Need help quickly. Day old and 2 day old chicks in trouble

[Silkies for life]

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Are they pine shavings and not cedar shavings? Could they be a mix? Might it be worthwhile to get rid of them and start with fresh pine shavings?

ETA: I am so sorry this is happening!

 

[oregonkat]

Are they pine shavings and not cedar shavings? Could they be a mix? Might it be worthwhile to get rid of them and start with fresh pine shavings?

ETA: I am so sorry this is happening!

No, they are standard pine shavings. The same type that come in a big squeezed block from the local grange. I just dont understand what the heck this is. I have never had anything like this happen. Such a bummer. Such a waste of little lives...

 

[Katie386]

Is it possible they are starving to death? Do you see them eat more than a little bit at a time?

 

[oregonkat]

Is it possible they are starving to death? Do you see them eat more than a little bit at a time?

They have been eating like regular chicks. Lots of feed with grit. Definitely not starving to death..

 

[Katie386]

Can chicks eat grit?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is it the little grit for chicks? And is it in a separate dish from their feed so they can it it voluntarily? Just trying to figure this out, it is such a mystery!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Not ok anymore. 2 chicks this evening with something terrible wrong. Loud squalking and pitching around like they are having seizures. now 2 almost dead. What the heck is this??? Please answer ASAP. Thanks.

Now 3 dead!!!! I uncovered the shavings in the booder box today which had been covered up by a towel. Is it possible that something in the shavings has poisoned them????

Oh my goodness I am devastated. I can only think that it must be something in the shavings? I got them from the woman that these chicks are for and they are stored in her chicken coop. Maybe a rodent or something got into it with some sickness. The chicks were screaming and throwing themselves around like they were in agony and then going all floppy, panting for breath and then dead.... They were all fine this afternoon and I decided to uncover the shavings and let them scratch around in them. Of course the shavings got into the water which I dumped out but they were probably drinking from that water before I changed it.

Another 2 are screaming now...

I have dumped out the shavings and put them all back on clean towels with the heat pad on high and the lamp down to keep them super warm. I have no idea what to do now.

@WVduckchick @aart Hello my friends, can you look over this sorry post and tell me what your experience tells you?? I have now lost 4 out of 14 chicks all 2 days old. Same symptoms, screaming, throwing themselves around like they are having seizures, going all floppy panting and dying. What the heck is going on? The 3 day old chicks seem to be fine so far.

Brooder box was at a friends house for about a week because I thought I was going to hatch these guys and have her raise them but then I decided to brood them and got the box back from her. It was kept in her chicken pen along with the shavings that I used. Same brooder box that I have used for years. Same heat lamp that I have used.

The shavings seemed fine. No bad smell, no black mold but I didnt check the whole bag.

I am at a total loss now. Everybody was fine this afternoon.

I'm so sorry!

Did you ever post photos - brooder, chicks, their poop?

Since the brooder box was at someone else's house in their chicken pen, do you see any lice/mites?
The box itself...is the wood good, no mold/mildew in the bottom of the box?

The chicks - you hatched them yourself from your own stock?

 

[ktomacie]

So many things can be toxic, any new cleaners being used around the house near them? just the fumes from teflon, essential oils and other "natural" things can kill birds easily. Sorry you are going through this and I hope you don't lose any more!

 

[oregonkat]

Well this morning everyone else is alive and appearing to be normal.
Poop is, and was normal all yesterday, the ONLY change that occurred was that the shavings were exposed again.

Can chicks eat grit?

Yes, chicks need grit. They need it for prevention of pasty butt and if they were out in nature, their mother hen would be introducing them to it. It is chick grit from the local grange.

I'm so sorry!

Did you ever post photos - brooder, chicks, their poop?

Since the brooder box was at someone else's house in their chicken pen, do you see any lice/mites?
The box itself...is the wood good, no mold/mildew in the bottom of the box?

The chicks - you hatched them yourself from your own stock?

I didnt post pics, my ancient phone takes lousy photos but I dont see any signs of lice or mites but I didn't check at night. I'll do that tonight.
The box is wood. It's old, probably 15 years now. It appears in OK shape but it did get rained on while over at her house.

These eggs were not my stock. All my chickens were killed in a bear attack in the fall of 2018 and since then destiny has felt it necessary to deal me some more pretty devastating blows so I have not had an opportunity to keep chickens again. My girlfriend wanted more chickens this spring so I told her I would hatch some out for her. These eggs all came from local farms.
One dozen was mostly infertile with only 4 viable and hatched. Those 4 were the first into the bator by 2 days. All these seem healthy.
Second 13, different farm, all viable and developed beautifully. 10 hatched, 4 now dead.

The chicks are in my room, I'm not a perfume person really and especially now being in lockdown, who would I wear it for?.

I work a lot with fabrics doing upholstery and making bedding.

I don't cook with Teflon and the room where the chicks are is on the other side of the house.
I have the chicks on basic towels now and plain water, chick feed.

I did feed everyone a boiled egg yolk yesterday after the previous day's fiasco and they gobbled it up, but if that was a problem wouldnt everyone be dead??

The last chick that died last night kept pitching himself all over the place, I guess in death throws? So incredibly sad.

I'll get my son to take pics of the brooder and some poop. What am I looking for in the poop? It all seems normal to me. Some early post hatch poop was clearish with green, progressing to brown with white, sometimes a bit frothy.