Not a good first run...

[Pine Roost]

I am just about ready to harvest my first round of CX. Everything started out good. I only lost 4 out of 50 while in the brooder, then when I moved them to the outdoor pen they started dropping left and right. We had a few cold snaps below freezing and every morning there would be 2-3 more dead. Then every so often there is a big healthy one dead for no apparent reason...not too cold, not too wet....I dont know what causes them to die. I think that I am down to 30 or so...and that's not too good. Those rascals poop more than anything I've ever seen, then they waller all around in it. I sure hope that they taste better than they look!!!

DId anyone else have a lot die off? Any advice on how I could make them more healthy next go round?

 

[foreverlearning]

Did you restrict their feed? The most common problem found in broilers is ascities caused by either not enough heat or not restricting feed. I've never had a drop off like that but I also take measures to prevent it because so many people do have a problem with it. When you process them make sure that you let them rest in the fridge for 48-72 hours before freezing. I prefer 72 hours for the texture. After you have eaten a few try eating a bag of leg quarters from walmart...you will never buy store bought again.

 

[Pine Roost]

I tried my best to restrict it, but its tough to know exactly when they finish their food and if it's been 12 hours, etc... For instance, would feeding them a 5 gal bucket full of fermented feed be enough for 50 CX chickens for 12 hours?

 

[foreverlearning]

It did for mine. What you are looking for is enough food that it takes them 15-30 minutes to clean up and spread it out during the day. Mine free range for the health benefits of movement (helps reduce risk of ascities) and only get fed 2x a day after 3 weeks, once in the morning and once an hour before dusk. They always act hungry no matter how much you feed them but they really don't need it. I have seen them with a crop so big it looked like it was going to pop waddling towards me wanting more food.

 

[Pine Roost]

ok, Was loading mine up 3 times a day...about 10 gallons of fermented food a day. I bet over feeding was part of my problem...

 

[foreverlearning]

Write down everything you hated about this time and how you would have changed it. You'll forget in time and want some more. This will give you an idea how to better raise them for the next time. I have a long list from my first time and every time I start a new batch I look at that list and make sure I fix the problems before the birds get here. I was put off from raising them for almost a year then I ran out of chicken and had to buy from Walmart. Needless to say, I threw out that bag of chicken and started raising my own again. You don't notice the difference just eating the home raised ones as it is a very easy transition, but when you go back to store bought you find theirs to be soggy, slimy, watered down flavor, and the wrong texture. One of the best improvements I have made was wire floor coop and brooder for them. It has made my life easier and their health better.

 

[Aacre]

How old were they? I found that CX would die if they too much older than 8-10 weeks old. This is usually because their insides will and grow, especially if fed too much. They also cannot lose weight very easily, so regulating it is the best thing you can do.

 

[bobbi-j]

It's possible that you lost the ones during the cold snap due to them piling up to keep warm. Those were probably the ones on the bottom.

 

[Pine Roost]

They will be 8 weeks old on the 23rd and I plan to process them on the 25th or so. I really think my two biggest problems were cold and too much food. Spring will correct the weather issue and I will slow down on the feeding. I have 50 more in the brooder that are 3 weeks old, and they are doing pretty good so far.

I like the idea of the wire floor in the coop. because my brooder has a wire floor and it keeps it so much cleaner. Mine pen is 4'x10' inside of a 15'x30' run. I will have to do some thinking about how to install a wire floor in the coop... I guess hardware cloth would do??

 

[foreverlearning]

Yes, but remember that hardware cloth needs to be supported too. I use the cheap 1"x2"x8' furring strips for support. They are light enough to move if I need to and strong enough to use as supports.