Losing a Pullet Each Month

[casportpony]

The with the exception of my Silver Phoenix, the ones I lost to Marek's were what I call "mutt" chickens.

-Kathy

 

[BigECarter]

I did not buy mine from Poultry Hollow. I have not mentioned the breeder and have seen no complaints about my source previously. Breeder claims no losses in the birds he kept (he sold me dome from a hatch for breeding stock). But... My first loss was the runt, paralyzed only two weeks after I got them. I suspect they came with Marek's.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: There's a lot of hot button topics here, but no matter; they need discussing, and if any people are emotionally overwrought about them, they need to avoid the threads where they are being discussed. Everyone's passionate about certain topics, but that doesn't make their opinion the only right one that should silence everyone else's. I am very, very certain about some things from my experiences --- but this doesn't mean that someone else didn't have similar or even identical experiences with totally different outcomes. Two different truths does not necessarily equal two lies, or even one lie.

At the end of the day the purpose and intent of this forum is to help poultry keepers, basically.

If a hatchery may be dispersing stock with something contagious it's best people be aware and take precautions, and it may well be worth it for you to contact them with your concerns.

The fact is that a 'clean' hatchery is only clean until someone brings in disease. It's a shame when it happens, but does not necessarily condemn the hatchery or the people there, since it's often something out of their control. Either way if it is a risk it needs addressing.
Quote: How strange, my experience has been exactly the opposite. Were they just crosses, or quarterbreds, or actual mongrels? I'm not sure of the exact definition of what you personally call 'mutts'.

My rather loose definition of the term 'mongrel' is along the lines of the last six generations being comprised of mongrels (very mixed birds), not crossbreds, and certainly no purebreds.

Best wishes to all.

 

[casportpony]

It's really hard to say what's what, 'cause they free range, share nests, etc., but most are what I would call game crosses. My purebreds seem to do okay until they get to be around 3-5, then they die from repro issues.

-Kathy

Edited to add: I don't have a single purebred rooster here and most of my purebred hens are now at least three years old and very rarely lay eggs that I don't pick up.