# Found a dead broiler - why?



## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

Hi I'm new here too - my chicks arrived three weeks ago today. We got 15 broilers, 2 Americaunas, 4 Wyandottes, and a free mystery chick. I lost 3 chicks in the first 3 days. Everything has been going well since then and the broilers are getting huge. They also look like they have diarrhea so I tried washing in the warm water as suggested here. Not very easy, but it helped. My problem is this afternoon I found one of the ones with a nice washed butt dead. Could I have stressed it out? I cleaned out the brooder - a wading pool surrounded by wire fencing - and discovered they haven't been scratching and aerating the shavings very well. Could it have died from bacteria? I feel so bad. This is my first time with chickens. The broilers are in a wading pool and my layers are separate in a horse trough. The layers have no problems and poop looks more normal, but the broilers are more poopy. All the chickens look healthy and are learning to cluck and have a good appetite. I was really surprised to find one dead. Any ideas?


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

Although I have not raised any "broilers" ( Cornish-X ), I have read that it is not uncommon for them to drop-dead from Heart-Failure OR Ascites ( _basically _Edema ). They also tend to have leg-problems....as I have read.
_PERHAPS...._someone with experience raising "broilers" can answer your question more effectively.

*GOOD LUCK with the others !
*-ReTIRED-


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

It's not that unusual to loose a chick at random every now and then. If it had diarrhea as you said it may have just died of dehydration. Try putting some electrolytes in their water. It helps with keeping their immune systems up when they're dealing with these issues. Otherwise reTIRED is right. If your broilers are Cornish X then it is pretty common for them to have heart issues and the like. Good luck with the rest!


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## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

Hmmmm. I don't know if they are Cornish. Got the "BBQ Special" from McMurray to try out having some meat birds. They are pretty big already. Three times the size of my smallest Wyandotte. And I'm not letting them feed all day to try to alleviate the leg problems. Can I throw the chicken in the trash or do I have to bury it?


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## ReTIRED (Mar 28, 2013)

Chippets said:


> Hmmmm. I don't know if they are Cornish. Got the "BBQ Special" from McMurray to try out having some meat birds. They are pretty big already. Three times the size of my smallest Wyandotte. And I'm not letting them feed all day to try to alleviate the leg problems. Can I throw the chicken in the trash or do I have to bury it?


From the website of *Murray McMurray Hatchery.......*

Quote: 
Here's a chance to get some fast growing chicks that will make delicious, broad breasted, chicken to be prepared by your favorite method of cooking. Mouth watering flavor, mostly white meat, golden yellow skin, easy to dress white plumage. Our choice of breeds but all of these chicks will be Cornish X Rocks and/or Cornish Roasters. These will make dandy broilers or fryers for the summer family picnic and put some in your home freezer to enjoy them the year round. If you want to let them grow they will make beautiful tender roasting chickens.
-Unquote.

*Did you NOT READ THIS* when you spent your money ?

Jiminy Crickets !
-ReTIRED-


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

You can bury it if you want... otherwise disposal is no more difficult than having a dead goldfish. You can trash or flush it or throw it on your next campfire. It such a small animal no one is really going to care, except maybe you.


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## aacre (May 5, 2013)

ReTIRED said:


> From the website of *Murray McMurray Hatchery.......*
> 
> Quote:
> Here's a chance to get some fast growing chicks that will make delicious, broad breasted, chicken to be prepared by your favorite method of cooking. Mouth watering flavor, mostly white meat, golden yellow skin, easy to dress white plumage. Our choice of breeds but all of these chicks will be Cornish X Rocks and/or Cornish Roasters. These will make dandy broilers or fryers for the summer family picnic and put some in your home freezer to enjoy them the year round. If you want to let them grow they will make beautiful tender roasting chickens.
> ...


Yup! Some of my first chickens were of the fast growing kind. I started about 3 years ago with chickens. It was disgustingly horrifying at how fast they grew. They also didn't taste as good and would drop dead just because their insides were growing faster than they were. Never again will I ever get fast growers no would I recommend them to anyone. Gross!


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## Roslyn (Jun 21, 2012)

Delawares are my favorite for dual purpose. The boys are big and nice sized for eating by 12 to 16 weeks and the girls are very pleasant. In all the males I have had (8 total) I have never had an aggressive Delaware rooster, they are lovers not fighters.

If you order straight run, then you get females and males to eat. You can start the peeps together and then separate them around 8 weeks when it's very obvious who is who. By then you will get to know them and be able to pick out a good rooster to keep if you like, and harvest the rest when they reach the size you want. The Delaware was first bred as a broiler on a commercial level in the 1940's before the Cornish Cross took over. I bought mine from Meyer Hatchery in Ohio and I was very pleased with them.


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## Chippets (Jun 8, 2013)

Thanks for the tips. This is my first go-round with chickens. And for the record, yes, I did read what I was ordering - way back in March, and forgive me if I couldn't remember while I was responding about being unsure what they were. I've slept waaaay too many times since then.


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