jmartin0411
In the Brooder
- May 13, 2016
- 34
- 9
- 26
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?
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?