What to Feed Chickens to Gain weight?

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i have 2 rhode island reds who seem to have lost a bit of weight
it is worrying me to a point that i had to stop reading others stories and just post my own
i have them locked in the coop so they have a permanent food source and not just free range 24/7
anything i can do
 
Jewell,
I have/had 10 sexlinks (they are my pets and have named everyone of them). Is her belly swollen, or is she waddling? I'm no professional by all means and someone else may can shed some light on your problem. I had the same questions as you 6-8 months ago. I now know. I have lost 4 of my girls because they became internal egg layers, sometimes this happens to high production egg layers. They started out loosing weight, their comb started getting droopy and turning gray, being a little lethargic. Then they started to swell in her belly and began to waddle, over some time they became worse and finally passed on. I did a necropsy on the 2nd one because I wanted to know what happened. Her belly was filled with puss like substance and eggs or parts of eggs throughout her frail body, this is how I found out about them being internal egg layers. She had a bad infection as well. My younger hens started pecking them, of course. So I separated them and put them on flock raiser/grower feed (no more laying feed so hopefully they would slow down the egg development). These same hens have laid eggs constantly over the last 3 years, even in the dead of winter. Some of the eggs were extra jumbo size and double yolk. They were just bred that way. I don't know what else to do with them except love them in their last few months. My heart is broke, as of today, my most friendly and sweetest hen passed away. I hope this helps you understand somehow.
 
edenbobeden said:
I'm having sort of the same problem with my 10 month old Easter Eggers I feed then layena crumbles evey day all day and a small pan of scratch and oyster shells for calcium and their gizard. i give them mealworms as treats and table scraps but they are still extremely skinny, like on one you can feel her chest bone . Please help I'm not sure what to do
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Did you find anything that worked? I have a RIR and Easter Egger hen, but my EE is not gaining weight like the RIR. She is about 10-12 weeks old as well. Any answers?
 
smith2 said:
I feed mine whole milk and corn when I want them to gain weight. Chickens do not gain weight in the same manner as other animals. Cows, hogs, etc. put on weight in the meat muscle. Chickens don't do that. They will only put on fat around and between organs and deposit fat in certain undesirable areas. The weight of healthy chicken is largely determined by the breed and genetic make-up of that breed, so if they are healthy they will only eat so much or they will keep eating and put on fat in bad places. Some breeds of chicken are just thinner than others.
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A Big 2X to the Third Power.
 
I'm right in this too, except I have about 50 birds that are stunted. I'm not sure if it is because I switched feed on them a couple times, our of there were times when they didn't get enough to eat, or what. I'm thinking they are all about 6 months old and they are several different breeds, but no eggs. I went and checked the pelvic bones and they all had Less than 2 finger widths. I think I measured that right and I read it has to be 3 you start laying. I was told at my feed store I could feed them layer since it was time they started laying, but maybe I should rethink that? Flock easier has more protein, so maybe that'll help. They are always on grass in cages we move a couple times a day. They also get scraps. Thoughts?
 
This is an old thread but I thought I'd add my 2 cents I found ways to add weight to chickens... mostly by accident since we consider them pets and don't want to eat them. Anyway they are FAT! I do enjoy having big birds as they look really healthy with vibrant plush feat hers we think they are beautiful. Even our ancona is a bit pudgy she didn't turn into a meat bird she's still slim looking. We're constantly giving them treats (they are on a diet now against their will haha). Sun flower seeds can really add on weight as well as peanuts dog food and peanut butter or buttered bread. Almonds have some healthy fats as well as a TON of calcium. I also go out at night for roach hunts with a flashlight. They spend all day free ranging so they are very muscley. I do have to say it's worth it since they make the best tasting eggs I've ever had ;)
We've been feeding the chicks treats too and they've shot up and look healthier than ever.
My mom bought an old sickly hen once (feeling bad for her) and we brought her home thinking she was going to die... and then we started feeding her dog food and scraps that old girl perked up started laying again her old beaten feathers molted (they were so brittle they felt like straw) and by the end of the month she was an entirely new bird and she lived another 3 years
 
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