Underweight Silkie Hen

[lgetz12]

I have a silkie hen that I purchased 2 months ago that eats very little. At first we thought it was because of the change, but she still does not eat like the others. She does not get picked on, she occasionally is an aggressor, but not enough to be concerned. We have to put her poof in a pony tail so she can see, but that does not make much difference. We weighed her, and the low end of a silkie hen weight is listed in the Standard of Perfection as 1.5 pounds. She weighs 1.1 lb. Unfortunatly we did not weigh her when we got her, but the breeder said she was eating fine. We are giving her Poly-Vi-Sol without iron, sunflower hearts, and cooked egg yolks as treats in addition to a Showbird feed made at at local feed store that is 19% protein.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help with weight gain or increase her appetite?

 

[lgetz12]

picture of current feed

 

[Battlepants]

This might just be her nature to be that size. If she is eating, drinking, pooping and laying on a regular basis, she's probably fine. Beyond that, it sounds like you have good high protein feed with the 19%. I haven't used Poly-Vi-Sol before, so no real advice there. I might reduce/remove the sunflower hearts however, sunflowers are known to be high in fat, which may be disrupting her protein intake if she favors those over the real feed.

 

[lgetz12]

Thanks for your comment. Since she eats very little, she also poops very little, but it looks normal. She has not laid an egg since we got her, but the breeder said she had been when we bought her. I thought the hearts might help put on weight, but did not think about it affecting her protein intake.

 

[Weeg]

I didn't read your whole post, but Silkies are bantams, so they are typically smaller than most birds. The weights your saying sound about right. I suggest you feel her keel bone. The keel is a bone that runs right down the middle of their legs. Starting at the bottom of the crop. That is the best way to tell the weight. If you feel that bone, does it feel sharp and pointy? It should feel like a rounded triangle, with muscle/fat built up on either side.

 

[NatJ]

...the low end of a silkie hen weight is listed in the Standard of Perfection as 1.5 pounds. She weighs 1.1 lb...

It is very common for chickens to be heavier or lighter than the standard weights.

Being lighter than the standard weight might mean she is too skinny, or it might just mean she is naturally extra-small. Checking her keel bone, as @Weeg suggested, is a good way to check. (You can feel the keel bone on some of your other chickens, if you want practice recognizing what is "normal" on healthy chickens.)

Most chickens will keep themselves at a healthy weight, as long as the following are true:
--they have access to plenty of appropriate food and water
--they are not being bullied
--they are otherwise healthy (active, seem happy, etc.)

It sounds like your hen may just be naturally small, unless you find a pointy keelbone when you check.

 

[lgetz12]

Thank you all. Will check when I get back home!