Cornish Cross issues.. Help?

[Wolf-Kim]

We ordered 30 Cornish Cross males from Welp hatchery and they arrived April 23. They sent 32, one died in the box and all else went well. Then suddenly at about a week old, they start dropping like flies, 2-4 dead a day/night. WTH!?!?! I purchased them knowing that we would experience SOME fatalities, especially as they got older and closer to the butcher date, but at a WEEK OR TWO old? We are down to 25. Quite dissapointing.

They are in a draft free brooder with two heat lamps and chick starter. We've started 12 on, 12 off to try to save what we can. They have plenty of room to get away from the heat if they need to.

If this is normal, I'm going to have to go with the FR.

Anyway, I just can't seem to figure out what is going on that we would be loosing this many and this early. I thought the fatalities usually took place in the last few weeks.

Do they have to be on medicated chick starter? They have unmedicated, I didn't want to feed medicated. .

 

[cassie]

Your losses are not normal. I don't know if this makes any difference, but we feed ours turkey starter rather than chick starter and add Broiler Booster available from Murray McMurray to the water. We start the 12 on and 12 off at about a week to ten days. Why don't you call Welp and tell them what you are doing and about your problems? They might be able to offer some helpful suggestions. Their customer service is excellent.

 

[blueskylen]

do they have pasty butt or loose watery poo? If pooh looks OK - maybe someone else has an idea.

 

[jaku]

I'm having the same issue, and I've read a lot of other people are also. I think (with no evidence to back it up of course,) that there's an issue with some of the birds at the factory this spring. I'm near a 25% loss on my 5 week olds- I'll have to sell ALL of them to make money, then raise a batch for myself after these are done. I think I'm going try the red broilers, since I'll only be ordering 25, and since they'll be growing out in the middle of the summer. At least then I'll have some basis of comparison when we debate the two birds. I haven't come close to losing the amount of birds I've lost this year TOTAL since I've been raising them.

 

[Beekissed]

Any marked symptoms prior to death? It would be interesting to see if everyone is having the same symptoms when experiencing these fatalities. Did you call your hatchery and ask them about it?

 

[Wolf-Kim]

No, signs that would lead me to believe these were unhealthy, except that they are dead. I have been raising chicks for years, this is just the first time with Cornish Cross.

No pasty butts. The only thing I notice different than normal chicks is the thinly feathered kind of "mushy" breasts/keels,this is the breasts, NOT full/impacted crops. I think this is just because they were meat birds and they laid more than the others.

These guys would seem perfectly healthy, getting up to eat and drink, some milling around the brooder while others are laying under the heat lamp. A couple died under the heat lamp, while the others died further from the heatlamp. The chicks almost seem to die in their sleep, most had their legs up under them with their necks stretched out. All died on their stomache or sides, none on their back.

We've moved them into the tractor, another attempt to slow this death rate. So far out of 3 days in the tractor, we've lost one. It died on it's stomache, stretched out, under the heat lamp.

Their poo looks great. I changed out their water, not that it would matter, but just in case.

They really do seem like heathy happy chicks chasing eachother around the tractor when one finds a bug.

I'll give the hactchery a call and see if they know what's going on.

 

[Peruvian]

Please keep us informed. I have 31 Welp CX in the brooder right now. We have lost none so far (knock on wood!).

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I called the hatchery today and spoke to the office manager, he suggested dosing them with Terramycin and then giving him a call back Friday.

As much as I HATE to do it, I will go ahead and give them Terramycin.

He seemed puzzled too as to why they are dying and said there hasn't been anything 'widespread' that he knows of. He was very friendly about it and I'm glad.

He ran me through several trouble shooting questions. What are you feeding? How many died in the box? Did they have fresh water when they first arrived?

He asked what temp the brooder was and I had to explain I don't keep a thermometer in there, I adjust off how the chicks are responding. Which with two heatlamps and plenty of space to get away, they were absolutely fine temp wise.

This is our first time with Cornish Cross and so far it's been a disaster, the hatchery has given us hope for a second try though because they were so friendly.

No deaths today so far.

 

[Corporate Farmer]

My 11 Cornish Xs from Welp arrived on April 22nd and they seem to be doing fine so far, but I'm getting bit nervous after reading all these posts. 30 other buff orphingtons, australops and ameracauna I received the same day are also doing fine. These are my first Cornish Xs and I'm astonished at their lazy behavior. All they do is eat, sleep and barely move, kinda like my co-workers at the office.

 

[Beekissed]

Kim, that is a mystery...wish there was something to go on, so you could watch for it in the future.

I have 20 CX chicks that are 3 wks old right now and haven't lost one. I got them from TSC, so not sure which hatchery they originated. I hope to grow out another batch this year, so I'm hoping that someone will be able to give a good reason for these deaths.

CF, mine are very active and are free ranging with my laying flock. I'm not keeping food free choice for them, but just feeding them in the evening with the rest of the flock. Do you have them in a pen?