This may be a stupid question, but....

I have been a member of the website for a while now but don't get to come online as much as I would like. I got involved in raising chickens because of my daughter and the 4-H program that she, and now I, belong to. We have successfully raised chickens for almost 2 years now, knock on wood, with little to no problems at all. We raise them to show and also to provide us with eggs. We have 12 chickens, all different breeds, in our home coop and we own 4 out of 10, wyandottes, in the 4-H coop that is at the barn we have our 4-H program through. This past year we added ducks to our backyard flock and have enjoyed them tremendously!!!

We had someone call us and ask if we would take in a hen. The son had gotten the hen as an egg, hatched it and raised it as a school project. They thought it deserved to be with other chickens and not alone. She was well cared for and had become more of a spoiled pet than a barn yard animal. We took her in on Christmas Eve, the whole family came to drop her off.

I could see right away that she was a big girl, bigger than the ones that we have. After seeing her out of the crate they had transported her in, she is really big... almost too big. She can walk. She can get up. But it all seems to be such a chore for her. She looks very healthy and is precious and sweet even comes when we call her. We really want to keep her but realize that her weight is probably going to be a problem.

So, here is my stupid question... is there anything we can do about her weight? Or, is she pretty much a lost cause? If there is something we can do, I'd want to try before thinking of the alternative.

I appreciate any information that anyone can provide!! Thank you!

 

She's about 6-8 months old.. they didn't know what breed she was. I don't have a picture right now but I can get one by tomorrow. She's white, which I know doesn't say a lot. Sweetest bird ever!!!

 

She does look a lot like this picture.

 

Thank you...

We have introduced new chickens into the flock before and have always kept them separate in the beginning. The 4-H kids that are in the poultry project have a schedule that they follow and the coop gets cleaned daily and the chickens get fresh food and water daily. Cleanliness and proper feeding have been two of the things that I have stressed to the kids about our coop and chickens. We are constantly looking for new ways to keep our chickens happy and healthy. Even our poultry parents enjoy coming up to take care of the chickens.

I am going to be at the barn today and will take a picture of her and try to post it but she does look a lot like the Cornish X posted above. I had a feeling that there might not be anything that could be done but because we raise our chickens as pets/show birds, the kids all hate thinking about the alternative.