- Jul 8, 2014
- 29
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Hey everyone! Happy Thanksgiving!!
This summer I hatched 9 chicks. The rest of my chickens (50+) are hatchery-bought, and are ages ranging from 7 years (still laying! :O) to 1 1/2 years. I've always had chickens die randomly, sometimes with prior sleepiness and low appetites, but sometimes out of the blue. It was infrequent enough that it never bothered me. But the survival rate of my home-hatched chicks is abysmal! They are 5 months old, and they've been dying one by one from 5 days old to today. Some died still in brooder, some died in a small coop and run adjacent to my flocks (second destination), and some died once fully integrated into the flock (final destination). Only 2 are left.
Has anyone else had these problems? There must be something hatcheries do (vaccines?) that I can't do. I'm beginning to wonder if I should go back to buying from hatcheries.
Thanks everyone, in advance!
This summer I hatched 9 chicks. The rest of my chickens (50+) are hatchery-bought, and are ages ranging from 7 years (still laying! :O) to 1 1/2 years. I've always had chickens die randomly, sometimes with prior sleepiness and low appetites, but sometimes out of the blue. It was infrequent enough that it never bothered me. But the survival rate of my home-hatched chicks is abysmal! They are 5 months old, and they've been dying one by one from 5 days old to today. Some died still in brooder, some died in a small coop and run adjacent to my flocks (second destination), and some died once fully integrated into the flock (final destination). Only 2 are left.
Has anyone else had these problems? There must be something hatcheries do (vaccines?) that I can't do. I'm beginning to wonder if I should go back to buying from hatcheries.
Thanks everyone, in advance!