1st CX - 3 dead in 3 weeks

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Hey folks. This is my first experience with CX and it may very well be my last. I purchased 10 chicks...around 6 days old from Tractor Supply. I lost one at about 4 weeks of age, one at 5 weeks and one last night at about 6 weeks. #2 I had noticed getting weaker and more lethargic during the day and after trying to help it without success,and posting here for advice, ended up dispatching it myself (I think it would have died soon anyway). #1 and #3 seemed healthy when I did my final night time check but were dead in the morning.

I have a larger brooder for them in the garage...meant to move them outside last week but we had a really cold snap...down to 8 degrees F overnight and figured outside wasn't a good idea. The brooder is divided about in half, with a sleeping half, where the heat lamp has been and a eating half.where the food and water are. I scoop out and replace the bedding in the sleeping half every morning so that they have a clean place to rest and try to replace the majority of the bedding in the eating half about every other day. For the past two weeks I've been extending the period of time they spend without a heat lamp and they seem to be doing fine...no huddling together. I have put the heat lamp on at night because I'm not sure how cold the garage gets at night with the cold weather we've been having.

Water is dumped and refilled at least twice a day and I'm feeding fermented 24% protien chick starter, taking it away now at night (9PM) and giving more in the morning around 7:30 AM. This has been the case for all but the first dead chick who still had food available at night.

Any advice? I ordered 35 Freedom Rangers last summer, received 36 and lost one at the 2 week mark. All the others made it to processing in good shape. I know these birds are less healthy, but right now I'm at 30% loss and considering butchering them all as Cornish game hen sized. Seems a waste though.

 

[SunnysMama]

Have you noticed any gasping, purple combs, etc.? I personally would drop the protein down to about 18% at this point. How long have you been taking it away from them at night? At 6 weeks they shouldn't need a heat lamp anymore, I usually move mine outside at 3 - 4 weeks with nothing but a small watt bulb to keep them from piling. They are seriously little heat machines!! How big of an area do you have them in?

 

[aroo2many]

I agree with lowering the protein to 17-18%. It is my understanding that you only want to feed the 20+% protein for the first 3 weeks. I read why, but can not remember the reasoning. Although, that may not even be the reason for your loss. The CX grow at such an unatural rate of speed there just is not much room for error (or correction). Personally, I think it is kind of cruel that we have created these creatures. That is why I choose to raise the Freedom Rangers.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Thank you for your reply. I'll discontinue the heat lamp if you think that is best. I remember the advice of keeping the heat in the brooder at 95 degrees for the first week and taking it down 5 degrees every week. That would have been a 30 degree decrease in 6 weeks or about 65 degrees. I figured it couldn't be more than about 50
or 60 in the garage at night, so I gave them heat at night. Again, if you think it is a good idea, I'll discontiue the heat lamp. I've been spending the last few days switching them over from the 24% starter to a 20% "grower" feed and since I'm now all out of starter feed, as of today they'll be on the grower feed. The space they are in is 3'X6' or 18 square feet for currently 7 cornish game hen sized birds. I've been taking feed away from them at night since they were around 3 weeks of age. I have a 6'x12' tractor waiting for them outside but it has been unseasonably cold this past week and I've been affraid to put them out..

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I agree with lowering the protein to 17-18%. It is my understanding that you only want to feed the 20+% protein for the first 3 weeks. I read why, but can not remember the reasoning. Although, that may not even be the reason for your loss. The CX grow at such an unatural rate of speed there just is not much room for error (or correction). Personally, I think it is kind of cruel that we have created these creatures. That is why I choose to raise the Freedom Rangers.

Funny, I just posted a question about when to take them off the starter feed last week and was encouraged to keep them on the starter feed until butchering. Sigh. I'm in agreement with you regarding CX vs Freedom Rangers. I was very pleased with the 35 Freedom Rangers I raised last summer. The problem is you can't get them in batches of less than 25, and I've promised my husband I wouldn't try to raise that many this summer due to the forrest fire we had last year and the fact that the drought continues and the fire danger is already high for this year. I ordered 18 "Red Rangers" for May delivery, but when I saw the CX chicks at Tractor Supply, I thought "what the heck, let's see how we do with 10". The answer so far has been "not so good."

 

[aroo2many]

You need a meat-bird-buddy to split the order with!
If I could have started by ordering less than 25 I would have. But now I am used to that number, even though it really is pushing things a bit in the coop. They take up a lot of real estate towards the end!

The feed recommendation on the Freedom Ranger Hatcher site is
21-22% protein for the first 2-3 weeks
18% protein until 7 weeks
16-17% protein to harvest

There may be different recommendation for the CX

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

One hatchery recommends protien ration above 20% for their entire life. A second recommends lowering it to 16% after 3 weeks. Grrrrr

Interestingly, one site also cautioned that if you take away their feed during the night they can fill up on shavings and it will kill them...silly things. I don't think I'm doing CX again. I'll find a way to split an order of Freedom Rangers or just sweet talk my honey into consenting to the whole 25. I know he would prefer that I just find a source to purchase pastured poultry from, but I prefer the idea of raising them myself.

 

[aroo2many]

We've had similar discussions here. But the farmers market chicken does not come with the same satisfaction, pride & love as the ones you raise.

 

[SunnysMama]

One hatchery recommends protien ration above 20% for their entire life. A second recommends lowering it to 16% after 3 weeks. Grrrrr

Interestingly, one site also cautioned that if you take away their feed during the night they can fill up on shavings and it will kill them...silly things. I don't think I'm doing CX again. I'll find a way to split an order of Freedom Rangers or just sweet talk my honey into consenting to the whole 25. I know he would prefer that I just find a source to purchase pastured poultry from, but I prefer the idea of raising them myself.

That is the good thing about taking the light away from them. When it's dark, they sleep instead of eat. For the first week I would keep a regular small watt bulb on them just so they don't freak out and pile. As far as heat...you gradually harden them off until you hit 75 degrees and then you can remove the heat altogether. I'm pretty sure that at 4 weeks they are good down to 16 degrees. I read that in one of my books from Joel Salatin but I can't find the book to check.

I feed mine fermented feed and also allow them to free range. They love being able to run..yep I said run around and eat grass and bugs and weeds. Fermented feed created a whole different bird than my first batch which was raised by hatchery standards.

 

[phalenbeck]

Sometimes they just die. I have lost 1-2 CX in each batch of 15.