MY CHICKENS ARE DYING....HELP!!!!!!

[57texas]

I BROUGHT 16 BABY CHICKS THE LAST PART OF MAY...THESE TURNED OUT TO BE WHITE ROCK CORNISH CROSS. THEY NOW WEIGH BETWEEN 10- 15 LBS.. THEY ARE HUGE...PROBLEM IS THEY ARE DYING ON ME...IT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY HOT HERE SINCE THE END OF MAY AND THEY ARE ACTING AS IF THEY LOOSE THE USE OF THIER LEGS...GO ALONG LIKE THAT FOR A WEEK OR MORE THEN DIE. I MADE SURE THEY STILL HAD FOOD AND WATER AND PUT A FAN IN THE COOP, BUT THEY SIT IN FRONT OF FAN AND ACTUALLY PANT...I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO HERE...HELP !!!!!!!!!!! I TALKED TO VET, HE SAID MIGHT BE A NUTRITION FACTOR BUT THEY ARE STILL ON MESH WITH VITAMINS......

 

[silkiechicken]

Sorry for your losses... but that's the nature of cornish crosses. To get them to live as far as you have is an accomplishment in it's self. One thing that would have heped is to not feed them all the time. They are not like normal chickens and will keep eating and eating. They don't know when they are full and grow faster than their bodies can handle. Give them cold water and feed them only in the morning and evening. There is not much else you can do because these birds were meant only to live to 10 weeks at most. Sorry. Very few ever make it to laying age. Shame on the feed store for not warning you about what they were. Our feed store explicitly asks each person buying a Cornish x if they know what they are for.

It's not nutrition, its their breed and how they eat too much too fast to put on weight for human consuption.

 

[DuckLady]

Cornish cross are meat birds. You should find a processor and ready them for your freezer.
They are bred to be eating machines, get huge and be butchered, so that they are dying is normal (and a waste of good meat). They are probably suffering, so processing them will be the kindest thing as well as putting food on your table.

 

[silkiechicken]

I agree.

 

[Royicus]

Unfortunately, you got birds that are meant for eating. Like everyone has said already, they are meat birds, and meat birds don't go much past what, 8 weeks or so?

At the same time though, you did say you got the birds at the end of May. That would mean that they are around 7 weeks old, if my math is right

How has the weather been in the area? I'm thinking maybe that the weather is the true cause of their condition. Make no mistake though, 7 weeks is about the time that silkiechicken and I process the Cornish.

 

[57texas]

THANKS YOU GUYS.....I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THESE WERE SOLD TO ME WITHOUT WARNING ME FIRST THAT THEY WON'T LIVE....I COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW BIG THESE GOT AND SO FAST.... WONDER WHY THE VET DIDN'T CLUE ME IN ON WHAT I WAS IN FOR....??????? UNBELIVEABLE!! NOW I AM JUST DANG MAD!!! I HAVE TALKED TO THE FEED STORE SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT THESE CHICKENS AND NOT A WORD SAID TO ME....I APPRECIATE ALL YOU GUYS!!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Oh yes, 7 or so weeks, I cant count! Yeah, lots of feed stores assume you know what you are doing. My favorite one is a family run ordeal and they are very honest and helpful. Even willing to say they don't know when they don't know.

And in all honesty, lots of vets don't know anything about chickens. Chickens are historically managed flock wise and if you just say chickens to them, they wont understand what is really gong on. It's gong to take time before there are vets that specialize in poultry management on the small scale.

Better get ready to butcher soon, and start fresh with maybe a small order of sexlink girls who will give you lots of eggs when they mature.

They eat alot and I feel for you. I raise them in batches of 4 at a time and they eat 50 lbs in thoes first 8 weeks.... That same 50 lbs will last 18 leghorns the same amount of time.

Good luck. If you eat meat, it will be very tender, just remember to age them in the fridge over night. It is not that hard to do and it will be good that you can at least get something out of your birds before they all die.

 

[57texas]

SILKIECHICKEN THANKS FOR HELPING ME OUT ON THIS...I CALLED FEED STORE AND VET THIS MORNING AND GOT A GOSH TO BAD FROM BOTH...THEN GOT ON THE PHONE AND GAVE THEM TO A FAMILY WHO WILL UTILIZE THE MEAT, THESE CHICKENS WERE BROUGHT FOR A LITTLE BOY (GRANDSON) WE ARE RAISING...HE IS PRETTY UPSET, WE HAVE A LITTLE RED HEN AND A VERY SMALL WHITE HEN AND FAITHFULLY 2 EGGS A DAY. TOLD HIM WE WILL TRY TO FIND SOME MORE LIKE THEM, BUT DON'T KNOW IF GRANDMA IS READY...GRIN. ALOT OF WORK THIS SUMMER TRYING TO KEEP THESE ALIVE....PLUS WE ARE HERE IN UTAH WITH ALL THE FIRES, VERY CLOSE TO US, SO MAYBE WE WILL REGROUP A LITTLE AND TRY AGAIN LATER....I THINK THEY PROBALLY KNEW ABOUT THE BIRDS BUT HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF IF YOU GET CAUGHT THEN APOLIGIZE,,, HOPE NOT BUT I WONDER, HAVE ANOTHER CHICKEN DOWN TODAY, PRETTY SAD. THANKS AGAIN....

 

[silkiechicken]

If you can, run a fan out to them and give them ice water and frozen pop bottles to lie against. It will help them out a little. As for next spring. Head to a feedstore and ask for their sexlink pullets. You will get all egg layers there because sexlink boys and girls are different colors. Sorry about the experience. Must be tough on your grandson. If you can post a pic of your birds you might be able to find out what type they are since lots of people here have many types of birds. Then if you are willing to go the shipping route, can make an order of just those types from a hatchery! It's not too late to order chicks now too. Hatcheries are still sending the peeps out! Good luck.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I'm so sorry for your losses...your poor grandson too, must be devastated...
Unfortunately, the feed store saw you coming a mile away...
I'd just take the best care of whom you have left.
Reducing their food and trying to get them to move around more will help them a bit (sort of sounds like my DH)