9 week-old Freedom Rngrs. with "water balloon" chest - Conclusion

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Just checked on my 9-week old Freedom Rangers (gone for two days and mom was tending) and noted that what had looked like a very full croup on several now looks like over-sized water balloon. Chickens eat only broiler finisher and whatever grass they decide to forage from enclosure. What do you think this is? What should I be doing about it? And is there something I'm doing wrong that could be causing this condition?

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

One of the pullets, who also happens to be the smallest of the bunch is really swollen around the croup/chest area this morning. Any helpful advice?

 

[suki'smom]

I don't know much about broilers but from what I've read, fluid in the chest cavity is common. I would butcher them before they die.

 

[wsmoak]

I would suspect heart problems -- edema (water retention and swelling) is a common symptom. You don't show your location, but it's been VERY hot in many places around the US, and that's hard on a heavy bird.

When were you planning to process them? At nine weeks they should be getting close to done. I would go ahead and process the ones that are having trouble and keep a close eye on the rest.

-Wendy

 

[Life is Good!]

After everything those birds have been through (fire, evacuation, relocations, smoke, heat, etc.), I too would suspect heart problems. At nine weeks, ours would have been about a 3# bird dressed - still bigger than the ones at the grocery store!

If you are going to process them yourself, have those that seem struggling be the first 'volunteers'. If you were hoping to take them to a processor - then you'll have to figure out best situation. But a 9wk dead bird is WAY worse than a 9wk small carcass in "Camp Frigidaire" that you put there yourself. We watched a bunch of youtube videos on how to process to learn ourselves. Did it for the first time in June - will be doing at least 2 batches of birds a year, because it's just so much better meat! And truthfully, while doing the deed was hard, it wasn't impossible.

Best wishes for you and your birds.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Thanks everyone. I was going to start with maybe 5 of the largest roosters this weekend, but perhaps instead I should look to take the 3 or 4 with the puffy chest health issue, regardless of size. It's disheartening that my main reason for raising meat birds myself was to provide them with a low stress environment, gentle handling, good food, fresh water and plenty of room to move, but the whole Waldo Canyon Fire added all that stress to their short lives. I'll rethink the order of butchering and take those first.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

As a quick follow up to this topic, I did pick the little pullet with the "water balloon" chest to be one of the 6 chosen for slaughter today. It was really sad because the other six were the largest of the lot, dressed weight between 3 lb 13 oz to 4lb 7 oz and this little girl the smallest by far of the bunch with a dressed weight of only 1 lb 10 oz. However, the bulge in her chest looked almost as big as she was, and she wasn't growing like the others. It turned out the it wasn't the chest cavity, as suggested, but a hugely inflated crop. I had wondered if it was sour crop, but couldn't see how she would have eaten something to create the problem, plus had failed to save one of my layers who had developed the same problem, so it seemed like the right thing to do to give her a quick end. A few of the roosters had big crops too, but they were just full of breakfast rather than all inflated and watery.

 

[mstricer]

I wish I would have read this before now, I could have said you the time in doing the deed early. Those FR always do that, they eat like pigs if the food is right in front of them. The small girl, was probably a big free ranger, like in she liked to eat bugs and grass. I saw this with a few of my broiler girls, The ones that ate bugs from sun up to sun down, are all smaller. But that is fine less feed.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

You are right that the Freedom Rangers are piggy eaters. Several of the ones we processed yesterday had large crops, full of food, but this girl's crop was large for at least a week. So large that she seemed to have difficulty coming down the ramp in the morning like she might topple forward onto her face. Had she been one of my egg layers, I probably would have been trying to treat her for sour crop, although I didn't have any luck treating my Jersey Giant who had it this summer. Anyway, what is done is done. She is currently in the smoker with two Cornish Game hens I found in the freezer when I was getting it sorted out before adding the pullet's shrink wrapped flock mates.

No sign of fluid in the chest cavity of any of the other birds so far. One rooster had something weird going on with either his feet or legs. He seemed to be walking back on his heels, and walked with his feet close together. It gave him a funny waddle that was unlike the others. Otherwise, these have been very healthy birds.