Some causes of EARLY CHICK MORTALITY

[meeerylou]

Great info. here
Readers, PLEASE Help below.

I had 3 chickens for 1 yr. but my dog (who was on Prednesone) killed them last week, so I went to Tractor Supply Co. and got chicks. I wanted Golden Comets, and got 4, but 2 died and TSC ran out of Golden Comets and I got ONE Leghorn.

Don't know what the 2 died of, but I was told they were all a couple of days old. After this, I got antibiotic powder to mix with their water, recommended by Tractor Supply Clerk. Is that necessary?

2 of my chicks have outgrown and out-matured the third.
This third chick has alot of spunk, but smaller, shorter wings, less, or no tail feathers, and a messy butt, caked w/feces.
Shoud I take water and wash this chick's butt?

Also, when can I move them to "the big coop" with a dirt floor?
They are in a separate pet cage w/straw and hay floor and a water and a food dish in separate corners.

I'm afraid the dirt floor has "old poop" residue from the (deceased) previous chickens, even though I raked it out... the flooring is DAMP!! and has some residual hay/straw and bits of old cracked corn in it that I couldn't rake out.

The Old Coop still has blue board and straw stuffed around it from winter. When should I remove that? These chicks are now a week old.

Thanks a million!
Meeery

 

[Mrs lone cedar farms]

We recently had a baby chick that was born that died after several days. This chick was the last to hatch and looked very different from the others. We brought it inside to try and nurse it. This chick had strange looking feathers that didn't cover it's whole body. It's legs were also a funny color. It appeared to have trouble standing and it did not act like any of the other babies. It seemed to be getting stronger, so we took it outside to be with Mom. However, when we went out to check this chick had passed. (I think Mom knew something was wrong with the chick and she helped it to pass on.) My best guess is that there was something genetically wrong with the chicken. Anybody have any other ideas?

 

[huevosfritos]

My baby chickens keep dying after birth... only 3 have survived so far. They looked like they didn't form completely...bloody head and wet feathers. What's wrong??? Help!!!!!!
They were born naturally.

 

[onthespot]

Thanks so much eggchel! Glad to see you posting again. I have missed seeing you on here... This is such a great collection of info you posted here today. You never know how many chicks you just saved!

 

[mayden]

I have some new brauma chicks that I had ordered in April and they just came in 4 days ago. I noticed that three of the chicks are having stacking problems. This is where the poop dries at their openings. I diagonose this thanks to this forum. I have adjusted the temperature and have removed the stacking by sticking their butts in warm water for about 30 seconds. Just wondering if there is anything else that I need to do? I'm new to the forum and new to chickens. I have 7 RIR, 3 australorps that are doing fine at 4 weeks old. I have 7 light braumas as noted above.

 

[madamgertie]

I have read through the threads and I am starting to suspect that poor air quality may be the cause of our RIR chicks high mortality rate. We have had no problems with any other chicks but this batch of 8 hatchlings have been dying - one at a time until we now only have 4. They look healthy and active, death is very sudden. Can anyone suggest any other causes?

 

[morninggloryhatchery]

Thanks!

 

[nowasgrl]

Hi Everyone I am brand new to this forum as well as to the wonderful world of chickens. I currently have 4 baby chicks (just over a week old I believe). Two are Australorps.....and I am really not sure what the other two are. I bought them from a teenage boy who is hearing impaired and lives down the road from me. I have had them since Sunday and they seem to be doing well. They are very active, eat and drink well and seem "normal". I did a lot of reading before purchasing and I thought that I was doing things right but after reading today all of your wonderful posts I am not so sure and more than a little nervous for their well being. They are in a brooder with a pine shavings flooring, water and chick starter...oh and of course the infamous heat light. They do have room to get out of the light and there is nice airflow without it being drafty. I thought that they would stay in this type of housing until they have all their feathers but now am not so sure. Any advice would be wonderful.

 

[mayden]

Being that it is summer I put my 3 week old chicks in the coop and only put the light on at night. They are doing just fine. Since you only have a few chicks putting them in the coop now would be fine providing they have an enclosure. Just keep the light on for them if they need it they will cuddle up near it.

 

[write2caroline]

I love the posts about the fresh air and chicks -
When I was a baby (late 60's) in San Francisco - my mother and my mothers friends put us babies out on the patio for fresh air in our prams at a month old and went inside for a cup of coffee. We were bundled up warm but they were told that the fresh air was good for us.

Probably people would be arrested these days for child abuse if they did that. My mom said you could walk down the street and always see babies parked in prams (buggies) on the porches or outside of the early (before starbucks) coffee houses.

Funny how the pendulum swings.

Of course fresh air is good for chicks - Thier Mommas would be taking them on a stroll for most the day if they were allowed to be raised by momma.