Thin Ameraucana

[SarahLadd]

Hi everybody!

I was cuddling my sweet ameraucana Smoke today, and when I had her on her back, I noticed her keelbone was sticking through her feathers. She's got a bit of a callus on her breastbone, too, I'm assuming from settling down on my deck to rest. After doing some reading on how to tell if your bird is thin, I've decided she's underweight. Recommendations were to feed cracked corn for a bird to gain weight, but I have discovered today, after throwing it out all winter for my girls, Smoke doesn't like it! So, in addition to thinking maybe I should try de-worming, I'm looking for sensible solutions for putting healthy weight on my favorite hen.

Smoke is 2 years old, and she gets a treat of a scatter of mealworms now for the summer and high quality organic layer feed. She very reliably is still laying eggs for me, her comb is red, her droppings look normal, she acts her normal self. My girls get access to a third acre for foraging and they've all been busy enjoying the bounty of spring as it pops up through the frozen earth. I see no mites on her. All in all, everything looks as it should except she's just much more trim than my other two hens, a welsummer and orpington.

Is is a poor choice to feed her a mix of scrambled egg and 4% cottage cheese? Should I feed her oatmeal, too? How much should I give her every day? I'm not just assuming she should be pudgier than she is, as though an ameraucana would be a normally trim breed, or something?

Thank you all!

 

[GC-Raptor]

All in all, everything looks as it should except she's just much more trim than my other two hens, a welsummer and orpington.

I've never had an Ameraucana, but I believe they are a lighter type of chicken, like most Asian chickens. Think Leghorn.
She looks healthy to me, nice feathers and you say, she's laying, poops good, combs red.
Callus is probably from roosting at night.
Welsummer and Orpington are a heavy duel purpose chicken.

A treat my hens love is a wet mash, made from their crumble feed.
I give it when their feed consumption slows during the heat of summer and egg production drops.
If it's a hot day I mix cold water from fridge to make very wet and serve immediately.
Otherwise I use room temperature water.
I measure 2 Tablespoons dry feed per chicken and feed early afternoon.

GC
ETC; spelling.