Has anyone ordered multple batches from the same hatchery to have the chicks be different from each other? Our first batch of CRx were lazy, high mortality rate early on ( lost a total of 9 out of 50), had no interest in foraging in the tractor and noticed that some had other feather colors besides white ( one roo had a lot of golden feathers. Some had gray/ black ones too). Batch #2 and 3 are way different. Same hatchery. the chicks are vibrant, 1 death out of 50, act more chicken like (scratch, forage, loves lettuce, bugs and wild blueberries) and actually are pleasant to watch acting as chickens even though #2 are a few days away from processing. Batch #3 is 2 weeks old and seem to be behaving like the older group. Ideas to why? Do you know if the hatchery keeps good enough records that we could request similiar batches for now on? thanks
I'm pretty sure most hatcheries are at the mercy of their supplier. They hatch out whatever they are sent, so it's possible the latter batches where from a different source or from older hens in lieu of pullets. It's been my experience that chicks that are larger are more active.
I have! The first batch this years were slugs. They ate, drank, and plopped down. This batch is completely different. When I open the door to the chicken yard in the morning, they pile down the ramp to forage in the grass. They return to the coop in the heat off the day but as soon as the shadow falls across the yard in the evening they are back out in the yard scratching and pecking. Another, admittedly unusual, observation: the poop is different too. The last batch had the typical, practically liquid, poo and this batch has well formed stools. The coop is much dryer this time. I confirmed with the hatchery that both batches are SUPPOSED to be from the Ross 308 strain too. I can't figure why they are so different.