Skinny chickens

[Mthrclckr5]

I've been using a mixed flock formula that has 18% protein. My ladies seem to like it better than their layer and grower feed. It comes in crumble and pellet. I also in the morning, make a mash with it and Oats or scrambled eggs and whatever fruits and veggies we have leftover or available. They always clean the bowl, even if there arent any extras in the crumble mash. I also use two different feeders. It seems like I have some ladies prefer one over the other.

 

[Double Yolked]

I noticed you asked why the vet said discontinue all treats. I can give you some insight as to her reasoning. Hens are opportunistic and will go for what tastes best over any other food, rather like a cat. As long as they think you are going to give them a treat they'll ignore the feed. My ladies are the same way. My first flock I spoiled rotten, giving them all kinds of goodies and worrying since they also didn't eat their regular layer pellets. I stopped giving them any treats and it took about 3 days and they suddenly discovered "Hey layer pellets are better than hungry"

 

[Malamute1]

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'm not sure why your vet said pellets. Usually they are same ingredients as crumble. If they like crumble better that's what I would feed. Do you free range? I would probably cut out treats n scraps for couple weeks to encourage more feed eating. Treats don't have the calories that feed does. I agree with samanthapolishsilkies. My girls love scratch n peck brand food. I wish our local feed stores would carry it. I order mine from amazon. Great feed! How big is the scoop your giving of scratch? We give 1- 28oz can of scratch in the morning. We have 6 Buff orps, 3 ameraucanas. Good sized girls. Any treats or veggie scraps they get mid to late afternoon. This way they eat more feed during the day. We only give treats a couple times a week. I don't give a lot of bugs n worms. It makes their poop really black n messy. So I figure they get enough free range. I do give quick oats softened some with hot water and add a couple Table spoons of plain yogurt when it's cooled some. I only do this on wet drizzle or rainy days when they're all chilly n wet. I live in FL so not too many cold wet days. In the summer we give watermelon, cantalope, frozen corn to help with hot weather. I'm assuming you're vet checked for external parasites, which can also cause weight loss. You said they're a yr old now. How are they laying? I know seasons n geographic play a part in how well they lay. Do you have a really bossy hen or 2 that may be guarding the food? Hope they fatten up for you soon.

 

[Throbak]

I got to looking and found some pellets that were quite a bit smaller than the first ones I tried You might look for the small pellets Worked for me and my birds

 

[squalodon]

My chickens think wet pellets are a treat. Let them sit long enough to become a mush. They always eat up the mush before they eat their dry pellets.

 

[birdlady11]

If the crumble is the same formulation as the pellets, then no reason not to feed the crumble instead of pellets.

if they're not the same and you'd like to stay on pellets, try serving them wet for a few days to help them transition - chickens often find that more appetizing than dry pellets. Just add enough water to make a thick mush out of the pellets.

I used to feed layer crumble as well but found there was too much waste (powder) and coughing so I switched to pellets... but my girls hated the pellets. However, I noticed the brand of pellets I was using were long fat pellets. I switched to a brand that had much smaller diameter pellets (Nutrena Naturewise Layer Pellets) and my girls ate them up like candy. Perhaps the size of the pellet is why your chickens are reluctant to eat them, especially if you have medium to small or young birds.

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 used to feed layer crumble as well but found there was too much waste (powder) and coughing so I switched to pellets... but my girls hated the pellets. However, I noticed the brand of pellets I was using were long fat pellets. I switched to a brand that had much smaller diameter pellets (Nutrena Naturewise Layer Pellets) and my girls ate them up like candy. Perhaps the size of the pellet is why your chickens are reluctant to eat them, especially if you have medium to small or young birds.

 

[MsSueT]

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.

 

[Chickassan]

I wish I could help, all these are too fat but they're free range hogs.
I don't have a clue what they eat in a day.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Chicken feed has been around at least since the turn of the 20th century, it was a big thing in the late 1800s & early 1900s, just about the time chickens were bred to go from less than 100 eggs a year to over 200. Todays chickens are not the same as the ones that have been around for 1000s of years.

 

[Cluckminster Fuller]

Mine always have preferred pellets to crumble. I don't know why, but they eat more of it. My hens have never liked corn for some reason, either. Several generations of them! So, I get a multi grain mix for them with minimum of corn. They like cooked rice or quinoa if I have some left over (not raw). And sometimes I give them nuts or make a suet with nut butter as the base. You can mix pellets into that. I also crumble egg shells (so they don't look like eggs) and give them chicken bones when we eat chicken. They love the calcium and I leave some skin on for fat plus they may get some marrow.