10 Count Cornish Cross from Hoover Hatchery (via Tractor Supply)

[deidreg]

I just read this thread and thank you for sharing. I only have a few hens for eggs. If I choose to raise meat birds, that's far into the future.

Curious about what you learned while processing. Do you pluck by hand or do you have a plucked machine?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Not quite sure why this batch was so much larger but we are not complaining. Another note is that our first batch of meats birds had a good amount of fat in the cavity, this batch had almost none.

What were the sexes last year and this year? Boys tend to be bigger than girls. I raise dual purpose, not CX. I don't butcher my DP that young, but my girls tend to have a lot more fat than boys. Just a thought.

 

[HartlandFarm]

Ok! Y’all I need some HELP! I’ve only done laying hens/roosters before. This is my first experience with Cornish Cross.

The details:
Ordered thru TSC (Hoover hatchery)
Received 10 birds - and all died within 48hrs

I’ve only ever lost one laying chick before (out of at least 30 babies - we haven’t done this long). So you can imagine losing 20 in 48hrs was tough. Food was chick starter, electrolytes in water, temp was correct.

I seemed to loose 3 at a time, followed by 1, followed by 3.. All of the chicks would get lethargic and within a couple hours were dead. I was trying everything.

All of them were doing strange head motions toward the end & at least two seemed to have some sort of convulsion right before they died, I just happened to see those two.

Ok. So I call Hoover .. explain what happened .. concerned that it’s some sort of bacterial infection. No help, only offer to replace the 10 birds.

I get the next 10 in - we are just at 48hrs & I have 5 left. …. Exact same issues this go around. 4 of the 5 left do seem to be much healthier from the get go.

I have the 5th separated & am keeping and eye on her .. she’s slightly smaller & seemed to be getting knocked around a bit. She’s leaning to the left & her right leg seems to be a little weak or something. She’s drinking but hasn’t eating since I separated her- which is pretty typical of what the other 15 have done in the last 12hrs.

That’s why I separated her, but if she is sick maybe I’ll stop the spread before the last 4 catch on.

Every-time one has died, I have cleaned the brooder. Fresh bedding, sanitized drinkers/food..

Seriously, what is going on?!

This seems like it can’t possibly be just plain failure to thrive???

Has anyone else had this bad of luck with Hoover Hatchery?

 

[NatJ]

Food was chick starter, electrolytes in water, temp was correct.
...Every-time one has died, I have cleaned the brooder. Fresh bedding, sanitized drinkers/food..

Seriously, what is going on?!

Have you used the same setup with other chicks before? The same sanitizing products? If the heat comes from a heat lamp, did you use a new bulb this time?

(I have no experience with Hoover hatchery or their chicks, so I'm just wondering about other factors that could affect an entire batch of chicks. Anything that was used with a previous batch was presumably safe then, but anything new might be worth checking.)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Have you used the same setup with other chicks before? The same sanitizing products? If the heat comes from a heat lamp, did you use a new bulb this time?

(I have no experience with Hoover hatchery or their chicks, so I'm just wondering about other factors that could affect an entire batch of chicks. Anything that was used with a previous batch was presumably safe then, but anything new might be worth checking.)

all of my (initial) chicks came from Hoovers by way of TSC, while I had individual "failures to thrive", there were no mass death events. Hoovers, in fact, supplies a large number of farm stores, not just TSC - while their birds are firmly "hatchery quality", and not generally accorded the high end of even that low bar - mass death events (particularly repeat MDEs) are usually related to some other factor in the environment.

Out of curiosity, how long were the birds in transit??? Last year, when we had the horrific weather event, LOTS of birds died. USPS has no planes of their own, so when flights start getting cancelled, live animals sit in (generally unheated) limbo.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Wish it were in better circumstances.

Seriously, what is going on?

To me that sounds like poisoning, not breed or hatchery related. I can't think of any disease or parasite that would act that quickly or in that manner. And it is two separate incidents, so nothing to do with shipping.

You are looking at them and I'm not. You had success before. What has changed from before? I assume you were feeding both of these groups from the same bag? The electrolytes were from the same container? The bedding from the same source? Is everything fresh or is some left over? Could something have degraded over time? Think similarities between these two different groups of 10.

Are you brooding them in the same place and brooder you brooded those 30? Does the time of the year make a difference from the 30? Different types of bedding? Think differences between this time and the previous time it worked.

I remember a case from several years back where the kids were feeding the new chicks treats from a contaminated bag. Another case where they were near a gas water heater, the exhausts from that burning gas poisoned them. The chicks were older in this one but they could get to rat poison?

One thing that bothers me is that it is as spread out as it is but I'm not sure how long after you got them that the first died. Why would some immediately be poisoned but some others be a little delayed? I don't know if that gives you a clue.

Good luck. I know this is extremely frustrated but I think it is something happening after you bring them home.

 

[Mosey2003]

I would switch to plain, fresh water and get a different bag of feed, first. Also might suspect the heat lamp bulb.

You're not cooking on the stove anywhere near them this time, are you? Different pan?

 

[WildCard77]

Hi Everyone. We previous searched for others experiences ordering Cornish Cross from Tractor Supply but there did not seem to be much. So we figured we will share our on going experience.

We ordered the chicks on Friday 10/8/21. Straight forward online order. Didn't get any updated til Wednesday [I also called Hoover on Wednesday, they stated Tractor Supply doesn't have their expected shipping dates correct, which can vary with the season. At this time (off season) they only ship chicks on Wednesday. Ours were awaiting pick up].

[Note: Last night (Thursday the 4th) we received an email from TSC that our item was delayed. Seems this might be further illustration of poor communication with the supplier as they arrived as expected]

This morning (Friday 10/15/21) we received a call that our chicks were at the post office ready for pick up. My Wife just picked them up and we received 10 chicks, all alive. We will update on their progress and share our experience.

Feel free to chime in, we are brand new to backyard chickens and are raising both layers and meat birds.

 

[WildCard77]

I have been purchasing my Cornish cross from tractor supply for years. I rarely to never lose any chicks. I purchased 32 3 weeks ago and still have 32. The only difference between going into the store and buying them and ordering them online is that you can buy sexed chicks online. I find that there is a significant weight difference between ruse and hens for this breed. I am planning a poultry business this year so this will make a difference for me now. The difference online at Hoover hatchery is $0.50 per bird more for a male. In my opinion definitely worth the extra money considering the weight difference at butcher ready. I have had some hens lay eggs. I had one prolific layer who was giving me an egg every 2 days. I couldn't butcher her I just let her roam around until she died one day. If that happens again I'm going to throw some eggs on the incubator and see what happens. I looked into breeding my own chicks and this is a far more complicated venture than I care to get into at this time. I highly recommend Hoover's hatchery for strong and healthy birds. If you're not concerned about the sex, just get them at TS. The birds by me at TS in NY are 2.50 unsex or 2.09 on sex at HH.