Chick mortality rates - what do I do?

[jmartin0411]

This is my first year raising chicks from young ages, and so far I've not had the greatest success. We started with two lf buff brahmas, and lost one. Got 14 lf light brahmas and lost five, and recently got 3 cuckoo marans and 3 mix straight runs, and I've lost two all of these to illness. I cannot figure out if it is disease or possibly vitamin e deficiency? All of the chicks tend to get weak and listless, depressed and then die. No respiratory symptoms, all healthy poop the whole time, eat and drink. It seems they have purely neuro
symptoms and depression. I have cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. They get fresh water and food every day with washings of the water bowl and food bowl between feedings. Fresh pine shavings daily. I keep mine on heat lamp until 4 weeks (unless they start flying, then I'm forced to move them outside). The remainder of my lf brahmas are fine, they are all outside and are now about 7 weeks old and I'm beginning to sex them out. But I'm down to the two cuckoo marines and a black copper maran (pretty sure) inside and am just praying they're going to be fine. One is for sure a cockerel and he is doing beautifully, and the black copper baby seems fine, the other seemed a little down and out last night but seems fine this morning.

Thoughts?
What can I do to ensure this doesn't happen in the future. We lost three brahmas and one of the mix run babies to what we have now figured out is one of our dogs who is now being rehomed. He literally tore the wire to our run apart. I had hoped so badly it was a predator we didn't know about, but alas.

Anyways, what can I do to increase my living chick ratio?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You should not be losing that many chicks. Your brooder set is likely the culprit and far too hot for them. If a small brooder you need little heat. A 60-75W incandescent bulb is more than sufficient for plastic totes. The idea is to only heat a part of the brooder, keep heat to one side so they have escape from it if too hot. With small brooders much attention to this detail is needed as heat lamps are far too much heat. If they are raised 2 ft in air to compensate then the entire brooder is same heat leaving no cooler area for birds to escape to. Listless chicks is symptom of too much heat.

 

[junebuggena]

GENTLEMEN?? It wasn't "gentlemen" being rude, it was the other one.

Blooie simply objects to broad generalizations about an entire group of people...And she's right. Just because your experiences with them are one way, does not mean that those view-points are held by every single Mormon...

 

[lazy gardener]

What is your brooder set up? How big is it? How many chicks typically in there? What is the temp under the lamp? What is the temp at the other end of the brooder? Where are your chicks coming from? The one thing that you say that gives me cause for concern is that you move them out of the brooder when they start flying. Chicks sprout their flight feathers at 2 weeks. At that age, they can fly pretty well, but they still need heat.

Are you using medicated feed? Depending on your answers to above questions, the only recommendations I can make are: You might want to consider switching to a heating pad brooder, and I highly recommend that you try fermented feed. The behavior you mention could be related to chicks being chilled, especially if you move them outside without ANY heat before 4 - 5 weeks old, perhaps the chicks are too warm. There could be something toxic in their environment, even air born. (It may be just enough to affect the weakest ones)

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I just saw the part about your dog, and I think you are wrong for rehoming it! If a dog can get in, so can so many other predators and it won't be your last loss to that reason. Your dog, not someone else's, on your own property. The dog did what any other dog would do who didn't realize they weren't prey. I always know it's a possibility one of my dogs could get one of my chickens. I'm guessing your dog might be a back yard ornament and not a part of your family or it wouldn't be so easy to just ditch it. Chickens aren't being put to sleep by the thousands because their human just decided their life was worthless. I bet your dog LOVES you! Your chickens like you, but they could care less if it was you or someone else bringing snacks. It was your responsibility to protect your chickens and YOUR dog. Don't fail them both! Have some compassion.

Am I passionate? You bet! Our local shelter (where I used to live) put down 3000 animals per year. Three thousand! And that was only 1 shelter in 1 town.

Still, best wishes!

 

[jmartin0411]

Well goodness lol. Yes our dog is a part of our family. We tried integrating him with our indoor dogs and they won't have it. He BROKE the entire fencing off the frame with bolts every 6 inches. I'm not sure how else to bolt a fence?? BUT our dog isn't just going to be ditched. Thanks. He will be going to live with my mother in law, who can bring him inside and give him more time and energy and doesn't have prey animals. He is deaf and he has predator instincts. I have a two year old and a farm to take care of. Excuse me for not being made of three people and endless energy. This was meant to be about my chicks, not my pup, but I promise, I have his best interests at heart.

 

[junebuggena]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update
Seriously consider this method instead of heat lamps for your next batch of chicks.

 

[junebuggena]

As long as the heating pad does not automatically turn off, it will work. That's the important thing. The chicks have constant access to a heat source, but they get to choose whether or not they need it, just like if they were being raised by a hen. And the warmth is only directly under the pad, it doesn't heat up the whole brooder.

These are two week old chicks. Their pad is on the lowest setting, and they hardly use it. It's there and on, for them to pop under for a quick warm up, and then they are right back out and about.

The chicks on the dog crate are only 6 weeks old, and were brooded the same way. They've been living outdoors for the last 2.5 weeks and are already integrated into the adult coop.
It's a much more natural and healthy method of brooding, then keeping them under a light 24/7 with no day/night cycle. Chicks are not meant to be constantly warm, and the day/night cycle helps them get the rest that they need. I find my heating pad chicks to be much healthier and hardier than heat lamp brooded chicks.

 

[16 paws]

Be very careful about putting chicks in a metal or plastic brooder with a heat lamp. It gets way too hot for them. I also highly recommend the mama heat pad brooder. I am using it for a blind chick right now that was attacked and her mama rejected her. She is using it just fine.
Marie

 

[Blooie]

Actually the medicated foods contain Amprol, which isn't really a "medication" at all....it is a Thiamin blocker. And being one of the few Catholic families in an almost totally Mormon community, I'm not sure where you got your facts on "Mormons...........fighting this for decades!!" We are in a farming community, and I can tell you first hand that most of the farmers here use Round-up Ready Beets for sugar beet production. Every friend and neighbor I have here is Mormon. So a blanket statement like that just isn't accurate, which leads me to question your response totally.

Sorry, not trying to be argumentative but before tossing out opinions as facts it's best to have the facts.