Nicbackyardchicks Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Since the chicken lockdown I've noticed my BC Marans weight it starting to rise. She is stunning, such a beautiful girl who unfortunately is very close to 4kg. She has junk in her trunk! Before lockdown, they were free range; had a large garden to venture & had handful of treats late afternoon. However, now they are confined with a smaller recreational space & small handful of scratch, she is gaining weight whilst the others have kept relatively the same. I worry about obesity and her hitting ill health. At the moment she is the picture of health but a chunky chook! They have free access to layer & growers mix, grit & oyster shell. How do I put her on diet & is it suitable to do in the very cold weather? Is she gaining winter/lockdown pounds (like most of us) & it should shift in the warmer weather? how can I add exercise to their day? Lots of questions, I'm sorry. I've just lost her sister & I'm overly paranoid at the moment about my babies, as today she laid a soft shelled egg and is still new to laying, she's only laid 5 eggs so far (she came into lay in January). Thank You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Is there a reason they have growers and layers? I would stick to just layers and maybe cut out the scratch altogether for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicbackyardchicks Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 I did a lot of research into it & found a mix of the two, with extra 'free grazing' calcium, was better for chickens overall. Optimal protein & calcium as layers generally has lower than adequate protein available in them. However, in the spring I am likely to review it as they will all be established layers & two of the girls will be fully over their juvenile moults. yes I will, I'm just so shocked how much she weighs. How do they exercise when confined? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 I guess they don’t really. Good luck with the diet 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachel84 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I have two BC Marans and they are big girls with stocky legs! Mine give up laying for about 5 months over winter along with my blue egg laying girl so tend to put on a bit of extra bulk but it comes off in summer when they start laying the occasional egg so I don't worry too much (they are about 3 years old now). How big is their run? I scatter a couple of handfuls of their pellets in the run every morning to encourage them to scratch around and forage a little more but it is fairly large with different levels and a decent height perch to make them flap about a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicbackyardchicks Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 Thanks @rachel84 they have a large indoor run and a side run but as it's so cold they aren't really tempted to explore - It's -4 this morning I did have multiple height perches but they never do, I've popped in a hay bale to destroy as today activity and keep them warm. I have looked online and there's a lot of conflicting weights of what she should be as standard. I will remove the scratch and change it to greens and fruits and see what she weighs in 2 weeks. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 We have two Black Copper Marans as well. Very feathery, but they are really quite small and only weigh about 3 Kg each. But ours are directly French and it may be that the English strains are a bit heavier. Their eggs were 70 grammes last year; not laying this year yet but are getting close. If she lays at that weight Nic she isn't overweight, because I've read that fat chickens don't lay, presumably because the excess obstructs the oviduct? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicbackyardchicks Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 9 hours ago, Beantree said: We have two Black Copper Marans as well. Very feathery, but they are really quite small and only weigh about 3 Kg each. But ours are directly French and it may be that the English strains are a bit heavier. Their eggs were 70 grammes last year; not laying this year yet but are getting close. If she lays at that weight Nic she isn't overweight, because I've read that fat chickens don't lay, presumably because the excess obstructs the oviduct? Thanks for the info, she is a English bred hen, she seems to be getting about well and I'm putting it down to the extra bulk because it's so cold. I've been watching her today and she doesn't struggle at all moving about and is very agile. I need to just chill out but I can't help myself hahaha 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...