2 chicks died in 24 hours

TheSunnyDaze

Hatching
Apr 26, 2016
4
0
7
Illinois
I didnt see the first chick pass so im not sure if it was the same. It was maybe 4 or 5 day old porcelain d'uccle. He went yesterday morning. The other was a black silkie the same age. Right as i looked at him he fell to the ground and his neck cricked back (wry neck?). He pretty much couldnt move, opening and closing is mouth a little, and couldnt seem to open his eyes. He died within an hour of the time he fell. Thinking the same thing happened to the othe chick as well but i wasnt around when it happened. I thought with wry neck i would have time to save them but this seemed to be instant. I checked them maybe an hour before he fell and they all seemed to be fine. Is this wry neck, it was quick and out of nowhere. Any answers would be so appreciated. Thank you
 
Welcome to BYC!
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Do you have any photos of your brooder set up and the chicks?
Did they come from a hatchery or an individual?
Did you examine the inside of the mouth/throat to see if there were any obstructions?
What type of food/treats are you using?
What does the poop look like?
Any actions before, trouble breathing, coughing, lethargic, puffed up, not eating/drinking?
 
I didnt see any signs before hand. They were eating and drinking normally from what i could tell. They were very small though. I have 2 sets of chicks i keep separated due to size and age, but i have 21 total that have not had any problems. None have come in as small as them. I got a total of 5 tiny chicks that day, and 2 of them passed. I got them at farm and fleet, who i belive gets them from McMurray hatchery? I read a little that some chicks just dont make it after the yolks deplete. I did check his throat right away to make sure he wasnt choking. I probaby looked like a crazy person trying to give him cpr and everything. It was a terrible feeling not to be able to help... Because i just got more im transfering them into a bigger home, they were is a very large fishtank with 2 waters and 2 feeders. We keep them inside right now because its still getting very cold outside. I have been feeding them and housing them the same as i did with my older chicks that i had to problems with, thats why im so lost as to what happened. Happy i can say we cant hand any issues since those two passed, and everyone is heathy and thriving :)
 
It's possible it could have been failure to thrive.
I'm glad to hear no more problems, hopefully everyone else will continue to do well
smile.png
 
It wouldn't be wry neck as that doesn't come on suddenly with quick death.

I agree, probably failure to thrive, but make sure there couldn't possibly be any toxins (moldy feed, etc.) The only thing that would drop them quickly with convulsion I can think of is toxin or poison.

Chances are simply failure to thrive if all others doing fine, the brooder is clean, food pure, heat right temperature.

Sorry for your losses. It does occur though with larger batches simply from stress of the group and transport.

LofMc
 

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