How healthy are hatchery chickens?

[lothalvalleyfarm]

Last year in June I got 4 barred rock pullets from a local co-op, I assume they came from a hatchery but no idea which one. It's been about 14 months and 3 of the 4 have died to different, weird internal things that I assume are maybe genetic based? How poor are hatchery genetics in general?

 

[The Chicken life chose me]

Which hatchery was it?

 

[lothalvalleyfarm]

Which hatchery was it?

I don't know, I'd have to call the store and see if they know.

 

[The Chicken life chose me]

I don't know, I'd have to call the store and see if they know.

Yes, please try to find out

 

[nuthatched]

At 14 months, it's MUCH more likely their diet and environment than the hatchery, though some hatchery birds can be predisposed to certain issues.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

What were these "weird internal things"?

 

[lothalvalleyfarm]

What were these "weird internal things"?

This last one had 1 day of acting weird where was sat a lot panting with wings loose with her tail kind of down, then was acting normal by the end of the day. She laid an egg that day, then the next, then no egg for 2 days and died the day after. That entire time she did everything as normal up until she keeled over. Now that day she was acting weird I wondered if she was egg bound or something, but she laid eggs, wasn't pumping, wasn't doing the penguin walk, wasn't straining, poop was normal, and she wasn't lethargic. So maybe some kind of internal reproductive issue? She looked perfectly healthy on the outside.

Second chicken I have no idea what happened because I was out of town for 2 nights, chickens were being watched by a neighbor. The day I was coming home she was apparently getting lethargic and just keeled over dead by the run door, looked healthy as could be and laid an egg the day before based on what was collected. I didn't feel anything weird when I examined the body.

First chicken seemed to be a crop issue, presented both like sour crop and a bit like impacted crop, tried treating for a few days but we lost her.

Super frustrated, they have a safe enclosure with clean water, balanced layer pellets, oyster shell grit, shade, wading pool in the heat. They've never had mites, lice or anything else. No bumblefoots or pecking or anything. Just fine, healthy seeming chickens and then something goes wrong.

 

[SmiYa0126]

The only hens of mine that I haven't had issues with are the farm mutts that I got from a farmer friend of mine. The pullets I bought from another farmer, the hybrid Plymouth blues all had health issues, one is no longer laying, the other sporadically laying, the easter eggers are healthy, but one has a leg issue and the other one has really funky toes which makes them predisposed to bumble foot. They were raised in a barn basement with roosting boards every foot or so. Not any actual floor space . Rir chicks I bought as babies, one died at one year old from cancer. From now on I will only be buying chicks from farmer friends.

 

[lothalvalleyfarm]

The only hens of mine that I haven't had issues with are the farm mutts that I got from a farmer friend of mine. The pullets I bought from another farmer, the hybrid Plymouth blues all had health issues, one is no longer laying, the other sporadically laying, the easter eggers are healthy, but one has a leg issue and the other one has really funky toes which makes them predisposed to bumble foot. They were raised in a barn basement with roosting boards every foot or so. Not any actual floor space . Rir chicks I bought as babies, one died at one year old from cancer. From now on I will only be buying chicks from farmer friends.

That's weird, hybrids are supposed to be hardy

 

[Red Mangrove]

That's weird, hybrids are supposed to be hardy

Hybrids are almost universally hardier because they don't suffer from genetic bottlenecking. I personally try to avoid purebred animals out of compassion. So many chickens suffer from terrible inbreeding