Cornish cross birds get weak and die

[cassie]

I processed my 14 remaining birds yesterday. They dressed out between 6 and 7 lbs, with only one at 5 lbs 5 oz. Three had hydropericardium and 1 had ascites. Of course I don't know if it's genetic or something infectious or how I fed them, but I don't think I will order from this hatchery again. Losing 12 of 26 birds was rough. I will stick to Cackle Hatchery's Cornish cross birds, they have always done well for me.

I processed my 14 remaining birds yesterday. They dressed out between 6 and 7 lbs, with only one at 5 lbs 5 oz. Three had hydropericardium and 1 had ascites. Of course I don't know if it's genetic or something infectious or how I fed them, but I don't think I will order from this hatchery again. Losing 12 of 26 birds was rough. I will stick to Cackle Hatchery's Cornish cross birds, they have always done well for me.

I don't know if this will help. I fed mine broiler feed, and they had access to feed from seven in the morning until seven at night. I had the feeders and waterers hung on chains so I could adjust the height as they grew. They had to stand tall to eat and drink. I had the feeders on one side of the pen and the waterers on the other side, so they had to walk a bit. I added Broiler Booster to the water from start to finish. Broiler Booster is a vitamin electrolyte supplement formulated especially for meat birds, and I found it very helpful in preventing many of the problems the Cornish X are heir to. It is available from Murray McMurray, and I wouldn't think of ever trying to raise meat birds without it. As I remember one packet was enough for a batch of 25 birds. I processed most of mine to dress out as eleven or twelve pound roasters.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You only feed twice a day? I keep feed in front of my CX all day, but lights out at night, I don't feed 24/7. I harvest at 6-8 weeks.

 

[MontanaChickDoc]

I don't know if this will help. I fed mine broiler feed, and they had access to feed from seven in the morning until seven at night. I had the feeders and waterers hung on chains so I could adjust the height as they grew. They had to stand tall to eat and drink. I had the feeders on one side of the pen and the waterers on the other side, so they had to walk a bit. I added Broiler Booster to the water from start to finish. Broiler Booster is a vitamin electrolyte supplement formulated especially for meat birds, and I found it very helpful in preventing many of the problems the Cornish X are heir to. It is available from Murray McMurray, and I wouldn't think of ever trying to raise meat birds without it. As I remember one packet was enough for a batch of 25 birds. I processed most of mine to dress out as eleven or twelve pound roasters.

I like the idea of spacing the water and food so they have to get a little exercise
I take food out twice a day (7am and 3 pm) but I put out quite a bit at a time so it lasts several hours. Their crops are always stuffed to full capacity whenever I handle them.

 

[cassie]

I like the idea of spacing the water and food so they have to get a little exercise
I take food out twice a day (7am and 3 pm) but I put out quite a bit at a time so it lasts several hours. Their crops are always stuffed to full capacity whenever I handle them.

These birds grow really fast. In order to do that they must take in a lot of feed. If I were you, I would make very sure they had access to feed all day. As I said, I took the feed away at seven at night and put it back by seven in the morning. During that time period they had plenty of feed of feed in front of them.