All my chicks died

cartefamily said:

I just ran into this thread doing a search, because we had 10 chicks, and all were doing well for 3-4 weeks, (except for one, who seemed to be smaller than the others and not developing her wings as fast). Then recently, within the last few days, 3 of them have died and two more are acting strange. I read on another post something about possible malnutrition. I suppose this could be possible, although not because the feed quality is poor, but I have noticed they are just not eating very much. I don't know why, but they don't seem to be eating nearly as much as they were previously, even though it is the same food. The only food they really will eat a lot of, is scrambled eggs.

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azygous is right. Need to find out what killed that chick. That said, it sounds like whatever is affecting your flock is compromising their ability to digest their feed. That's why they like the scrambled eggs so much. omplete nutrition, easy to digest. Here's one thing to do. You need an emergency nutritional supplement to get nutrition for energy to these chicks. I have used this company's' formulas on my dogs and poultry for over a decade. The trick to these formulas is they don't need to be digested. they mainline directly into the bloodstream. Measureable in the bloodstream in 30 minutes with 99% utilization. You can use either Bovidr Labs Pet Nutri-Drench or Goat Nutri-Drench. Just use the poultry admin and usage instructions whichever you choose. I raised my chicks last season using the Goat Formula with the Poultry instructions with great success. No sick or dead chicks from the 42 hatched. Tho the Bovidr Labs formulas are species -specific, they also meet the scientific standards for a universal formula. I found this out from a conversation with their science tech. Call Bovidr and ask for the dosage for your age chicks. Here's their website: http://www.nutridrench.com They are very helpful. After dosing the individual chicks, put it in their water for 2 weeks. Bovidr will give you the doses. I use 2ml per gallon for maintenance or 4 ml per gallon for stress situations. Tractor Supply has the lowest prices. Also pick up a 3ml syringe, safely dispose of the needle, and use it to measure out the dose for the waterers. Do not use it to dose the individual chicks. One idea for individual chicks is to use a straw with a bit drawn up inside to dose the chicks. A different straw for each chick each time. Just cut the straws to small lengths so one box should do for the flock. Where I live in western PA, Tractor Supply sells the small bottle of Poultry formula for 6.99 and the Goat formula for about 9.99 . These formulas are very concentrated. The small bottle of Poultry should be enough for your needs. It's "Chick Days" over there ,so they should have it in stock.
Best Success,
Karen

Thank you for your replies. We are not going to spend the money on seeing what killed it, but we have determined from the symptoms that they likely have Marek's disease and we are going to try to proceed accordingly. We read the article posted on this site about it, and it was very helpful. Fortunately, 4 of our chicks do not appear to be acting funny at all. We have 6 left total, and the ones who are not walking or standing well, we have separated from the rest.

Hi I'm new to raising chickens and I was wondering, what are the odds of all of my 8 chicks living to be full grown? I know that I should be prepared to lose some but like many other people have said, you just get so attached to the little girls

for newchick123 I wouldn't worry to much about your birds most of the time grow outs go well out. I raise 25 chicks every month and my average lost is 1 every time once there 1week old they are normally fine
and my last batch of chicks was a bad batch I lost 12 chicks out of 25 overnight I added duramycin to there water and within a week there were better so I might try that for yours

newchick123 said:

Hi I'm new to raising chickens and I was wondering, what are the odds of all of my 8 chicks living to be full grown? I know that I should be prepared to lose some but like many other people have said, you just get so attached to the little girls

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How many you lose depends on the health of the flock they came from and how well the feed store or breeder cared for them and how well you are going to care for them. Clean water, good feed, clean brooder, warmth, etc., all make a difference in the health of the flock. Stress from being too cold, without water, old feed, dampness, etc., will affect their health. From what I have witnessed in feed stores, I'm surprised any of those poor chicks make it. Thirty or more chicks all in a bin with a little 2 or 3 nipple bucket waterer. So many crowded around it all the time trying to get a few dribbles...I just know many were suffering from dehydration.

newchick123 said:

Hi I'm new to raising chickens and I was wondering, what are the odds of all of my 8 chicks living to be full grown? I know that I should be prepared to lose some but like many other people have said, you just get so attached to the little girls

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I don't know how you're set up, what you feed, their ages, or your routine so it's hard to give you a definite number.

Last year I got 22 chicks. All 22 survived to the stage of crowing or laying. 3 were roos, and the remaining 19 pullets became 19 healthy hens. 8 girls found a new home with a nice lady who lives here near town after she lost her flock to a pack of dogs. Hers were almost ready to start laying, the ones I gave her were all laying regularly. That left me with 11. We lost one hen, Pearlie-girl, to a piece of wire she swallowed. Out of those original 22, 8 rehomed, 3 roos in the freezer, 1 lost to an accident, and just last month we lost one to reproductive issues. The 8 chickens I gave away are still doing well and so are the remaining 9 that I have. So, let's see..doing the math, out of 22, 8 given away and 3 in the freezer, that's 11. Pearly-girl lost to an accident, Beatrice to reproductive issues, that's 9 left. All nine are still with me and laying well, strong and healthy.

This year I got 12 chicks, and lost one to shipping stress the same day I got them. They are all still doing well and are now 14 weeks old. I added 4 more a week later. They are 13 weeks and doing just great. The last batch I got was a batch of 8. They are all thriving as well at 9 weeks old. Even more impressive since they are raised outside in the run with no heat lamp from the start!