misterwaterfallin
In the Brooder
Harvest day in this Saturday, and thank god because over the past 2 weeks the birds have been dropping like flies. This is my first time doing meat birds after having raised layers for a long time, so I expected some growing pains but this is getting frustrating at this point.
Here are the basics:
36 cornish cross arrived 9/9. All arrived alive
In a 3x5 brooder for first two weeks. Food/water 24-7.
At week three they were moved outside with a heat lamp at night in the tractor. Tractor moved daily for weeks 2-6, twice a day sense.
1 died on the first night, one more died at the 3rd week mark. Sense then 10 more have died, mostly with the purple/bloated heart failure signs.
Feed wise I started them on an organic soy free starter for the first 3 weeks. They weren't' gaining well and it was recommended to change to a feed with soy, so they are now on a 18% organic grower from the local co-op that many have had success with. Aiming for a 12 on 12 off feeding schedule.
Is anything sticking out that is obviously wrong? We did get some colder temps and one freezing night but oddly enough after that freezing night none were found dead.
Here are the basics:
36 cornish cross arrived 9/9. All arrived alive
In a 3x5 brooder for first two weeks. Food/water 24-7.
At week three they were moved outside with a heat lamp at night in the tractor. Tractor moved daily for weeks 2-6, twice a day sense.
1 died on the first night, one more died at the 3rd week mark. Sense then 10 more have died, mostly with the purple/bloated heart failure signs.
Feed wise I started them on an organic soy free starter for the first 3 weeks. They weren't' gaining well and it was recommended to change to a feed with soy, so they are now on a 18% organic grower from the local co-op that many have had success with. Aiming for a 12 on 12 off feeding schedule.
Is anything sticking out that is obviously wrong? We did get some colder temps and one freezing night but oddly enough after that freezing night none were found dead.