My sister-in-law and I just purchased two adult Plymouth Rocks. We rescued them from a very poor environment. They all had very short round beaks and they're legs are very fat and not proprotioned. We are very concerned and would like to help them. We have other hens and need to know if the new hens have a disease or are they malnourished.

Dear Shawna: From the description, it appears that the chickens that you have purchased have been de-beaked when younger since they have very short, round beaks. The description of the legs sounds like perhaps they are a cross with Cornish as those crosses sometimes have quite large legs and appear to be out of proportion. Perhaps they are deformed too. I don't know. However, the thing to remember always is not to introduce any new birds into your present flock until you have kept them separated for a week or l0 days to see if they have any apparent disease. If you do it before then, they may have a disease and will infect your whole flock. You can do nothing about the beaks if they have been de-beaked. If they are malnourished, continue feeding them nutritional food and they should thrive. They could have inside parasites such as various types of worms also. If they are already mixed in with your flock, a good worming for the whole group may be in order. Good luck with your new additions.......Red Tail Chicken Hawk.......