Is this normal??

[cqangie29]

My 1st time having chickens...so I have no idea if this is normal. My meat bird has a pretty big swollen area underneath her vent/butt area. But she also seems very fat lol. (I say "she" because I'm not sure of the sex). I think she's about 4-6 weeks old. She eats a lot, but I thought meat birds eat a lot anyways. She drinks just fine. She doesn't show any signs of pain, but I did notice she isn't very active. She normally eats sitting down and will lay by the feeder. I'm giving her 24% protein starter feed. She waddles when she walks and sits after 2-3 steps. She hasn't had any injuries or falls that I know of. Can anyone tell me if they've seen this before? Is it a meat bird thing? I attached a picture too. Thank you

 

[ejtrout31]

I’d this what you are talking about

 

[DobieLover]

My 1st time having chickens...so I have no idea if this is normal. My meat bird has a pretty big swollen area underneath her vent/butt area. But she also seems very fat lol. (I say "she" because I'm not sure of the sex). I think she's about 4-6 weeks old. She eats a lot, but I thought meat birds eat a lot anyways. She drinks just fine. She doesn't show any signs of pain, but I did notice she isn't very active. She normally eats sitting down and will lay by the feeder. I'm giving her 24% protein starter feed. She waddles when she walks and sits after 2-3 steps. She hasn't had any injuries or falls that I know of. Can anyone tell me if they've seen this before? Is it a meat bird thing? I attached a picture too. Thank you

Meat birds should have feed offered for 12 hours then taken away 12 hours. Clean water available always.
I'm guess it's a he based on the thick legs. He is fat. He might not make butcher age at the rate he is going.

 

[ejtrout31]

 

[cqangie29]

View attachment 1705315View attachment 1705315

No, below the vent is swollen. But someone just told me it's normal lol. So i guess it's ok lol

 

[cqangie29]

Meat birds should have feed offered for 12 hours then taken away 12 hours. Clean water available always.
I'm guess it's a he based on the thick legs. He is fat. He might not make butcher age at the rate he is going.

Omg, I had no idea!!! I change the water about 6x a day because I have 15 birds and it gets filthy fast . So do I need to do 12 hours on and off for my baby guinea fowls and chicks too?

 

[DobieLover]

Omg, I had no idea!!! I change the water about 6x a day because I have 15 birds and it gets filthy fast . So do I need to do 12 hours on and off for my baby guinea fowls and chicks too?

Not for guinea fowl.
Meat birds are designed to grow heavy at an abnormally fast rate to reduce the cost of meat production.
If they are feed free choice, they will gain weight so fast that their heart cannot deal with the stress and they can have heart attacks. It is also not uncommon for them to have pretty bad leg and foot problems due to the excess weight they carry.
The goal is to keep them alive until about 8 or 9 weeks old when they are harvested.