I'm new to this.

LivingCanvas said:

Well, now I'm down to 6.

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My current situation is very similar to what you're encountering. I started with 8 chicks as well and it was a mixed bag of mostly 2-3 day old chicks and a couple 10 day old chicks when I first got them. The smallest chick ended up dying on the third day I had them which was partly due to a heat lamp issue that was my mistake. I'm with the others in the thread though. Post a pic of your brooder setup for others to offer advice. I think i've finally got mine dialed in to where it needs to be after help from the folks here at BYC.

Robblob said:

My current situation is very similar to what you're encountering.  I started with 8 chicks as well and it was a mixed bag of mostly 2-3 day old chicks and a couple 10 day old chicks when I first got them.  The smallest chick ended up dying on the third day I had them which was partly due to a heat lamp issue that was my mistake. I'm with the others in the thread though.  Post a pic of your brooder setup for others to offer advice.  I think i've finally got mine dialed in to where it needs to be after help from the folks here at BYC.

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Don't mind the pittie. She's calmly curious.

My two cents as a newbie...I would try and find something larger for them. They seem awfully cramped in there. I had an old pallet sitting around that's roughly 2' x 3.5' that my 7 use the full range of.

If the babies that died were in their first three or four days after hatching, you probably can be safe in assuming you had two failure to thrive victims. This is caused by genetic abnormalities not apparent right out of the incubator. They show up a few days later as these chicks are unable to process the nutrients from their food, as well as organ malfunctions, lungs, liver, kidneys, etc. hindering adjustment to life out of the egg. They typically are under-size and fall behind quickly compared to the healthy chicks.

I don't believe putting two-week olds with new chicks played any real role in the deaths. You're aware of all the things to watch out for, so I think you can relax as far as expecting any further casualties.

I would request two replacement chicks from the breeder. That's customary when you have this kind of attrition immediately after bringing them home. And don't worry about the age differences. During these first couple weeks, chicks are very accepting of newcomers, and if your brooder has adequate space, there shouldn't be issues with crowding.

However, these plastic totes, really aren't adequate for chicks much past two weeks. By the beginning of the third week, chicks need running room to exercise their legs and try out their wings. If you have a coop, I recommend moving them in once you know all chicks are stable and there are no further problems. The photo above demonstrates how you can rig a spacious "play pen" for your chicks in the run so they have plenty of room to romp and develop in complete safety from any adult chickens. When this photo was taken, the temp that day was 50F and the chicks were the same age as yours. All they had was their heating pad cave which is a homemade version of an Ecoglo.

See my article on outdoor brooding linked below under "Articles" for all the good reasons for brooding in this manner. Your Ecoglo will be perfect for an outdoor setup, with no additional heat required, even if the temps are still quite cold. Chicks will harden quickly to colder temps the younger you get them exposed to them.

Start the transition by cutting off the heat to the room you have the chicks in. Having a hot house environment is not healthy. One heat source is all the chicks require.

azygous said:

If the babies that died were in their first three or four days after hatching, you probably can be safe in assuming you had two failure to thrive victims. This is caused by genetic abnormalities not apparent right out of the incubator. They show up a few days later as these chicks are unable to process the nutrients from their food, as well as organ malfunctions, lungs, liver, kidneys, etc. hindering adjustment to life out of the egg. They typically are under-size and fall behind quickly compared to the healthy chicks. I don't believe putting two-week olds with new chicks played any real role in the deaths. You're aware of all the things to watch out for, so I think you can relax as far as expecting any further casualties. I would request two replacement chicks from the breeder. That's customary when you have this kind of attrition immediately after bringing them home. And don't worry about the age differences. During these first couple weeks, chicks are very accepting of newcomers, and if your brooder has adequate space, there shouldn't be issues with crowding. However, these plastic totes, really aren't adequate for chicks much past two weeks. By the beginning of the third week, chicks need running room to exercise their legs and try out their wings. If you have a coop, I recommend moving them in once you know all chicks are stable and there are no further problems. The photo above demonstrates how you can rig a spacious "play pen" for your chicks in the run so they have plenty of room to romp and develop in complete safety from any adult chickens. When this photo was taken, the temp that day was 50F and the chicks were the same age as yours. All they had was their heating pad cave which is a homemade version of an Ecoglo. See my article on outdoor brooding linked below under "Articles" for all the good reasons for brooding in this manner. Your Ecoglo will be perfect for an outdoor setup, with no additional heat required, even if the temps are still quite cold. Chicks will harden quickly to colder temps the younger you get them exposed to them. Start the transition by cutting off the heat to the room you have the chicks in. Having a hot house environment is not healthy. One heat source is all the chicks require.

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Thanks for the tips. They were only going to be in the tote until they weren't small enough to slip thru the bars of my large dog crate. But I'll probably go get a bigger one, just to be safe. The chicka came from a small farm so sadly, they don't do replace them. But that's ok. I'm not sure if I want to replace them but if I do, I'll probably get some that are a couple weeks old.

LivingCanvas said:

Thanks for the tips. They were only going to be in the tote until they weren't small enough to slip thru the bars of my large dog crate. But I'll probably go get a bigger one, just to be safe.

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If you already have a dog crate you can probably just start using that instead of buying another larger tote. If they can still fit through the bars just find something to block them off for a couple more weeks. Cardboard will work, I used Press and Seal food wrap on my dog crate. More to keep the pine chips in but it also stops the tiny chicks from getting out.