# How many chicks survive to adulthood?



## NWChickens (Dec 29, 2015)

Hello,

I know that survival rate isn't fantastic with chicks. Just curious, how many of your chicks have survived that you have had to cull as pullets due to illness or severe injury? 


I had one die as a chick, and I have had to cull one Buff Orpington pullet due to development issue in the legs.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

I've lost 1 out of 45 chicks, and it was a meat bird.
Haven't had to cull any.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Actually survival rates for chicks are right up there with adult birds. I don't think I lost one in 100 chicks as evidenced by how many times my large coop was over run. 

I didn't lose any to injury but did to unknown illness'. What I will add is that what remains of the flock I kept after selling out are 5 years or older. One will be ten in a couple of months. I lost my ten year old rooster a couple of months ago.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I've lost a couple to illness, 2 to rooster aggression, many to predators. I have a poor survival rate...
Actually, chick wise I've only lost 2, one to prolapse and another got squashed in the beooder.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I lost one chick years ago; failure to thrive.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I lost a chick to wry neck. In 8 years I have lost 2-3 to coccidiosis, but they were around 2 months old.


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## NWChickens (Dec 29, 2015)

The one I culled yesterday flew under the radar for a while I think, but would not be able to survive in a coop very long.


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

I lose a chick every now and then but it's probably at the same rate as the adults unless you count the few obvious death moments... like when I left the chicks in charge of someone else so I could leave for the weekend and their water bowl flipped in the middle of the night and half froze to death. (Note to self: Remind anyone to take bowl out at night!) So far this year I haven't lost any adults. Last year I lost several to hawks, two to injury caused by a rooster, many as sacrifices to the stew pot - especially the aforementioned rooster, and quite a few Brabanters to what appeared to be some sort of genetic liver issue. Most of the chicks I lost were failure to thrive or Stupid Baby Syndrome (unable to get what food and water are.) But most of those were Seramas who are really good at such theatrics. SIGH.

Funny note when I first got into chickens I was told by some old timers the chick loss rate would be 50% so I decided I wanted 12 birds and bought 24, the hatchery threw in a handful of extras. Two didn't survive shipping, three died a few days later, but when all was said and done I still ended up with more than twice what I had initially wanted! OOPS.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

WeeLittleChicken said:


> I lose a chick every now and then but it's probably at the same rate as the adults unless you count the few obvious death moments... like when I left the chicks in charge of someone else so I could leave for the weekend and their water bowl flipped in the middle of the night and half froze to death. (Note to self: Remind anyone to take bowl out at night!) So far this year I haven't lost any adults. Last year I lost several to hawks, two to injury caused by a rooster, many as sacrifices to the stew pot - especially the aforementioned rooster, and quite a few Brabanters to what appeared to be some sort of genetic liver issue. Most of the chicks I lost were failure to thrive or Stupid Baby Syndrome (unable to get what food and water are.) But most of those were Seramas who are really good at such theatrics. SIGH.
> 
> Funny note when I first got into chickens I was told by some old timers the chick loss rate would be 50% so I decided I wanted 12 birds and bought 24, the hatchery threw in a handful of extras. Two didn't survive shipping, three died a few days later, but when all was said and done I still ended up with more than twice what I had initially wanted! OOPS.


What you were told was probably true in the way back when, but with our new understanding of care and health survival is much, much higher than it once was.

It's also why I've told others, be careful what old timers tell you. It might have been true then but we've moved miles beyond what was.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

That is very true Robin.
When I started out I listened to all the old guys tell me "how things are/were" in the chicken world. Lots of it seemed true,..but 1/2 was pure Bullsh*t and wifes tales.
But the same can almost be said for the now-a-days experts as well.
Just a cpl years ago I was doing the "scientific" route by following what the researchers suggested as far as chicken math....feeds..and disease/med recommendations. But what I found was even amongst the "experts" there was a wide and varying opinion on how to.

I think and feel that we should listen to and consider all options...but like eating fish.EAT THE MEAT,..SPIT OUT THE BONES.
Success I believe comes from experience and plenty of old fashion common sense. The latter seems to be missing more and more in our world today.

There a several "chicken" sites on the web today....the majority are very clique-ish and only tolerate one way of doing anything....Their way!
Here we are blessed with many folks from many walks of life and all come with very different chicken experiences and situations.
What a person does in Southron Alabama might work for me here in South-East South Carolina but surely will not work out well for somebody up in Iron City Michigan 
I am glad and feel a bit blessed we can all come HERE to share our chicken times and to just hang out...

Opps guess I got off topic there......How many survive? In a normal year we incubate 50 eggs,..40 to 45 hatch.....of those 45 I will say 5 die the first week for whatever reasons.
Those 40 are usually good to go for 6 to 12 weeks....from 3 months to 6 months I may lose 10 more...them doing stupid things or predators and also rooster culling. So I may be down to say 30 now, roughly. On occasion we may have lost 2 or 3 more by the time they hit one year. Ok we are down to about 28 to 30 birds. including the culled ones.
In our area...70 to 80% survival is near average. down towards the coast it's even less.
So it would seem that geography and climate may be a factor.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You said it, common sense. So much is being able to stand back and assess what is the right move to make.

Maybe because of what I raised and why I was raising them, I never saw those kinds of losses. Every peep hatched here, well in the old place, had value so getting them to adulthood was financially important.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Yeah that was just and average...some years we may have lost maybe 2 or 3 only....but that was to predators.
And this past summer I lost 98% of an entire flock of Chickens and Ducks....predators.

But as was said...with modern thinking those incidents are more the exception than the rule.


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## SamT (Oct 15, 2015)

Last may I received 31 hens, 3 roosters and one marked as a roo, all day old. Since then I culled one hen 'cuz she was sick for 4 days. Haven't lost any more.

But there is one Roo, whom I told that if I have to beat him up one more time, he is going in the freezer. He doesn't know it, but I will give him until he is 18 months old. He should be fully matured by then.

I did learn that all the Roos really hate camo boots. Camo pants, don't bother them. Go figger.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

SamT said:


> I did learn that all the Roos really hate camo boots. Camo pants, don't bother them. Go figger.


I bought a flannel jacket and they freak out if i wear it in the coop


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Mine have a fit if I wear my outback coat and hat. Should have seen my Guinea's reaction to them. They exploded all over the coop trying to get away from the coat and hat, take them off and it was instant quiet.


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