Cornis X Chicks

I have to say I am not sure about these chicks. When we received the chicks 2 were dead. One was a layer and the other was a Cornish X. Three days later we had lost 8 of the Cornish X. And we have lost 2 since then.  I emailed Cackle Hatchery and they called me later the next day.  I can not say enough good things about Cackle. They have been wonderful during the whole process.  We have ordered chicks from other hatcheries and much fewer deaths, but the last chicks we ordered several of them had foot deformities and we got quite a few roosters in our order for layers. So we decided to go to a different hatchery.

The problems we are having with the Cornish X is apparently in their breeding. We did not know that they don't need to be as warm as other chicks do. Normal temps for chicks is around 100°. The person I spoke to at Cackle said to lower the temp to 90°. And to give them Sulfamed or Apple Cider vinegar. I chose the Apple Cider vinegar at 2 tbsp. per gallon of water.  After following her advice we have only lost 2 chicks. The Cornish X are not like any other chicks we have ever had. We haven't even had them a week yet and they have doubled in size. They pretty much eat and sleep. We are trying to slow their growth down a little and feed them 12 hours on and 12 hours off. Basically they do not have food overnight. They will just lay down in front of the feeder and eat. But as long as they aren't too hot they seem to be curious and more active.

The person I spoke to at Cackle said she had raised their red broilers and she really couldn't tell that much difference in the meat so I think next time we might try that. I understand that in this very crowded world there is a great need for fast, growing food. But I don't know if I want to deal with these chicks on a regular basis. It's not like we need something that grows that fast.

Again, I feel like Cackle has gone above and beyond to help us with these chicks. They have called multiple times to see how the chicks are doing. And offered to send us more chicks or a credit. I will gladly order from them again. Just maybe a different type of chicken.