Chicks dying off... *Update* options with Merricks?

[tricia9569]

I am going to guess it is just stress of moving the chicks around and them getting a chill....I just moved my chicks that I had hatched myself and they ranged from a week to 2 day old and sure enough they were just fine and within an hour I could see one drooping. One has died so far another is sitting so I put in back in the bottom drawer of my bator to try the warmth. I just hatch chicks in the spring for grasshopper control on our 17 acres so I really do not know much about all these medications you guys use..I just feed and water them constantly they are little pigs. I seem to have a good success rate with babies , losing 2 out of 60 does not seem out of the ordinary..but next time they go to brooder right out of the bator when they are 2 days old. But it would be interesting to know what they say caused your deaths so please post when you find out.

 

[BlackDogPack]

Thank you everyone. I have a quarantine set up and I am moving out the ones that seem droopy and monitoring them. I also put down paper towels so I can monitor the poop more closely (harder to do with 70 bitties). They do seem to get really runny poo right before dying. I also have one that has runny poo anyway, so I put it in quarantine with the two sick ones. I am sure that these bitties have all been stressed, shipping then the day after I got them we got hit by the insane weather. Tornadoes, had an inch of water fall in just a few minutes. Then it got really cold one day this past week, and then the temps jumped back up. NC weather has crazy ups and downs.

Some of the bitties seem very, very healthy then others don't - thinner and not as much meat on them as I'd like. I am working on building another brooder now for the thinner ones and see how they manage without so many. They have always had food & fresh water and no one has to fight over food or water - they have plenty of open feeder space. I hope Lowes is open today.

So who knows. I really hope it's stress and I just got a bit of bad luck. I will still get testing done assuming I have a fresh bird or two to take. Just to make sure it's not something worse. I don't think it's that expensive and with so many birds I'd like to know.

I looked back in my chicken log book and usually my morality rate is about 2% (meaning 2 out of 100). So it's taken a huge leap from that.

Seems they are dying off a bit slower now, so my fingers are crossed we are reaching the end of it.

 

[BlackDogPack]

I found a feed type store open to day and drove a bit to it. Picked up some save-a-chick packets. I also have noticed more and more seem to be having runny poo... so I don't know what's going on. But I have them divided into three pens. Only one has died today, and another I know will. They eat and drink but seems they have no weight at all. Sadly I am trying to prolong the lifespan of the one as much as I can so I can have it to take tomorrow.

 

[nuttyredhead]

Just out of curiousity have you checked them for mites? Im not even sure if it kills them that fast, but these are still just a week old.

 

[BlackDogPack]

No mites. Only lost one last night.

 

[Nambroth]

If you want a necropsy done on any of the chicks (animal autopsy), consider wrapping them in an airtight bag and putting them in the fridge if you are comfortable doing so, and then get them to the vet asap. Freezing can mess with the necropsy results. The sooner after death that the necropsy can be done, the better.

I am no expert by a long, but it almost sounds as if they are having a reaction to something they are ingesting. I have researched that chicks will often behave this way and perish quickly when they have been poisoned with too many electrolytes; are you sure you are mixing their water additives in the correct proportions? Is there any chance some of their feed could have gotten moldy or otherwise spoiled?

My best wishes to you, I can't imagine how frustrating and sad this situation is.

 

[Peppermint]

I was also thinking that you should switch feed bags. I read a thread that talked about "off" feed that appeared fine, but many people that bought from a particular feed store had big mortalities. Turned out the whole pallet of feed was affected.

Just a thought. I hope your losses keep slowing.

 

[Peppermint]

I was also thinking that you should switch feed bags. I read a thread that talked about "off" feed that appeared fine, but many people that bought from a particular feed store had big mortalities. Turned out the whole pallet of feed was affected.

Just a thought. I hope your losses keep slowing.

 

[Peppermint]

I was also thinking that you should switch feed bags. I read a thread that talked about "off" feed that appeared fine, but many people that bought from a particular feed store had big mortalities. Turned out the whole pallet of feed was affected.

Just a thought. I hope your losses keep slowing.

 

[Peppermint]

Ack!!! what happened with the quadruple message?