5 deaths in 2 hours... only one remains

[LazyBandit]

Only one of my baby chicks survived the night last night. I came home and they all seemed fine, I replaced their water and an hour later I came back in to check on them and 3 were dead in the sawdust under the heat lamp. Then in a matter of thirty minutes 2 of the remaining three got very slow and unsteady and eventually convulsed and died. No blood in their stool and they were not wet. They were all different types from different sections at the hardware store. This is also my second time raising chicks and I didn't lose any of the last 6. Anyway, I want to do anything I can to help the last one make it. Has anyone heard of this many chicks dropping so close together in time, parasites, disease? Is there a danger to the adults if this lone survivor is integrated into my flock?

 

[nurse_turtle]

I'm assuming they have room to get away from the heat light and are not overheating and dying from that. I might would suspect cocci infection. How long have you had the chicks from the store? These chicks were sick when you bought them. If the last one survives without other symptoms or complications, I would integrate it into my existing flock.

 

[aoxa]

It sounds like overheating to me. Is there a place they can get away from the heat?

 

[dawg53]

It sounds like overheating to me. Is there a place they can get away from the heat?

x2

 

[LazyBandit]

It sounds like overheating to me. Is there a place they can get away from the heat?

No there isn't really, I thought that they always required the lamp and I tried to set it at a height that gives them the right amount of heat. It had also been set up that way for a week and a few days, if it were due to overheating wouldn't it happen quicker? I scrambled for answers when I found the first three dead and considered heat exhaustion might have been the case so I turned off the heat lamp, but then the other two still died afterward. It is the simplest solution and one that they were all exposed to, it is just that I hadn't changed anything between this flock and the last two and am having a hard time coming to grips with killing 5 birds out of my own negligence.

 

[aoxa]

No there isn't really, I thought that they always required the lamp and I tried to set it at a height that gives them the right amount of heat. It had also been set up that way for a week and a few days, if it were due to overheating wouldn't it happen quicker? I scrambled for answers when I found the first three dead and considered heat exhaustion might have been the case so I turned off the heat lamp, but then the other two still died afterward. It is the simplest solution and one that they were all exposed to, it is just that I hadn't changed anything between this flock and the last two and am having a hard time coming to grips with killing 5 birds out of my own negligence.

They should always have places to get out of the heat for future reference, this may not even be the case, but I would change that in the future. Even if you did turn it off, they could still die after cooling off from heat exhaustion. A friend of mine had a grown hen that was overheated, she was close to death, so she brought her inside and cooled her off by giving her a bath. It didn't help. She still perished from the heat

This is my set up. I keep the lamp on one end of the brooder, and the rest is not heated. They spend less time under the heat lamp as they grow. By 3 weeks they were only using it at night.

 

[LazyBandit]

They should always have places to get out of the heat for future reference, this may not even be the case, but I would change that in the future. Even if you did turn it off, they could still die after cooling off from heat exhaustion. A friend of mine had a grown hen that was overheated, she was close to death, so she brought her inside and cooled her off by giving her a bath. It didn't help. She still perished from the heat

This is my set up. I keep the lamp on one end of the brooder, and the rest is not heated. They spend less time under the heat lamp as they grow. By 3 weeks they were only using it at night.

Thanks for the advice, I have ensured that the one remaining chick now has a little shelter to shade her. She seems very active and happy. Why little Joan of Arc (we felt she needed a strong name after what she had been through) was able to survive, I just don't know. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[what did I do]

Occasionally the chicks wont leave the heat even if they have a place to get away from it. I had 3 die from the heat and they had cool places to go to. I keep a thermometer in the brooder now. I've had my heat lamps heat the brooder up to 120 with an average temp of 100. You got to watch those heat lamps.

 

[LazyBandit]

Occasionally the chicks wont leave the heat even if they have a place to get away from it. I had 3 die from the heat and they had cool places to go to. I keep a thermometer in the brooder now. I've had my heat lamps heat the brooder up to 120 with an average temp of 100. You got to watch those heat lamps.

How did you know that they died from the heat, what were the signs?

 

[aoxa]

Occasionally the chicks wont leave the heat even if they have a place to get away from it. I had 3 die from the heat and they had cool places to go to. I keep a thermometer in the brooder now. I've had my heat lamps heat the brooder up to 120 with an average temp of 100. You got to watch those heat lamps.

If they are hours hold yes they may not leave the heat. If they are over 3 days they should very much get away from it. If not there may be underlying issues.

100 is too hot. I aim for 85-90 for the day olds. Even 90 will make them pant.