The Replacements

Our replacement meat birds came in last night and they are settling in well. We're not sure what happened with the last batch, other than I think it was just a bad hatch. The hatchery we use is Ideal Poultry and this is the first problem we've ever had with their birds. The folks there are great and the birds are healthy. We did everything to correct the problem and we have no complaints.

Here are the new chicks, all are doing well. They will be moved to brooder cages in a couple of days, then free range once they feather out.

Here is 1 of the 4 survivors from the bad batch. These are growing well and should be ready in a few weeks. They are in a brooder cage until they get all their feathers (we had a cold snap), then we'll turn them out into the yard for a couple of weeks to finish out.Here's a shot of one of our holiday birds, they are about 7 weeks old and will go into the freezer this week.And our new batch of layers are growing like crazy. These hatched Nov 19! We never lost any of these, 25 pullets and 6 cockerels all doing well and are big enough to get out into the brooder yard for a while each day.

Chicken Fiasco

No, it's not a new recipe....it's a disaster!! We have been losing our CornishX meat birds at a steady rate; despite me doing everything I know to stop the cycle of death!!

Now keep in mind, despite their robust size...these are fragile birds. Special care must be given regarding their feed and environment in order for them to thrive. I have been raising these birds for years and have never seen anything like this. All I can figure is that we got a bad hatch. Sometimes incubation temps will be off by a degree or 2 and it can really affect the development of the chicks. Here is a shot of the last 5 survivors. For now they are in the fish tank brooder until I know they are on their feet well enough to go back out to the brooder house or a brooder cage.

When we began to have so many losses, I called the hatchery. They were very understanding and are sending us a new batch of chicks. We have done business with them for years and this is the first problem we've had with any of their birds...we will continue to do business with them.

Our holiday birds are now out in the finishing pen. They are at about 8 pounds each and doing great. We will raise them for another week or so before putting them in the freezer.