3 week old chicks, sick and dying one by one

[New duck mommy 2021]

Looks like you have got some great advice
I’m just here to show support and praying for your little ones to
get better

 

[pinkl72]

Brooder temp high enough under the lamp? At this age and being sickly, maybe 90-95-deg-F?
Can you supplement with scrambled eggs?
What starter feed are you using?

Temp is measuring around 86⁰F in center (not directly under the light and not as far away as they can get).
I will try the scrambled eggs - thanks for the suggestion.
We are feeding Ranch Pro Chick Starter-Grower Crumbles. I'm adding a picture.

Below is what "puffed out" looks like.
Where did you get them with such a sad start in life? Heat lamp in a galvanized tub, watch your temps to not get too high.

View attachment 3390801

Thank you for the picture! I don't think my chicks look like this chick. Our friend hatched our eggs in his incubator- lesson learned
Temps reading around 86⁰F in center.
I've dumped their water and put only Corid in.

Have you done a fecal float for these guys?

Good idea! I've put a piece of paper in the brooder to get some fresh samples and will take it today. I'll let you know what they say.

Re-start the Corid and make sure you are giving the correct dose. Corid liquid dose is 2tsp or Corid Powder is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given as the sole source of drinking water for 5-7 days.

Is your chick starter fresh?

Photos of current poop in natural light so we can see what's going on.

Temperature of your brooder would be good too.

I received the Corid from the vet and am mixing from the written instructions. I'll attach a picture. I put approximately 1.1ml in 4 cups of water.
I purchased the feed within this month from Atwoods.
I'm attaching pictures of poop.

What did you dust them with for the little bugs crawling on them? Were they mites?

Poultry dust with permethrin. Im attaching pictures of the dust. I'm not sure what they were, mites or lice I'm guessing. Some of them were whitish/gray and some were reddish brown.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Those poops look weird to me. Mine, if I remember that age right, looked less like little pieces of stuff. More like a lump of brown with a little bit of white bird poo on top. Sorry, not sure how to talk about poop without it being nasty

 

[FunClucks]

That permethrin poultry dust is good stuff for mites. Long as you're sure they were mites, that should do the trick. Might want to put the lamp a might closer, say 90F, since they're sickly, as long as they can still get away to cool off if they want to, if they're acting cold. If not acting cold (huddled under lamp), you should be fine on temp.

What's your expiration date on the chicken feed? Should be on the bag somewhere, although it may be written in "code". If you take a picture of the "code" someone on here can probably help you decode it.

If they're eating their chick crumble, you can make a soupy wet mash with raw eggs mixed into it. Raw eggs (yolk and white) is super healthy for them. Cooked eggs is healthy too.

Might add some probiotics to their water or feed if you have it (NOT vitamins, but gut flora bacteria for chickens). They sell it for chickens/poultry. Sometimes it comes with electrolytes as a water addition, but also comes as just the probiotics.

 

[FunClucks]

Are they drinking enough water? How old are those poops?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Temp is measuring around 86⁰F in center (not directly under the light and not as far away as they can get).
I will try the scrambled eggs - thanks for the suggestion.
We are feeding Ranch Pro Chick Starter-Grower Crumbles. I'm adding a picture.


Thank you for the picture! I don't think my chicks look like this chick. Our friend hatched our eggs in his incubator- lesson learned
Temps reading around 86⁰F in center.
I've dumped their water and put only Corid in.


Good idea! I've put a piece of paper in the brooder to get some fresh samples and will take it today. I'll let you know what they say.


I received the Corid from the vet and am mixing from the written instructions. I'll attach a picture. I put approximately 1.1ml in 4 cups of water.
I purchased the feed within this month from Atwoods.
I'm attaching pictures of poop.


Poultry dust with permethrin. Im attaching pictures of the dust. I'm not sure what they were, mites or lice I'm guessing. Some of them were whitish/gray and some were reddish brown.

Can you get the temperature directly under the lamp and in the far side completely out of the heat? Is your brooder kept inside a heated area? Depending on how cool your far side is you might be cooking your chicks. 86F is too hot for a cooler area of a brooder. By 2 weeks the hottest part of my brooder is 80F max when using a light and when I am use the brooder plate the chicks are not even using the brooder plate half of the time (unheated barn).

 

[pinkl72]

Are they drinking enough water? How old are those poops?

The first picture is poop from today. The second picture with red writing on the paper is older poop that was kicked up on the paper.

 

[pinkl72]

The fecal float test showed no sign of parasites, worms, or coccidiosis. I'm wondering if I should continue with the Corid? Maybe start them on Tylan?

 

[pinkl72]

Those poops look weird to me. Mine, if I remember that age right, looked less like little pieces of stuff. More like a lump of brown with a little bit of white bird poo on top. Sorry, not sure how to talk about poop without it being nasty

Here are 2 more poo pictures. They vary quite a bit.

 

[pinkl72]

Can you get the temperature directly under the lamp and in the far side completely out of the heat? Is your brooder kept inside a heated area? Depending on how cool your far side is you might be cooking your chicks. 86F is too hot for a cooler area of a brooder. By 2 weeks the hottest part of my brooder is 80F max when using a light and when I am use the brooder plate the chicks are not even using the brooder plate half of the time (unheated barn).

It was 116 directly under the light and 70 on the coolest side. They are inside our house and the thermostat is set to 68.