I keep feed in front of my chickens. They never lack for feed. They are free ranged tho.. they have about 3 acres they can run on.. but stick closer to the house for the most part. MAYBE I am just considering them skinny.. but you can feel their little breast bones. They do not put on weight. They appear healthy, eat well, lay very well but they aren't exactly fat enough to feed anyone. They get corn & laying mash. I did find a feed store about 35 minutes away that will mix feed for me but i have no idea what to ask for in it. Does anyone have any ideas? Suggestions on what to have mixed for feed? They eat scraps (veggie scraps) from our house & the neighbors house. They get so much they've been leaving feed lately & feeding the neighboring deer.
skinny chickens
Are you sure they are abnormally thin? A laying hen should not look/feel like a broiler you get at the store. I think you will always be able to feel their breast bones.
idk.. they've been this way for awhile.. i finally decided that i wasn't sure so I posted on here.. i don't remember what the chickens felt like when i was a kid that we had.. & my RIR's were just plain fat.. but they didn't free range like these did. We had a fence in the back so they were confined to the yard. these get lots of exercise. They are constant movers all day long. you also don't notice they are skinny unless u pick them up. then you can feel the bones. but i just don't know what to go off of to know if they are or not. with a dog u can see their ribs & know they are way too thin.. how do you tell with a chicken?
The obvious answer would be parasites. You might try mixing some fresh mashed or chopped up garlic in something you feed them. I know cloves kills parasite eggs, and that's probably safe, but you might research that before you try it. Wormwood and black walnut kill parasites. I haven't researched the wormwood or black walnut to see if it's safe for chickens, I just know it kills parasites in animals and people.
A hen I ordered has the sniffles and has been sneezing, so I've been giving her fresh chopped up garlic and echinacea in mashed boiled eggs. I researched to make sure it was safe to give her echinacea, and it is. She's improving, but not completely well yet.
I'm afraid of pharmaceutical drugs. Haven't taken a pharmaceutical drug in 20 years, because of some really bad experiences I had with them. So, when the hen arrived sick, I thought about getting her antibiotics, but then, I realized if it was myself I wouldn't take them. So, I'm trying some natural remedies for her too, and so far she seems to be improving greatly.
Laying hens will be somewhat thinner than a broiler. If they are abnormally thin though they could have parasites.
Can you weigh your hens and compare their weights with those standard for the breed(s)?
no.. weighing them would be equivalent to taming a lion. Mine may not be too thin, but anything short of weighing them i can't tell bc they appear thin to me when i hold them.. but idk what a good weight on a laying hen feels like when you pick them up.
i guess i'm just basically wanting to know...
How you know they are to thin without weighing them? (or is there a way?)
and
What would you mix for feed if you could have it mixed by the feed mill?
and
Mine burn off lots of calories free ranging so do I need to compensate by adding more healthy calories to the feed?
The 3 i had to bring in the house for two months gained weight fast being confined while they were injured or broody. Therefore I'm guessing its the free ranging that keeps the weight low.
I'm guessing worms too. Free ranging exposes them to all the parasites.. Snails, Slugs, worms.. I had a hen that was a bag of bones too. Ask Catsy how well I feed! LOL I finally SAW worms! I gave her DE in some scrambled eggs for a week and she has completely come out of it.
I bought some wormer.. but haven't used it yet. It's easier to mix DE in with their mash once in a while.
If they are getting layer feed free choice, it's more than likely not the feed..
if it was worms.. then why would the ones brought inside & confined gain weight?
Maybe it isn't worms, maybe they are just thin. Ours arn't fat either and we can feel the breastbone on them but they arn't scraggly and sickly or anything they are normal laying hens. Most laying hens can range from 4 to 9 pounds depending on the breed.
The "dual-purpose" hens like Barred Rocks and Buff Orpingtons will obviously be meatier (I almost said beefier) than those bred strictly for laying. My Ameraucaunas are much leaner than my Orpingtons, although I can easily feel the breast bone in both breeds. Free ranging also definitely keeps them trim - and healthy. I think you may be worrying about nothing.
beefier, lol. They may not lay you any eggs today.
Yep, same with ours, the Buff Orpingtons and the Barred Rocks are heavier and the Ameraucanas are leaner. Our RIR are also a bit meatier (I almost said beefier too, see what you started). We have one that weighs a good 9 pounds.
I agree with everyone. Layers, like Leghorns and Penedesenca's are always "boney" compared to dual purpose. But being free-range also keeps them trim. Unless the chicken is visibly out of condition, dull feathers, low energy, I think it more dangerous for it to be overweight.
But bringing them into confinement might also tip the balance in favour of the bird over the parasite. If you are worried about them being too thin, the first thing would probably be to use DE or some other mild wormer. I think most birds acquire some parasite load eventually, especially if they are free ranging.
That makes sense! Some people worm every 6 to 8 weeks...you don't have to "see" worms for them to be present. I'm sure most free range birds have worms to some extent.
I'm not worrying so much as I'm asking... bc i have no reference to go off of. I'm guessing its just normal weight due to free ranging but that's what I wanted to know so I had some idea of what to go off of. thanks.
Thanks so much for reminding me of the diatomaceous earth. I have some and had forgotten that is was also a good wormer.
Well the DE did NOT kill the ants in the garden... thats what I bought it for...
Oh, that reminds me, I have ants too.
I know sometimes we are just simply forced to use products that aren't natural. Natural is always better though.
Maybe I'll try the DE on my ants, and see if it works. It's worth a try. There's probably different qualities and kinds of DE dust too.
I've been sprinkling it around in the house for spiders, and it seems to be working. I want to throw a bunch of it under the house the next time I go under there.
I've also been sprinkling 20 mule team borax around. Wonder if that works on ants, but I don't think you are supposed to put borax on the ground where plants grow. Baking soda is supposed to be good too.
Thanks guys, you always help me keep on track. I'll mix some DE and baking soda up and give it a try.
I need to add that after reading everything I came to the conclusion teh chickens are really skinny.. . just slender from free rangeing most likely. I'd have to find a better way to worm them, I'm allergic to DE.
Allergic to DE? It's a mineral isn't it? Maby you are just sensitive to it Grey.. Catsy can correct me if I'm wrong, but we were talking about it once. Krystal has Allergies so bad.. It's terrible stuff to breathe in, that I know by experience!
Just be sure to get food grade. My friend accidentally made cookies with it once.. LOL So it's safe to eat, I can assure you. LOL
The package claims it will kill ants.. I am sorry to hear it didn't work in your garden MsJ.. I have ants terrible out there... but it's gonna rain, so I can't use it now anyway. I understand for slugs it can't get wet or it doesn't work..
Oh yeah, I was gonna say.. I put DE in a mustard squirt bottle and just poke it in the holes of the vents under the house.. squeeze hard and blast it like a smoke bomb!
it was food grade. I had a severe allergic reaction to it. Doctor told me to stay away from it. There are lots of safe food items that I'm highly allergic too... just bc u can eat it doesn't make it safe for everyone unfortunately.
black pepper will get rid of ants.. Coffee grounds will also. works wonders, they show up here in the millions when it gets so wet & rainy in the spring. We use coffee grounds around the house & yard.... neighbor uses black pepper. we've both ran the ants off so far.
Most antigens (the agent that provokes an immune response) are proteins or polysachharides.
I am very sensitive to fine particulate matter, I cough a lot when I am exposed to it. But I am not very allergic to things.
Miner's with "black lung" are not allergic to coal dust....but it still hurts them.
I think the danger from breathing in a lot of DE would be developing silicosis...not likely from casual use but if you are very sensitive to particulates it would be smart to wear a dust mask.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis
I broke out in hives. It wasn't something that wearing a mask would help.
That sounds like a contact dermatitis - again, not necessarily an allergy, but definitely to be avoided!
Hives are really interesting. Apparently they are the result of the sudden release of hystamines from mast cells...and they frequently are idiopathic...meaning there is no identified cause. Some people just break out in hives periodically...or as are result to any irritation. Just pressure or even sunlight:
http://allergies.about.com/od/urticariahives/a/solarurticaria.htm
Also psychological stress, I understand.
My golden comets are very thin you can feel there bones when you pick them up and as far as I know they are healthy
I took a feel of several of my Ameraucaunas as I put them in for the night (they still all go in the wrong coops) they are definitely lean except two which are couch potatoes and hang out in the coops all day. They are decidedly plumper so exercise clearly makes a difference.