Is it normal to loose chicks as time goes on?

[Themagicone]

How much ventilation do you have?

It's open into my garage so plenty of fresh air. When nice out I open the garage so they get sunlight and air.

 

[Mvan42]

I think straw can cause sneezing. And if they are eating it that could be harmful. Especially if the don't have grit. Can you get pine shavings

 

[Themagicone]

I think straw can cause sneezing. And if they are eating it that could be harmful. Especially if the don't have grit. Can you get pine shavings

That was the plan in the start but every single store around me was sold out. The farm supply store had this healthy straw its called and said it would work. Now their bigger I'll see what I can find.

 

[azygous]

Location of brooder and ambient temperature of the room? Important details.

 

[Themagicone]

Location of brooder and ambient temperature of the room? Important details.

In my garage. Temp has been cool, 30-60 depending on day/time. However with the 4ft walls of the brooder its keeping it above 50 inside there, 85 under the lights.

 

[Themagicone]

Honestly if 70 make it, I'm still in good shape. I'm hoping that I average 5-6 pound dressed weight and I'll make a little bit of money selling them. I will add a 8x8 outdoor run for them and switch to pine. That'll probably help. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[Morrigan]

For what its worth, I've noticed a couple of things about raising CX compared to other chicks -- even slower growing broiler chicks like Red Rangers -- that worried me at first.

First, they sneeze. I don't know why, but they do. This occurred in a group that was raised outside, as well as groups raised inside using different bedding material (wood pellets, pine shavings straw). I currently have 2, 6 week CX living in a coop with 8 other 6 week old chicks and 5 mature birds. The CX both sneeze occasionally. No one else does.

Second, starting around week 4 or 5, they seem to shed a lot of intestinal lining, noticeably more for than other chicks that age. I've seen this with every batch I've raised. At first, this really worried me, but since all my chicks continued to thrive and gain weight normally, I've stopped worrying. I figure it has something to do with how very fast they are growing.

To answer your original question, losing a couple of chicks in the first few days after they've shipped is somewhat normally, particularly if they were more than 2 days in transit. After that, if your set up good, you should see very few losses, but they still happen. Over the years, I have had one runty, poorly thriving chick, kind of like what you've described, and one with an impacted crop, that didn't make it. If all the other chicks seem healthy and active, I wouldn't worry too much.

I think your plan to give them more space and get them outside as soon as the weather cooperates is good. More space generally means healthier and happier birds.

 

[Themagicone]

Thanks. My whole plan went bad. When I ordered everything, the long range forecasts had temps warming up into the 50-70+ range. Now the next 3 weeks are supposed to be really chilly, no way I can put them in an coop outside that isn't heated or insulated. The heat lamps can only do so much.

What I'm thinking is adding a 8x8 box outside my garage then the 8x8 inside. I'll line the 8x8 outside with sod so they can get grass and move about. Then if they get cold they can go back in the warm garage with the lights.

 

[Morrigan]

It sounds like you are planning ahead, which is good. One thing to keep in mind is how fast they grow. You will want more than an 8 x 8 run in 2 or 3 weeks. Also, as they get larger, managing their droppings gets more challenging. If they are in a confined space, it will need to be cleaned daily if you don't want them living and sleeping in their own poop.

 

[Themagicone]

If it's still chilly how do I encourage them to actually get up and move about vs sitting under the lamps all day? I can make a run as big as needed but need to figure some way to encourage them to use it.