Young Plymouth rooster not gaining weight.

[S-t-o-n-e]

I ordered some chicks over the summer and they are a little over 4 months old now, one of them is a partridge Plymouth rooster, he seems to not be gaining weight. I weighed him about a month ago at 5.4 pounds, then two weeks later he was 5 pounds, now he is 5.6 pounds, so a very small increase in weight. He is still growing taller and has more of his colorful rooster feathers however. Is this normal for Plymouth’s of this age? Do I need to be worried?

If your wondering this is the food we feed them ( because they are mixed with our layer hens )

They are free ranged over about 2/3 of an acre almost every day

 

[ChickNanny13]

Layer feed is not recommended for chicks not laying and Roos, too much calcium. Some say it's ok, although have read it can/may cause liver/kidney issues. You could feed an All Flock, Multi Purpose or Flock Raiser to your flock, add a separate dish of Oyster Shells for those laying (those that need it will eat it).

Not sure where you're located, if its hot he could have been eating less. Free ranging/gubbing, they eat all kinds of goodies ... I've read but don't know the validity that slugs/snails/earthworms may cause worms/disease. Don't know this for certain but here we have Rat Lung Disease (slugs) and it's become a concern. Anyways, thinking like humans our weight fluctuates

 

[azygous]

First of all, with a mixed flock, as @ChickNanny13 points out, it's much better for all of the birds to feed an all flock feed with oyster shell available for the layers. Chickens not actively laying will accumulate too much calcium in their bodies over a long term and may end up with renal problems down the line.

She's also on the money about weight fluctuating according to weather and what foods are eaten. Also a four-month old cockerel still has a lot of development ahead of him, and he's going to be skinny looking from time to time. Look at fourteen-year old boys and how much they resemble shoe string french fries as they grow through puberty.

 

[ChickNanny13]

@azygous Learned this from you all Thank you

 

[S-t-o-n-e]

That y’all for your help, we switched feed and are gonna worm them.