Weigh in

[PennyM]

We've had our chickens since late April and I've never weighed them. They were eating the grower food and recently we integrated laying crumbles (at 18 weeks). They don't free range but we give them greens a few times a week and they have grit and oyster shell available. Admittedly, they were getting treats 3 - 4 times a week but we've cut back drastically when I read that treats should be 10% of their diet. Anyway, my question is what do you use to weigh your chickens? I know what the weights for the different breeds should approximately be but I need to get a baseline for the girls now because Prinny, my Silver Lace Wyandotte, looks kind of heavy to me. Thanks!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Weight doesn't matter as much as condition. You should feel your birds, they should have some meat on their bones but not be fat. The best place to check is the keel bone on the chest. It should be prominent but not sharp.

I personally don't recommend feeding a layer especially if you are giving treats. It's formulated to be fed as the sole ration for laying hens. They can become protein deficit on it if they are getting extras. I feed an All Flock with a separate bowl of oyster shells for the calcium needs. I recommend a protein content of 18-22%.