Cornish cross birds get weak and die

[MontanaChickDoc]

I started with 25 birds. So far I have lost 5 in the last week and one more is looking to go the same way as the others. They are 7 weeks old, and all of a sudden they can't stand, and just sit hunched. It happens overnight. I thought at first it was slipped tendons, but we bandaged the first 2 and they died in the night. Also the birds seem unable to bear weight on their legs. I also started treating with Corrid with the first deaths (the high dose for acute outbreak), syringing it into the weak birds' mouths to make sure they got it. They died anyway. They seem to lose weight very quickly, and their legs and toes get spindly like old lady claws, if that makes sense. They are getting a mix of Purina 17% all flock and 24% meat bird start to finish, fed twice a day. This is my 5th time raising Cornish cross though the first time using this hatchery. The next one that dies I am going to do a necropsy. Could it be a vitamin deficiency? These are purina feeds so I feel they should be balanced and I've never had to supplement vitamins in chickens, only ducks.

 

[nuthatched]

It could be the limited feed, or temperatures. What's their area like?

 

[Kiki]

I just saw your other thread about your birds eating eggs too.
I highly recommend triple checking what you are feeding them all.

 

[Kiki]

Are you still feeding your chicks the duck feed?

 

[Dreamers Nook]

The Cornish need plenty to eat, and they do eat a lot. I use all flock (Homestead) and never had any issues, if anything mine are always fat.
it seems, either they aren't getting enough, or possibly change brands. I'm skeptical using game birds feed, because broilers aren't that active, as game birds are (quail, duck, pheasant and etc), perhaps this could be an issue? I'm sure there's someone a bit more skilled about how game birds feed works for chickens, especially broilers.

 

[MontanaChickDoc]

The 24% is labeled as "Start to Finish for Meat Birds" but I don't like to feed that exclusively since it really makes their poop loose and extra smelly. So I do 50:50 with the 20% duck pellets which have extra B vitamins which are helpful when using coccidiostats which can decrease B vitamin uptake across the gut. For the layers I feed a 16% pellet and mix with the Nature Wise 18% textured layer feed which smells good enough for me to eat myself! It's a new product but it only comes in 40lb bags and it's expensive so I don't feed it exclusively since I have 60+ birds. The meat birds are locked in a 6x 8 ft chain link dog kennel at night, with a large dog house bedded with pine pellets (extra absorbant since their poop is so wet) and pine shavings, and during the day, they are let out into a 10 x 10 ft yard that I keep bedded with either leaves or pine needles that I switch out EOD to keep it clean and dry.
This is my 5th batch of raising meat birds, I've only ever lost 1 or 2 as chicks. I've raised the other ones very similarly. But this is a new hatchery I've not used before - previously I've used McMurray and Cackle. This time I used Valley Farms.

 

[Sefirothe]

The 24% is labeled as "Start to Finish for Meat Birds" but I don't like to feed that exclusively since it really makes their poop loose and extra smelly. So I do 50:50 with the 20% duck pellets which have extra B vitamins which are helpful when using coccidiostats which can decrease B vitamin uptake across the gut.

If you are supplementing additional B vitamins and using Corid, you are canceling the effectiveness of both out.

Corid works by mimicking thiamine in a way that makes it unavailable to the cocci so they are unable to reproduce easily. If you are adding more actual thiamine (vitamin B1) to their diet you are negating that effect.

 

[Dreamers Nook]

Could be the hatchery, does seem odd. I use Hoover's never lost any chicks, but I only get 6 at a time. Hopefully someone here has an better idea of the issue. I wouldn't order from them again myself.

 

[Altairsky]

Isn't 7 weeks culling age for broilers? They tend to decline if you wait too long before culling.

 

[Dreamers Nook]

Isn't 7 weeks culling age for broilers? They tend to decline if you wait too long before culling.

The longest I've waited is almost 4 months, I had 3 for this Christmas. They were huge and starting to have difficulty moving. I don't intend to wait that long again for sure.

I believe 3 months is best age but read you can start at 7/8 weeks.