Need advice after all but 1 in flock of 4 died

[Lokale90]

My friend just had 3 of his 4 Pullets die. First one showed signs something was wrong last Friday (May 19) & by Sunday afternoon she passed. They didn’t bother coming to get Corid powder from me until Saturday evening & didn’t quarantine the sick bird like I advised them to. Then over the next 2 days, 2 more passed & by Wednesday only 1 remained but was showing signs of recovery.

They had purchased 4 other Pullets from a local farm near us but they weren’t supposed to be ready until June. They just sent me a picture of the 4 new additions with their chicken who just almost died less than a week ago.

Am I being dramatic? I feel like this was a terrible idea but I don’t know how to explain why it’s not a good idea & what they should have done differently. Or am I wrong & it will be okay? I know there’s a chance it may be fine regardless but I feel like this could also be a risk.

 

[The Chick Addict]

My friend just had 3 of his 4 Pullets die. First one showed signs something was wrong last Friday (May 19) & by Sunday afternoon she passed. They didn’t bother coming to get Corid powder from me until Saturday evening & didn’t quarantine the sick bird like I advised them to. Then over the next 2 days, 2 more passed & by Wednesday only 1 remained but was showing signs of recovery.

They had purchased 4 other Pullets from a local farm near us but they weren’t supposed to be ready until June. They just sent me a picture of the 4 new additions with their chicken who just almost died less than a week ago.

Am I being dramatic? I feel like this was a terrible idea but I don’t know how to explain why it’s not a good idea & what they should have done differently. Or am I wrong & it will be okay? I know there’s a chance it may be fine regardless but I feel like this could also be a risk.

Yes you are correct in being a bit alarmed. If I was your friend I would think it best to wait to get new pullets and let the first one completely recover. Has your friend quarantined the new pullets to make sure they do not have any diseases that could spread to the old pullet? You are absolutely correct and if your friend just won't take your advice, you know that you tried and did your best.

 

[Lokale90]

Yes you are correct in being a bit alarmed. If I was your friend I would think it best to wait to get new pullets and let the first one completely recover. Has your friend quarantined the new pullets to make sure they do not have any diseases that could spread to the old pullet? You are absolutely correct and if your friend just won't take your advice, you know that you tried and did your best.

Nope. He just threw the new additions into the run with the surviving pullet. I tried telling them it’s usually best to wait at least 2 weeks before you move them together & he said he had no where else to put them & “they seem fine. He’s been keeping an eye on them the last couple of hours.” He said he deep cleaned the coop & run & the sick chicken is acting normal & is finished her Corid treatment.

 

[Lokale90]

Nope. He just threw the new additions into the run with the surviving pullet. I tried telling them it’s usually best to wait at least 2 weeks before you move them together & he said he had no where else to put them & “they seem fine. He’s been keeping an eye on them the last couple of hours.” He said he deep cleaned the coop & run & the sick chicken is acting normal & is finished her Corid treatment.

Yes you are correct in being a bit alarmed. If I was your friend I would think it best to wait to get new pullets and let the first one completely recover. Has your friend quarantined the new pullets to make sure they do not have any diseases that could spread to the old pullet? You are absolutely correct and if your friend just won't take your advice, you know that you tried and did your best.

So he just said the new ones are all vaccinated I guess. Does that make a difference? Is a vaccine enough to keep everyone safe 100%?

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Nope. He just threw the new additions into the run with the surviving pullet. I tried telling them it’s usually best to wait at least 2 weeks before you move them together & he said he had no where else to put them & “they seem fine. He’s been keeping an eye on them the last couple of hours.” He said he deep cleaned the coop & run & the sick chicken is acting normal & is finished her Corid treatment.

Yeah, I am with you, that's good that they deep cleaned the brooder, but I would still be keeping that one chick in her brooder, and at the very least having the new chicks in a Look - but from across the room kind of thing (only seeing as how the one chick is otherwise completely alone), otherwise I could also do one upstairs with us and the new ones in the basement until they get to two weeks. Thank goodness I've never had to face that situation, but I know I would be erring on the side of caution, one way or another. It's not that hard to separate chicks, but it's naive to literally think, "she looks fine," is enough of a measure of a chick's health - especially when her flockmates are all dead!!!! <<<I want to grab and shake your friend right now. Deep breaths>>>

Ultimately, all you can do is give the best advice you can, i.e. "I think xyz would probably be considered best practice..." and back away. It may end horribly. It may go fine. WE ALL HOPE IT GOES GREAT! So either your friend will learn a really hard lesson, or just get lucky from here on out, and Not.

I know it's hard, but try not to let it affect you too much. It's like a kid touching a hot stove. I think every keeper has to learn for themselves their own risk tolerance level for various elements of chicken keeping, such as ranging time vs predation risk, quarantine time, vaccination, feeding treats, coop/run space, etc. The list goes on.

I've never had chicks die in the brooder, but I have had predator losses. Maybe they are so nonchalant because they think it's normal for young chicks to just die. While it's true not every chick is destined to make it, I wonder if there's kind of a weird myth about raising baby chicks, like they are expendible or you can just get more bc they die a lot. I really have no idea what people are thinking sometimes. I'm truly sorry for your friend's losses.

 

[Lokale90]

Yeah, I am with you, that's good that they deep cleaned the brooder, but I would still be keeping that one chick in her brooder, and at the very least having the new chicks in a Look - but from across the room kind of thing (only seeing as how the one chick is otherwise completely alone), otherwise I could also do one upstairs with us and the new ones in the basement until they get to two weeks. Thank goodness I've never had to face that situation, but I know I would be erring on the side of caution, one way or another. It's not that hard to separate chicks, but it's naive to literally think, "she looks fine," is enough of a measure of a chick's health - especially when her flockmates are all dead!!!! <<<I want to grab and shake your friend right now. Deep breaths>>>

Ultimately, all you can do is give the best advice you can, i.e. "I think xyz would probably be considered best practice..." and back away. It may end horribly. It may go fine. WE ALL HOPE IT GOES GREAT! So either your friend will learn a really hard lesson, or just get lucky from here on out, and Not.

I know it's hard, but try not to let it affect you too much. It's like a kid touching a hot stove. I think every keeper has to learn for themselves their own risk tolerance level for various elements of chicken keeping, such as ranging time vs predation risk, quarantine time, vaccination, feeding treats, coop/run space, etc. The list goes on.

I've never had chicks die in the brooder, but I have had predator losses. Maybe they are so nonchalant because they think it's normal for young chicks to just die. While it's true not every chick is destined to make it, I wonder if there's kind of a weird myth about raising baby chicks, like they are expendible or you can just get more bc they die a lot. I really have no idea what people are thinking sometimes. I'm truly sorry for your friend's losses.

Yes, I agree 100% & thank you, your reply made me feel better. I have a tendency to probably be a bit over protective with all of my animals, so I didn’t know if I was doing just that again or if my concerns were valid. His wife was pretty distraught over the 3 that died. They were actually 9 weeks & I'm guessing the news ones are somewhere around there as well. They all have feathers. Regardless it’s still 3 lives lost that I really believe 2 more could have possibly been okay had he listened. Maybe I’ll try giving his wife a call & explaining to her my concerns. If they choose to still leave everything as is I’ll just have to let it go. I can’t worry about someone else’s chickens. Like you said, I hope it goes great.

 

[The Chick Addict]

Yeah, I am with you, that's good that they deep cleaned the brooder, but I would still be keeping that one chick in her brooder, and at the very least having the new chicks in a Look - but from across the room kind of thing (only seeing as how the one chick is otherwise completely alone), otherwise I could also do one upstairs with us and the new ones in the basement until they get to two weeks. Thank goodness I've never had to face that situation, but I know I would be erring on the side of caution, one way or another. It's not that hard to separate chicks, but it's naive to literally think, "she looks fine," is enough of a measure of a chick's health - especially when her flockmates are all dead!!!! <<<I want to grab and shake your friend right now. Deep breaths>>>

Ultimately, all you can do is give the best advice you can, i.e. "I think xyz would probably be considered best practice..." and back away. It may end horribly. It may go fine. WE ALL HOPE IT GOES GREAT! So either your friend will learn a really hard lesson, or just get lucky from here on out, and Not.

I know it's hard, but try not to let it affect you too much. It's like a kid touching a hot stove. I think every keeper has to learn for themselves their own risk tolerance level for various elements of chicken keeping, such as ranging time vs predation risk, quarantine time, vaccination, feeding treats, coop/run space, etc. The list goes on.

I've never had chicks die in the brooder, but I have had predator losses. Maybe they are so nonchalant because they think it's normal for young chicks to just die. While it's true not every chick is destined to make it, I wonder if there's kind of a weird myth about raising baby chicks, like they are expendible or you can just get more bc they die a lot. I really have no idea what people are thinking sometimes. I'm truly sorry for your friend's losses.

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