Broiler chick quality?

[chickens and wheat]

Anyone else been sold terrible quality chicks recently? I keep hearing rumours of other growers suffering from this and would like to join forces. Ive been afflicted two crops in succesion and am loosing my normally calm temperament.

PM me with hatchery and flock code and symptoms

Mainly from a Yorkshire hatchery, could be more wide spread? thats why Im asking ,

 

[mixedfarming686]

We grow for the Avara group, the chick quality seems okay at the moment it did go through a bad spell last year but seems to of improved now, there's always some temperamental flocks about, do you have any come back off the hatchery for poor chicks?

 

[Chickcatcher]

Just a slight aside. When we house day olds we find survival is better if house brood temperature is close to 33C yet when chicks are transported the lorry temp is very rarely above 26C.
Farm just cleared is showing a % mortality 2.9 to 4 in sheds of 22000 birds to 45 days.

 

[mixedfarming686]

We brood at around 34C, we have underfloor heating which we find is great for chick start, 2.9 is good mortality, are vets are under more pressure not to medicate, so chick start is essential.

 

[Ross308]

That is very good mortality, I could only dream of those figure, I’ve got 4/5 day old chicks and I’m 1.6-2.4% already, they will have another .5% pulled out by day 7, I normally end up around 4.5-5% at clear.
Chick standards have got a lot worse year on year I find, with little to no grading done at hatchery level

 

[chickens and wheat]

11% 7 days in one shed, papers wet on arriva, birds basically motionless for first 2 days. recovering well, above target weight at 22days
Plenty of growing space I guess

 

[Ross308]

I assume you’ve had them postmortemed? What did they find? I’ve had that a few times, it’s almost like they have been chilled or cooked. Did you bother trying to get the paper out we leave it in when it’s like that, I was told it’s from them turning the baskets around quick and there still wet when the put the paper back in. I didn’t believe them as the chicks where wet as well.

 

[Ross308]

I assume you’ve had them postmortemed? What did they find? I’ve had that a few times, it’s almost like they have been chilled or cooked. Did you bother trying to get the paper out we leave it in when it’s like that, I was told it’s from them turning the baskets around quick and there still wet when the put the paper back in. I didn’t believe them as the chicks where wet as well.

 

[chickens and wheat]

yolk sac infection was the vets diagnosis

yes we were sorely tempted to leave papers in
driver said it was possible because the paper cutting machine was broken, so they had used thinner precut papers from the store room, all excuses under the sun.
many chicks were crapping out squirts of clear liguid goo.

24 days now and they are now suffering pericarditis. however they are big dry and happy on the whole

 

[UKcakeman]

Papers being stuck to the basket is more likely to be caused by the chicks being in the baskets for a prolonged period of time rather than the fact they were washed and not dried thoroughly. I do find as a broiler farmer myself, especially over the last couple of years, us farmers are being used more and more for quality control.