Wry neck and spray legg often

[kempkalm]

I need to know what I'm doing wrong. In the last couple of hatches I've had this week I've had three wry neck chicks and 3 spray legs. My hens and roosters get the best food from the co-op. Lots of treats. Seeds, veggies, fruit grass and clover. What's going on??
I know how to treat both so nobody needs to explain. I want to know how to prevent it from happening to begin with?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My hens and roosters get the best food from the co-op. Lots of treats. Seeds, veggies, fruit grass and clover.

@ChickenCanoe is much better with nutrition and hatching education. I'm still learning, but nutrition is where I would start.
Too many treats dilute the nutritional content of your feed. Decrease the amount of treats/veggies, etc. to no more than 5-10% of daily intake depending on the protein% of your feed. Breeding stock would also benefit from poultry vitamins.

This is a link graciously provided to me by ChickenCanoe when I asked for help, look at Table 7-2 this shows how nutrition impacts embryo health. https://www.nap.edu/read/2114/chapter/9#48

You may also have had some incubation or even genetic issues, but I will leave that to those more experienced than I to comment.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

3 possible issues that cause it...

Nutrition, incubation fluctuations, genetics.

What is the "best food" from the co-op? Your "lot's of treats" might be part of your issue.

I FIX splay leg or wry neck by culling. If you keep hatching and fixing them, you keep breeding it forward. If nutrition is provided for adequately, incubation parameters including slip free surface are correct... then it's a a genetic deficit.

I hatched a few splay after never having issues. Switched my hatching surface thinking it somehow became the issue. Still got one or two splay here or there, spending a lot more cash for each hatch using cupboard liner. Switched back to my original paper towels since it wasn't a previous problem, making sure it is the rougher surface facing up. It still isn't a problem..

My hatches do vary sometimes... and I think I get my best hatches when I had recently fed scrambled eggs to parent stock. What breeds are you working with? Are you seeing the issue in one breed more than others? Do you know how closely related your parent stock are? What are your usual incubation parameters and how many thermometers are you using?

This is a link graciously provided to me by ChickenCanoe when I asked for help, look at Table 7-2 this shows how nutrition impacts embryo health.

Missing the link?

 

[Shezadandy]

You could try a control group. Feed one group of parent stock your co-op feed.
Feed the other group something like Purina or Nutrena - I'm making a guess on how long before setting new eggs - a month? two? Not sure. Just because the best ingredients are going into a food source doesn't mean it's properly balanced. Other question would be do they have specific feeds for baby chicks vs. adults? Don't get me wrong- it might be just fine and the greatest chick(en) feed known to mankind, but if you're having these sorts of problems, it's time to investigate.

Also agree with above comment on treats- depending on the quantity of any one treat variety, it may be upsetting the balanced nutrition of their main food source and your birds might be getting less of something vital than you think they are.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Missing the link?

Ooops! I fixed it now

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I need to know what I'm doing wrong. In the last couple of hatches I've had this week I've had three wry neck chicks and 3 spray legs. My hens and roosters get the best food from the co-op. Lots of treats. Seeds, veggies, fruit grass and clover. What's going on??
I know how to treat both so nobody needs to explain. I want to know how to prevent it from happening to begin with?

I have to agree with all the other comments. What breeds? Any inbreeding? What is the percentage of hatchlings that have these issues?
Continual physical anomalies in newly hatched chicks could point to incubation parameters but more than likely it is genetic or nutritional if the bulk of your chicks hatch on time with few issues.
As @EggSighted4Life mentioned, I would cull these chicks or definitely not use them for breeding
The best food from the co-op may be excellent but the statement doesn't explain how it is made or if it is assayed to guarantee it has all the nutrients chickens of specific ages are known to need at the correct ratios. Does the feed have a guaranteed analysis tag on it? Does the feed have the mill date on it?
The cautionary note on your post is "Lots of treats. Seeds, veggies, fruit',' grass and clover". Lots of treats may make your chickens happy and love you but doesn't mean they are getting the superior nutrition necessary for good hatchability of quality chicks.
All your chicks aren't 'quality' so I would definitely revisit nutrition. Whatever the other treats are; seeds, fruits, veggies, grass and clover all contain very little protein. More importantly than crude protein levels, like vegetable based feeds, you're providing a diet that is likely deficient in several essential amino acids. Your chickens' diet may be adequate for egg production but likely not for good hatchability.

 

[kempkalm]

Thanks everyone.

 

[Kiki]

Thanks everyone.

I too read this as maybe you are feeding too much.
Stick to a complete feed only (no treats) and also add extra vitamins and minerals to your breeding flock for a while before you collect eggs.

 

[Kiki]

What is the brand name of the feed you buy from your co op?

 

[lazy gardener]

Excellent posts by Kiki and CC. In addition: Have you personally calibrated your thermometers and hygrometer?

Comparing 2 thermometers is NOT calibrating! I use a guaranteed to be accurate medical grade thermometer (either digital or mercury) in a bowl of water at 100*F. I add the thermometers to be calibrated, don't let them touch bottom or sides of the bowl. Wait for them all to stabalize, then compare their readings with the medical thermometer.

Do the salt test for your hygrometer.

Check your bator for several days before putting in your eggs. Even with a fan, there is likely to be warm/cool spots. Know where those are, and after doing all you can do with venting and air baffles to equalize the temps, rotate the eggs through your safe zones.

Use candling to keep an eye on air cell development, and adjust your humidity accordingly. I incubate at 30 - 40% with excellent hatch rates.

Put your birds on a good quality multi vit for 2 - 3 weeks before collecting hatching eggs. Ditch the treats. My birds get fermented feed 16% layer. If I anticipate collecting hatching eggs for the bator, I will give them 18% for a few weeks. Always make sure your feed is used up within 6 weeks of mill date. Nutrients oxidize rapidly, best practice is to use it within 6 weeks. During snow season I give them sprouts. During grass season, they get free range goodies.