Chicks Are Dead in Moments

[OrganicFarmWife]

No starter does not require grit. Hoping for you too! But there is nothing wrong with your feed, just add grit to their diet.

 

[SeaHen]

I lost several baby chicks over the course of days one year when feeding unmedicated commercial chick starter alternating occasionally with ground-up layer feed, and my next-door-neighbor had a similar experience. I think in retrospect their kidneys were damaged by the high mineral content in the layer feed, perhaps complicated by a mycotoxin, and I'm wondering if that's a possibility in your case. I'm personally a bit skeptical about the lack of grit being a critical factor at this age, but I can only share my experience of never having given grit to my chickens in over 14 years of raising them. I do try to get everyone outside where they can peck the ground several hours a day by the time they are a few weeks old. I'm very sorry for your losses and hope you're able to find the answer soon.

 

[mrv19]

The ground is what makes all the difference for you then...your chicks find theyre own grit. But any that are brooded indoors or not allowed to forage NEED grit in order to digest certain foods.

I lost several baby chicks over the course of days one year when feeding unmedicated commercial chick starter alternating occasionally with ground-up layer feed, and my next-door-neighbor had a similar experience.   I think in retrospect their kidneys were damaged by the high mineral content in the layer feed, perhaps complicated by a mycotoxin, and I'm wondering if that's a possibility in your case.  I'm personally a bit skeptical about the lack of grit being a critical factor at this age, but I can only share my experience of never having given grit to my chickens in over 14 years of raising them.  I do try to get everyone outside where they can peck the ground several hours a day by the time they are a few weeks old.  I'm very sorry for your losses and hope you're able to find the answer soon.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

The ground is what makes all the difference for you then...your chicks find theyre own grit. But any that are brooded indoors or not allowed to forage NEED grit in order to digest certain foods.

I lost several baby chicks over the course of days one year when feeding unmedicated commercial chick starter alternating occasionally with ground-up layer feed, and my next-door-neighbor had a similar experience.   I think in retrospect their kidneys were damaged by the high mineral content in the layer feed, perhaps complicated by a mycotoxin, and I'm wondering if that's a possibility in your case.  I'm personally a bit skeptical about the lack of grit being a critical factor at this age, but I can only share my experience of never having given grit to my chickens in over 14 years of raising them.  I do try to get everyone outside where they can peck the ground several hours a day by the time they are a few weeks old.  I'm very sorry for your losses and hope you're able to find the answer soon.

Agreed, Sea hen feeds commercial feed as chick's and then they get grit as adults.
Even if it is not your problem, if you do not feed commercial feed (I use sparingly, so no judging there) they must have grit.

 

[SeaHen]

To be clear, I'm not discounting the necessity of grit in the chicken diet at all; just questioning whether there might be a more urgent separate or related issue since Eric's birds started dying so early. Whenever possible I let my broody hens hatch and/or raise new chicks rather than do it myself, and I don't generally use commercial starter as their main food source, even for the first weeks when everyone is confined indoors. My thought is that the mother hen breaks the babies' food up so finely that they may not have the same potential digestive issues as chicks eating on their own - but this is pure speculation on my part. Whether this is Eric's problem or not, adding grit certainly can't hurt.

 

[cafarmgirl]

My questions would be, what is the temp under the heat source? Are they for sure warm enough? And have you considered treating for coccidiosis? Lethargy and sudden death are often the only signs you see of coccidiosis. Diarrhea is common, sometimes blood in the droppings but not always. You might also consider adding a poultry vitamin pre-mix to their feed or vitamins in their water two or three times a week just to make sure there are no deficiencies.

 

[ShanandGem]

I have been doing a tremendous amount of research into chicken nutrition as I have been grinding my own feed. My formulation looks similar to yours, but I supplement vitamin A+D in their drinking water. I started my chicks on commercial chick starter that turned out to be spoiled and lost several in the process. I also think it didn't have enough vitamin A, and careful supplementation has brought my little flock back to peak health.

 

[erixsparhawk]

No grit was the problem. I gave them chick grit and everything was ok.