Michigan - Page 3768  

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelaB 

Well....number 4 just died in my hands.....

That is so awful - I's so sorry.

So sorry, AngelaB. I have noticed that the waterer gets full of shavings even when it is elevated due to the pecking order disputes. 

So sorry about losing so many of your chickens Angela.

Prayers for Lucas.

It is so much fun to watch my chicks change so quickly overnight (almost 2 weeks old).  Their antics make me smile and chuckle everyday.  One of the Dominiques (Comet) tries to peck my wedding ring off everyday.

I don't think its the pine shavings. I had 12 chicks on pine. Pine would get in the water all the time. Was constantly changing it... Were they all the same type of chick? Maybe it was something genetic, or some bad feed? That totally blows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by taprock 

Ummm I just got more chicks at TSC.   They are to go under another broody hen.  I'm not willing to put my new babies I paid so much for out under her.  I didn't tell anyone.  We'll see how long they go unnoticed or should I say before I get in trouble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelaB 

Well....number 4 just died in my hands..... My husband dissected her. Her bladder was stretched full. She couldn't empty it. I think he must have drank a little pine shavings in the water. Thy must all have. It is my fault, I should have put the water higher.

Angela, I have raised chicks for years on pine shavings, and never had one have a problem.  Maybe you should pursue other possible causes - infections, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelaB 

Well....number 4 just died in my hands..... My husband dissected her. Her bladder was stretched full. She couldn't empty it. I think he must have drank a little pine shavings in the water. Thy must all have. It is my fault, I should have put the water higher.

Angela, I agree with the others before me. What you are seeing has nothing to do with the pine shavings. You seem to suggest that they are having trouble eliminating feces.

Chickens do not have bladders. They have 2 Kidneys with 3 lobes per Kidney, they have Ureters which are  tubes that carry the urine from the Kidney to the Cloaca. The white part of the feces that you see is the Uric Acid or 'urine' of a chicken. It comes down the Cloaca and out the Vent with the feces as one blob. 

Can you identify what your husband saw that was filled with fluid?

If the chicks were full of water it was more than likely contained in their crop.  The possibility exists that their crops became impacted with the pine shavings.  Tractor Supply offers pine shavings in two grades.  While the finer grade is more absorbent and bio-degrades quicker it does contain particles that could be ingested by chicks. 

Makes you wonder, if maybe she got a bad bag of feed, layer in stead of chick. Layer feed will cause kidney failure in chicks... Or genentics if the chicks were all the same type/parentage. Sure would like to know a little more back ground of the chicks.

I think when one chick dies you might think about genetics but when 4 die, then I would correct environment and also look for signs of illness.

Thank you OPA for the information on the pine shavings. I had no idea that there were two kinds of pine shavings. We've had chicks on shavings for 11 years with no trouble but perhaps Angela got a bag of pine shavings that was different. 

Could she have gotten CEDAR shavings which are more toxic?

Nova's thought of bad feed is a good one. They might all become ill however if the feed were bad.

I am interested to know if they are still in a clean brooder or if they have been outside where they might start to run into different bacteria.

Also, Are the chicks on medicated chick starter to prevent the growth of cocci?