worried that my birds aren't getting enough nutrition

[bj taylor]

we're in extreme drought & few bugs around. my little flock of five get free choice feed & free choice scratch & range in the big back yard. i give them dried worms & suet, but they just seem too lean.
i'm hoping this winter will be ok for them nutritionally speaking.

 

[Cowgirl71]

If they have free choice feed available to them then they should be totally fine. What breed are they? Some breeds are just more slender than others. If they otherwise appear and act completely healthy, and have the free choice feed, plus the treats you mentioned, then they should do just fine.

 

[bj taylor]

my breeds are one black australorp, one barred rock, one buff orpington, one silver laced wyandotte, & the big black australorp rooster.
thanks for the reassurance.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Good choice of breeds.

Mine don't get any fancy treats and they do just fine (I've got purebreds and/or crosses of Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, and Silver Laced Wyandottes). It doesn't matter how much you feed any of the breeds that you mentioned, they're just never gonna look anything like the franken-chickens at the grocery store. Your breeds are bred for egg laying, which automatically means that they're gonna be on the slender side.

 

[donrae]

What cowgirl said. Layer breeds, even the roosters, are light bodied and don't have a huge breast, you can usually feel the keel bone easily. As long as they eat well, are active and lay well, I'd say they're good.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Also, if they are hatchery birds, they may be smaller than what you were expecting for their breed.

If you are really concerned about their weight, you make want to look into external/internal parasites and make sure that's not an issue.