Call them and complain, they will make it right. More than likely they came from pullets coming into lay. This time of year is notorious for small chicks as a lot of new flocks are coming into lay. They never do reach full potential in my opinion but hatcheries say that after 3 weeks they are fine.
However in my experience it's been bad, they just don't preform well in the long run. They are more fragile compared to a healthy chick from a hen instead of a pullet. I have the same thing right now with Schlect (sp) but I have only lost two. I have 200 chicks and 3 heat lamps. I will take a pic of the brooder today and post it for you. Just treat them like premature babies... it takes them some time to get them going.
Buster hit it on the nose. It's not their fault and they really can't do much about it. Most of them get their eggs from whatever lines are available, which is why some hatcheries have mixed results. But either case, there is no way around the pullet egg problem. It sucks, but it's normal and just part of the business. If you wait until later in the year, you won't have this problem. But as your finding out, the more batches you do, the problems you will face. You will learn to tell right from the start wether the chicks are good or not and their size will tell you how much you have to baby them.
Another reason for this, are the incubators. If they are old, the quality of the chicks will suffer. Meyer's has great incubators and they are only a few years old which there chicks show it... both in price and quality.
Your best bet is to call the hatchery and ask for a replacement batch, tell them what your situation is and demand for replacements. If they want your business they will replace them. You may have to pay for shipping but it's worth it. I've done this on a couple occasions, especially if I know it's not my fault.
Good luck... how many are you down to?
However in my experience it's been bad, they just don't preform well in the long run. They are more fragile compared to a healthy chick from a hen instead of a pullet. I have the same thing right now with Schlect (sp) but I have only lost two. I have 200 chicks and 3 heat lamps. I will take a pic of the brooder today and post it for you. Just treat them like premature babies... it takes them some time to get them going.
Buster hit it on the nose. It's not their fault and they really can't do much about it. Most of them get their eggs from whatever lines are available, which is why some hatcheries have mixed results. But either case, there is no way around the pullet egg problem. It sucks, but it's normal and just part of the business. If you wait until later in the year, you won't have this problem. But as your finding out, the more batches you do, the problems you will face. You will learn to tell right from the start wether the chicks are good or not and their size will tell you how much you have to baby them.
Another reason for this, are the incubators. If they are old, the quality of the chicks will suffer. Meyer's has great incubators and they are only a few years old which there chicks show it... both in price and quality.
Your best bet is to call the hatchery and ask for a replacement batch, tell them what your situation is and demand for replacements. If they want your business they will replace them. You may have to pay for shipping but it's worth it. I've done this on a couple occasions, especially if I know it's not my fault.
Good luck... how many are you down to?
