Can chicks die of fright?

[Asiakg]

I had three absolutely gorgeous little silkie chicks that hatched out yesterday. It was an easy uncomplicated hatch and babies were up and running around within an hour of hatching.

My house is older and not well insulated so to better keep the heat in I set the chicks up in a 20 gallon long tank. I put one of those lightless ceramic heat lamps on one end of the tank, 150 watts, and the other side I left alone so they could go to that side and escape the heat if needed.
I have been feeding them manna pro medicated chick feed and also gave them a couple live meal worms. They have vitamin water in a very shallow container. It’s literally just a lid.
So chicks have been doing great all day. Eating and drinking and running around being chicks. I have thermometers set in either end of the tank. The Govee ones. One side of the tank said 90 degrees and one side said 80.

So I have been checking on them all day and also just enjoy watching them because they’re so cute! The last time I went up, two of the chicks were stretched out on the puppy pad, and they looked like they were dead. I rushed over to them and accidentally knocked into the tank a little and both the chicks jumped up squealing and then started spasming. I’m thinking now that they were just in a normal sleep and I might have frightened them to death when I rudely awoke them out of a deep sleep? They were on the end of the tank that stays at 90 degrees. Anyway they were dead within a minute or two of me bumping the tank.
If anyone knows what could have happened please let me know because I am so upset right now I cannot even google properly to try and find out what went wrong. These were PERFECT, and I mean PERFECT chicks that were beautiful and healthy an hour ago and now they’re dead. I moved an older chick in with the surviving one and right now it looks fine and healthy but I realize how that looks can be deceiving. Part of me wants to just give the chick away because I am so sick of getting so attached to these little guys and then being devastated by their loss.
They had no abdominal swelling, no signs of any illnesses at all. So the only thing I can think of is that they died from fright. Has anyone else had this happen? I have heard of older chickens dying of fright but never babies

 

[Asiakg]

Also wanted to add, the chicks were moving around comfortably, they were not huddled up. Even when I found them laying stretched out they were quite a distance away from one another.

The two chicks I have in the tank now are moving around comfortably and are not huddled up. Usually I suspect temperature issues but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. As young as they are I don’t see what else it could be

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'm so sorry for your losses... It is always devastating to lose the littles...

They hatched yesterday, so they shouldn't be eating anything other than starter. They usually don't eat anything right away, but certainly nothing other than starter. They don't have any way to really digest that without grit. That may have contributed somehow.

I also wonder if there was an issue with fumes from the heat lamp if it's a coated bulb. I've heard that can kill chicks, too.

Agsin, I am so sorry...

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

I think there had to be something else wrong. I know what you mean though. They were sunbathing. @Eggcessive @azygous @Wyorp Rock @aart

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. That must have been so frightening. What type of heat lamp are you using, and is it just for brooders? Some bulbs can have teflon coating which may give off toxic fumes, but those are nit the same as the ones we buy at feed stores.

 

[azygous]

I am thinking along the same lines as @Aunt Angus. It's likely the meal worms you fed to the new chicks that caused them to die. I'm so sorry. This was not intentional on your part, and more of us chicken people than you may realize have also made such mistakes and caused the death of some of our babies.

I give my new baby chicks live meal worms in their first week, but only after they've been consuming grit for several days so their gizzards are well supplied.

Meal worms may have a soft center, but their exterior, called an exoskeleton, is made of chiton which is similar to cellulose. These substances are hard to digest, and grit is necessary for poultry to process them.

When chicks are give such foods such as live or dried meal worms, lettuce, apple peels, carrots, corn, etc, they can become constipated very quickly, and this can be life threatening if not noticed that the chicks are in distress and given oil to break up the intestinal blockage. I once had a chick almost die of constipation eating too many meal worms and not enough grit. This is a hazard up until a chick is around four weeks old.

I have never heard of a legitimate case of chicks or chickens dying from fright or loud noises. They certainly can get startled, but death from it is an empty old wives tale.

 

[Asiakg]

I am thinking along the same lines as @Aunt Angus. It's likely the meal worms you fed to the new chicks that caused them to die. I'm so sorry. This was not intentional on your part, and more of us chicken people than you may realize have also made such mistakes and caused the death of some of our babies.

I give my new baby chicks live meal worms in their first week, but only after they've been consuming grit for several days so their gizzards are well supplied.

Meal worms may have a soft center, but their exterior, called an exoskeleton, is made of chiton which is similar to cellulose. These substances are hard to digest, and grit is necessary for poultry to process them.

When chicks are give such foods such as live or dried meal worms, lettuce, apple peels, carrots, corn, etc, they can become constipated very quickly, and this can be life threatening if not noticed that the chicks are in distress and given oil to break up the intestinal blockage. I once had a chick almost die of constipation eating too many meal worms and not enough grit. This is a hazard up until a chick is around four weeks old.

I have never heard of a legitimate case of chicks or chickens dying from fright or loud noises. They certainly can get startled, but death from it is an empty old wives tale.

If I did something to cause their death I can certainly appreciate being told about it so it doesn’t happen again! It’s not knowing what went wrong that I have such a hard time with! In the future I’ll definitely refrain from giving meal worms the first week!

Is there anything I can do for the third chick that would prevent this one from suffering the same fate?

 

[Banana01]

Lack of ventilation, excessive heat, dehydration are possibilities. It should have an exhaust fan if its an enclosed 80-90 degree tank. Should have a humidity guage and thermometer to monitor living conditions. I dont think fright is a possibility.

 

[Asiakg]

Lack of ventilation, excessive heat, dehydration are possibilities. It should have an exhaust fan if its an enclosed 80-90 degree tank. Should have a humidity guage and thermometer to monitor living conditions. I dont think fright is a possibility.

I usually keep them in a 75 gallon trough but my house is just too cold and the heat lamp wasn’t sufficient to warm them up while they were in there. The older chicks do fine but I have too many losses with younger chicks.

I added a heat plate but the heat plate kept getting bumped and would shut off.
I will look into getting a ventilation fan if possible but they haven’t been in there even 24 hours yet, and were on clean puppy pads when they passed. So I’m wondering if any fumes could’ve built up that fast? The type of bulb I used is a new kind I never used before but it was marketed towards chicks and other animals. It’s this bulb here Simple Deluxe 150W Ceramic Heat Emitter Reptile Heat Lamp Bulb No Light Emitting Brooder Coop Heater for Amphibian Pet & Incubating Chicken, 1 Pack/ 2 Pack with Thermometer, Black & White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KLZCDQ...t_i_GP37ZK9N7PN5CEAQKNH2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1.
I switched bulbs because I didn’t want the light from the other bulbs to interfere with their sleep (or mine since they are in my bedroom)
They were eating and drinking, I watched them drink several times throughout the day so I don’t think it could be dehydration either. The water had vitamins added to it.
The Govee thermometers come with built in humidity gauge and their tank has stayed at around 30% humidity, I’ve honestly never checked to see what humidity should be at with chicks or even thought about it past incubating them so that could be the wrong humidity though. I’m also going to definitely refrain from feeding meal worms ever again this early too

 

[azygous]

If you have a baby chick acting sluggish, wobbly, eyes looking dull and even a little red-rimmed, give it coconut oil immediately. Chill the coconut oil until it solid and cut it into tiny pieces and slip one at a time into the little beak until it has swallowed about half to one teaspoon. That will unblock the intestines and the chick will poop it out in one impressive turd and it will be just fine after that.