5 week old chick suddenly dies...will more die??

[live2shine]

Hi everyone.
I have a brooder inside and in it I have (had) four 5 week old chicks and four 3-4 week old turkeys. I came home today and one of the chicks was dead and stiff on the ground. This is only a few hours after I left them with food and clean water. Many of my homesteading books, etc., say that turkeys and chickens together is fine. I turned their light off today but it's a comfortable 70 degrees in the house. The brooder they are in is a cage with sawdust. There were no signs- they were all happy and healthy this morning, then sudden death. I know sometimes chickens die at any age, but I'm praying we don't have more deaths as the hours/days go by. My kids and I would be heartbroken. I have to figure out if I'm doing something wrong, or if this might be dangerous for us since they are in the home. Thank you!

 

[feathers_3]

If you haven't already, I would suggest completely cleaning out the brooder... new bedding, water, and food. I have never had turkeys but just to be on the safe side I would separate them.

 

[leadwolf1]

Just a thought, the turkeys are much bigger and heavier...could they have squashed her????

 

[feathers_3]

You make a good point. They are much larger and probably could easily hurt a chick

 

[live2shine]

Yes, I took them all out (covered) to get some fresh sunshine and grass (it's about 78 degrees today) while I completely cleaned out the brooder and feeders. The turkeys are actually much smaller than the chicks right now. When/if the turkeys outgrow the chickens I will separate them. They all get along wonderfully. The best part is when they get together in clump to sleep...which makes me wonder if this chick got squashed by the whole group. The bedding was kind of dirty, but there was no smell to indicate a toxic nitrogen situation. I just don't know what went wrong, except that I did buy these chicks from a tack and feed shop, so I have no idea what their life was like for their first week of life. I'll let you know if anything else happens (lets PRAY nothing does!!) Thanks for your responses!!!