Demand that the hatchery you order your chicks from this year:

[deerman]

I wrote my response because you seemed to be ragging on newbies for not responding. There are alot of reasons for people not responding to polls and threads and apathy or "feeling threatened" are low on the list.

plus alot of people don't want to read.......a 2 mile long post.

 

[Resolution]

plus alot of people don't want to read.......a 2 mile long post.

Alrighty then. You two can go off and not be bothered. I'm not ragging at anyone. Why would I write a thread inviting discussion if I just wanted to rag and belittle people? That's not the way I roll. There are those that do and I am not one of them...
and you haven't seen two miles. Paragraphs in books are difficult for some to read but that's not why they learn so little.
Paragraphs on the net are hard to read because the whole screen is glowing. That won't stop me from typing whole paragraphs.
If you don't like my writing don't bother reading and please really- don't bother writing in a thread you can't be bothered reading- that way threads don't get derailed or locked and other people don't go cross-eyed wondering where that non-think came from to start with.

 

[SherrieT]

So you are only inviting discussion if it agrees with your views? And the rest of us, who either don't agree or have questions, be ******?

 

[Resolution]

So you are only inviting discussion if it agrees with your views? And the rest of us, who either don't agree or have questions, be ******?

Huh? Really? I've invited meaningful dialogue from anyone and everyone. I've dis-invited snipers. There's nothing to shoot at here folks. You took umbrage with tone and projected that there was something uppity going on here and deerman he's just always trying to wreck my range rover.

Over the years I've finally learned to stop trying to make sense of stuff that just exists to make no sense. For instance, otherwise friendly and perfecty charming dogs chase after range rovers barking their heads off, biting at tires with tails wagging while ever graceful and reticent deer jump out and greet you by denting your hood and then they give you a guilt complex with their big moist eyes as they limp away.
These are observations I've made in life. You may disagree entirely or ask questions. Though really I was just trying to get folks ready for chick season and I don't mean spring break peeps- I mean let the kids pick out a chicky moment is coming to a home near you.

 

[Resolution]

I've gotten Welsummers from various breeders and never had any issues with any of the problems you mentioned earlier.

Most of the chicks I got from hatchery wise are from ideal hatchery. Crooked toes and cross beaks were the common offender but I am scratching that off from incubation problems because the next batch, no problems onceforever.

Cackle was the worse, with their sex links and Aussies, man they are brutal canalablistics!

Good to know. I'll order Welsummers from Ideal this year unless I can find a private breeder who can send me a fifty chicks.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

I order from hatcherys every year. So far I haven't had a problem. Healthy birds and good layers. Now I did read about a Salmonella out break last year that came from a hatchery. That was kinda scary!
I've also noticed that some of my breeder birds had more of a pecking problem than my hatchery birds! And my breeder birds come from excellent stock.

 

[EweSheep]

You can ask around to see if they will send you fifty chicks.

IMO hatchery stock is not the greatest example for Welsummers. Too many people were disappointed with the egg shell color and type.

Good to know. I'll order Welsummers from Ideal this year unless I can find a private breeder who can send me a fifty chicks.

 

[easttxchick]

Me too! I buy from feed stores in town.

Which in MOST instances, buy from hatcheries.

I bought 2 batches of hatchery chicks a few years ago and for some reason, never thought once about the possibility of disease(I admit it). I've never done it again because I ended up with cocci in a few chicks and a bird that had some kind of neurological issues from hatching. I've also lost several hatchery hens due to laying problems(I didn't know better when I ordered layers from a hatchery-I do now). Haven't ordered from a hatchery since.
Res, when are you going to throw us duck people a bone and share some of your great info with us?

 

[Resolution]

I order from hatcherys every year. So far I haven't had a problem. Healthy birds and good layers. Now I did read about a Salmonella out break last year that came from a hatchery. That was kinda scary!
I've also noticed that some of my breeder birds had more of a pecking problem than my hatchery birds! And my breeder birds come from excellent stock.

Yeah-in my opinion, it's up to the consumer to educate themselves, become informed consumers and take those proper steps to help their favorite hatcheries. The hatcheries don't intend to sell anything but healthy chicks. They don't have the time nor necessarily the inclination to learn what's going on outside their hectic chick season lives either.
The consumer can get on the horn and encourage their hatcheries to better educate themselves. The salmonella outbreak is very scary. Again, how do you end up with that without proper management- it wasn't the hatchery at fault so much as it was who they partnered with- very often one of the large religious communities like the Amish for example who are not seeking out information. That's not in their world view for a large part so it's not in their animal husbandry culture. I don't intend to infer anything negative about these communities hatching chicks- just pointing out that they can always benefit from input- lots of it.

Your breeder birds need to weaned off soy and provided more valuable nutrition that they can more readily utilise. Unfortunately, once the feather pecking has started, you've got to keep behavioral enrichment in front of them at all times or they just stay at it.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Soy has been fed to poultry for as long as I've been alive (which is a rather long time). I suspect soy was fed to poultry long before I was born. Feeding soy to poultry is not a new practice.