Under weight hen, Do you think this will work?

[happyhens44]

I think 2 of my hens are under weight. I can feel there breast bone a little. When I get home from school I usually throw down some mash so they can scratch at it. Well I reconize the 2 just kind of sit back and wait till everyones done, then they take whatevers left. I felt them and they feel under weight. So I pulled out my hanging feeder, And everyday I fill it to the top, So they are alway have food next to them. Do you think they will gain weight, if they have that feeder there with food in it always? its 10:40 at night and its half full, and tommorrow at 3:30 After school Ill fill it.

 

[featherbaby]

Have you wormed them recently? That's the first thing I would do.

If they were mine, I would put them on a protein treat/supplement every day. One of my favorites is a can of tuna mixed with cooked and drained ramen noodles (do not use the flavor packet, it's loaded with salt), bran flake cereal or rolled oats (any combination with the tuna works fine). I also give them cottage cheese or yogurt mixed with Manna Pro gamebird crumbles (22% Protein). Using a few drops of Poly-Vi-Sol children's liquid vitamins without Iron on the food is helpful too. Make sure the others aren't intimidating them and keeping them from eating. Unless there's some medical problem this should put some weight on them quickly.

 

[happyhens44]

she has been eating more since i put the feeder down.
How do you de-worm chickens because tommorrow my mom has to run to the feed store to get chick starter, I could ask her to get de-wormer, though there poop looks normal, beside the honking piles of broody poop in the middle of the coop. I think its because they're at the bottom of the pecking order, and there both new girls to the flock, they came about 1 month ago, so they are newer, which my other hens dont bully them, but show them that they are at the bottom of the pecking order. So I dont its more having to do with my other hens, hogging the feeder, but right after all my hens are done eating the other 2 girls come up to the feeder to eat.

*how much does de-wormer cost?
*any suggested brands?

even if they dont have worms I would still like to have de-wormer on hand just in case.

 

[featherbaby]

I use Wazine for worming. It's a liquid and mine cost $5.50 for 8 oz. It only takes 2T per gallon of water so it lasts a very long time unless you have hundreds of chickens. Just follow the instructions on the bottle since the one you get might be a different concentration than mine. I do it once a year whether I see any or not. An infestation might get out of hand before you start noticing any problem, therefore once a year is right for me. Some people do it twice a year, but I haven't found that to be necessary.

Oh, and you might want to separate the two new hens to give them the treats. That way they get a crop full without having to take left overs.... and there won't be any treats left over by the time the others wipe them out. If you can't separate them to give treats, put two bowls of it in opposite ends of the coop. That way they don't have to fight everybody for them.

 

[happyhens44]

Ok, Im thinking its more then worms, The one gold star is just a tiny bit under weight. but shes active and lays just fine.

The other one, im worried about, shes always fluffed up, barely eats, seems depressed, never roosts. Im thinking its more, I posted a thread under emergency, thread, dieases. etc.

 

[Judy]

Sounds like you need to have two feeders; less competition that way, and less problem with a few being chased away. And yes they should have feed available at all times while they are awake.

 

[abhaya]

I would worm them and set out an extra feeder for them