3 week old chicks, sick and dying one by one

[HollowOfWisps]

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.

116 degrees under the light you are cooking your chicks. That is way way way too hot. A red bulb heat lamp is too hot for a brooder kept inside a heated home.

 

[coach723]

If they are 3 weeks old then the max temperature under the lamp should be 80 degrees. And much cooler away from the lamp, and they need to be able to get completely away when needed. That's how they regulate until they are fully feathered out. When using a lamp you have to raise it higher each week to get the temperature correct, it sometimes has to be quite a ways away. As small as your brooder is, they may still be too warm when not directly under the light also. I would fix the temperature and see if that helps things. The first poop picture looks pretty normal, maybe some undigested feed, the second, I can't tell. Incorrect temps (too hot or too cold) can cause pasty butt. If the temp adjustment doesn't give you some improvement, then you might try switching feed brands (just get a small bag). Ingredients can vary brand to brand and lot to lot, maybe there is something in there they are having trouble digesting. But I think your temps are the main issue.

 

[Tonyroo]

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.

The food wasn't degested properly cause it came out whole. The feed is no good.

Chick feed should look like flaky crumbles, which in turns makes it easier for digestion and absorption of nutrients.

 

[FunClucks]

There are other options out there, but this stuff has worked great for me, and a lot of folks on here use this for our backyard flocks.

https://www.purinamills.com/chicken-feed/products/detail/purina-flock-raiser-crumbles

 

[NatJ]

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.

70 degrees is fine for the cool side. Cooler would also be fine.

They should not be spending time at 116 degrees. Just having an area that hot will not hurt them, if they do not have to go into that space. So in a giant brooder I would not worry (6+ feet long, especially in a cool outdoor environment, would be a fine place to have one corner that hot.)

But because they have to avoid that hottest area, they have less space available to actually use. So considering the size of your brooder, I would try a smaller (lower wattage) bulb, so nowhere is that hot, and there is less total warm space and more cool space.

People often say to raise the lamp to make the space underneath cooler. I have found a problem with that strategy: the higher you raise it, the more area is getting warmed. Sometimes it spreads wide enough that no unheated space is left. Personally, I like to leave a heat lamp relatively low, so it heats a smaller area, and adjust the bulb size if the temperature is way too high.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Can you please post a photo of the ingredients and nutritional analysis on that feed? All I can get with a search is on the Atwoods site: 18% protein, 2.5% fat, 7% fiber. We need to see the ingredients (medicated? includes beneficial bacteria?) and nutrient content (lysine? methionine? magnesium? phosphorus? calcium? vitamins?).

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

I agree - too hot and the food may not be good.

Quick way to make the food a teeny bit better between now and the store is to mix it with water so it’s the texture of applesauce. That may help make it a bit more digestible.

For the heat, I would ditch the lamp and order a heating pad WITHOUT an auto shut off. Set it up on a cookie cooling rack with legs added (you can google tutorials on here). They are old enough they don’t need much. Sunbeam has a couple models that work - most have the auto shutoff, so check carefully.

While waiting for the heating pad, what I have read from off-grid homesteaders and done once myself is to get a large bottle or jug and fill it 1/4 with cool water and 3/4 with HOT water from your tea kettle. Should be quite warm to the touch, but not scalding. Put that in the brooder. You can add some extra straw or shavings in there too so it’s snuggly. They can snuggle up to each other and the jug.

I used this method with only three 4 or 5 week old chicks outdoors in a plastic dog house and they were fine (long story; had to MacGyver something quick). For more chicks you may want multiple jugs.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Could it be wood chips?

I gave a lady healthy 6 weeks olds, she put them on wood chips they were not used to wood chips and ate them and they died.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Could it be wood chips?

I gave a lady healthy 6 weeks olds, she put them on wood chips they were not used to wood chips and ate them and they died.

Another very good reason to provide chicks with grit first thing!

In your thread last week you were wanting to give them Tylan. What is the reason for this? You don't report any symptoms of respiratory disease. Do you note any coughing, sneezing, wheezing, bubbles in the eyes, mucous from the nostrils, etc.?
If not, then no, I wouldn't start them on Tylan.

The type of feed you are giving looks o.k. to me. Do check the date on the bag and smell the feed to make sure it's not old, moldy or rancid.

Provide them with chick grit free choice. See that they are drinking very well.
Offer their feed wet for a few days, it may be a little easier to process.
Are you certain the lice or mites are gone?

In a warm house, they don't need quite as much heat. Raise the lamp to where it's about 80F or so under it. If they start screaming their heads off, then lower it just a bit to get it to read around 85F. Let the rest of the brooder be "cool" or whatever temp the house is. Chicks can stand cooler temps better than most think.

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?

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.

 

[pinkl72]

Can you please post a photo of the ingredients and nutritional analysis on that feed? All I can get with a search is on the Atwoods site: 18% protein, 2.5% fat, 7% fiber. We need to see the ingredients (medicated? includes beneficial bacteria?) and nutrient content (lysine? methionine? magnesium? phosphorus? calcium? vitamins?).

I'm attaching a picture of the tag from the bag. And a code on the side. Im wondering if the date on the tag is the date it was made or the expiration? I never looked until now. We feed our grown birds soaked whole wheat, milk, sesame, and mung beans and they free range on an acre. The were eating this feed when we received them so I didn't want to change it.