Lame meat birds

[Yahootie Jabootie]

I have 50 meat birds (cornish) they are 6 weeks old and the majority of them are doing fine. But in the last few weeks several of them have become lame. The birds are free fed med-free grain. They coop has a 1/2 by 1/2 wire floor but they are let out everyday to range in a fenced in area. Right now I'm seeing a 10% affliction rate and that seems way too high. Can someone out there give me a clue as to what I may be doing wrong? Thanks for any help.

 

[Nemo]

Welcome to the forum.

We raised twenty-five Cornish X Rocks this spring, for the first time. The big advice we received was to only feed them twice a day, to keep them from getting too big too fast. Ours spent a lot of time lounging around, but we didn't see any having trouble standing up to get into the feeders.

 

[moenmitz]

Alot of people take the feed away at night to slow down their growth a bit-they outgrow their legs quickly. Also, if you are not already doing so, raise their feeders and waterers up so tehy ahev to stand to get to them, not lie down. McMurray sells a vitamin packet called "broiler booster" that is supposed to help prevent leg problems...most likely other companies make an equivalent...

I THINK I read that upping the protein % will help them build mroe muscle and stronger legs...but it will also will make them gain weight quicker...so I am not sure how or if this would benefit your situation.

 

[Yahootie Jabootie]

Thanks this is all good info. I'll look into the booster pack. Now is there anything that can be done for the afflicted birds or am going to have some "Cornish game hens" in the freezer?