told me to switch them to layer pellets (more calories per bite) and to discontinue everything else. No scratch, mealworms or salad! The problem is they don't like the pellets. I tried to switch them when they were 4 months old and they'd hang around the gate all day waiting for me to come down and give them worms or scratch. When I went back to crumble they started eating that again.

I've added pellets to their regular crumble, about 1/2 and 1/2 and intend to switch them over to just pellets after this mixture is done. But I'm really puzzled as to why I'm not to give them anything else until they fatten up. Seems the more I feed them stuff they'll eat the more calories they'd consume.

So, anyone else had skinny chicken and what did you do to fatten them up? Oh, they are laying hens, not for meat, but they do need a bit more meat on their bones to be healthy.

I would add a littl bread to their diet. Soak it in some canned cream,with equal parts water.

 

[seraphine]

Even though you can't tell by looking at them, my girls are too thin. I can feel their sharp breastbones when I pick them up.

I had to take Delilah into my vet for possible worm issues and brought up that all 5 of my girls were very thin. My suspected worm issues did not turn out to be the case. No worms of any kind. She asked what I feed them. I said Layer crumble, kitchen salad scraps, mealworms and regular scratch. I throw out about a scoop of scratch and mealworms daily in addition to their crumble which is available to them 24/7.


She told me to switch them to layer pellets (more calories per bite) and to discontinue everything else. No scratch, mealworms or salad! The problem is they don't like the pellets. I tried to switch them when they were 4 months old and they'd hang around the gate all day waiting for me to come down and give them worms or scratch. When I went back to crumble they started eating that again.

I've added pellets to their regular crumble, about /2 and 1/2 and intend to switch them over to just pellets after this mixture is done. But I'm really puzzled as to why I'm not to give them anything else until they fatten up. Seems the more I feed them stuff they'll eat the more calories they'd consume.

So, anyone else had skinny chicken and what did you do to fatten them up? Oh, they are laying hens, not for meat, but they do need a bit more meat on their bones to be healthy.