Vet said my hen is underweight... How to put weight on her?

[ZaneyMama]

What should I feed a laying hen to put weight on her? She's also recovering from some sort of injury to her leg, so I have her isolated.

Thanks!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

More protein.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

How did the vet determine she was underweight?

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

black oil sunflower seed (BOSS), cracked corn especially if you are keeping her in the house for some time (cuts down on the smell), cooked eggs and yogurt are also good to help maintain their gut flora. also make sure she gets her vitamins!

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
I would like to know also..

Chris

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If she's been injured and had trouble getting to food, just providing food that's easy to get to helps a great deal. I would make sure that both her food and water are within easy reach. After that, baby her as much as you think she needs.

 

[True Grit]

I put weight on mine by giving her scratch in a bowl mixed with dried mealworms and sunflower seed hearts with grit sprinkled on top twice a day in addition to her layer feed.

 

[HorizonSon]

What kind of weight are you aiming for?

Overall body mass health: good quality RAW meats, fats, and veggies. More variety of all three the better.

Fast energy and increased fatty tissue: carbohydrates, in particular grains, a variety is best.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Yup. I was going to disagree with the corn and scratch, but this says it all.

If she's just underweight because she's been injured and not feeling well, she probably just needs easy access to good feed. Some supplement probably won't hurt, though. If all your chickens are underweight, then its time to evaluate feed.