8 of 12 new chicks suddenly dead - unknown cause

[HuskerHens18]

I will check in the morning, it’s in a bin out in the coop. I didn’t notice any moldy smell or texture but I also didn’t intentionally give it a smell.

That said, we are in Oregon, so everything is always cold and wet here. And this feed store I got it from keeps the chicken feed out back - you pay for it inside and the new drive behind the store and show your receipt and the guy gets your big things (wood poles, hay bales, animal feed, etc.). I didn’t see where the feed was kept, it was around the corner from where I was parked. So it definitely could have gotten wet - but there was no noticeable problem when I opened it. I am such a novice though, so I am not sure I’d notice if the signs were just subtle things.

I am definitely replacing it tomorrow as soon as somewhere to buy feed is open. That’s the problem with discovering this at 6pm on Saturday night - it’s too late to do anything regarding the bulbs or feed until tomorrow.

I have been through similar, so I understand the feeling. I left a bag of feed in the bed of a pickup while it downpoured rain, but the feed was covered so I thought it was okay. When I opened the bag the feed was soaked. So I scooped out the wet feed and fed the rest to my chickens anyway. Later on some got really sick during a weekend when all the veterinarians were closed. No ER vets here. Lost the sick ones because I was a novice at the time.

Don't worry, bad things happen to the best of us. You could have got chicks that were already ill or just had bad organs.
If you ever have this happen again and are okay spending money, refrigerate(not freeze) the dead chicks and send them off for a necropsy. My local vet does them, you'll have to check with yours. It was 20$ for me.

 

[sevenfatcows]

Blood from the mouth makes me think of some type of poisoning. Rodent baits, for instance, cause the creatures they kill to bleed from the mouth. Sounds like you took great care to have everything clean; I'm thinking contaminated feed or bedding. It would not take much to be lethal for tiny chicks. So very sorry for your lost chicks.

 

[Jaylee52]

Thank you so much everyone!! I can’t believe how many people wrote in and all the helpful ideas I have gotten. I was so worried no one would write in and that I would spend all night wondering if there’s more I should be doing RIGHT NOW. There’s stuff like replacing the food that I *wish* I could do now, but I know I can’t until morning. This has helped me feel so much better and more in control.

I am going to stop replying to this thread tonight so that I can take care of other things and go to bed. But I am so grateful for the help and will definitely check this thread again in the morning, so I welcome any further suggestions.

What a great community!

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

The blood from their mouths is VERY concerning for coccidiosis! You won't always see blood in the poop. Chicks may be able to tolerate the strain they are exposed to but not new ones. When the two chicks were combined they may have been exposed to new strains of cocci. You won't know for sure without a necropsy (you can have a vet do an 'autopsy' to look for cause of death), but preventive measures can't hurt. Please get them medicated feed (with amprolium) if they have not been vaccinated.

 

[Jaylee52]

Thanks for the tip. We are getting them medicated feed this morning.

And a happy update, the remaining four made it through the night. So, at least that’s good.

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

YAY that is great news! <3 So relieved for you! Losses are so hard. Something else you might want to consider is talking to the feed store and see if this has happened to any more of their stock. I suspect they were exposed before they got to you hon. You have described 110% vigilance in being careful. If it is cocci they were exposed before becoming symptomatic; it can take days to show up. So glad you're getting the survivors the medicated feed! Also I really do recommend raising babies without a mama hen inside for the first few weeks...especially this time of year. There are just too many opportunities for cold spots and drafts to take them. Chicks are so so vulnerable to temperature fluctuations.
Hang in there, new mama, we're all with you in spirit and sending love and support! <3

 

[Jaylee52]

Thank you! I am worried about them getting cocci from the coop. The previous owner of this farm built it and used it for his chickens. And then it went unused for a year and a half after we bought the place. When I went to clean it, it looked like not only had starlings moved in during the interim, but that maybe he had NEVER cleaned it. I spent two full days with a floor scraper, paint scraper, and power washer chipping and spraying hardened poop off the walls, beams, roosts, nesting, boxes, and floors. After all the solids were chipped off, every inch got sprayed with the power washer which basically stripped off a very thin outer layer of the wood. I splashed the whole thing with white vinegar after that and let it air dry. And I put up new hardware cloth to keep out all predators and wild birds. But... there’s probably still bird bugs lurking in there.

I really didn’t want to have the brooder in our house due to the smell and the fact that we have two big hound dogs. I was hoping that if I thoroughly cleaned the coop, that my only remaining worry about having the brooder out there would be cold. And the cold may be an issue. But I have been trying to watch their behavior and the two thermometers to gauge whether it’s a real problem or not.

Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[21hens-incharge]

The brooder bin and feeder were scrubbed AND sanitized. I realize now the waterer was scrubed but not santized. I originally had a mason jar sized waterer in there that WAS sanitized but they spilled a bunch of it the first day so I put the bigger waterer in because it is more stable (and put it on bricks to raise it above the shavings) and I had only scrubbed the big waterer.

I haven’t sanitized the bulbs since they don’t touch those, but maybe I should since they hang above the chicks.

One thing no one mentioned yet so I will touch on it.....

The waterer is up on bricks....... Can they reach it easily?

Is your brooder covered with hardware cloth to keep mice and rats out?

 

[Jaylee52]

Yup. Thanks for the suggestions. These two actually don’t have me worried. I have seen them at the waterer using it. The bricks just make it so that the waterer isn’t down below the level of the pine shavings in the floor of the tub (because shavings kept falling in and getting wet). On the bricks, it’s as though it is sitting flat on the pine shavings, but more stable.

And while the brooder isn’t covered in hardware cloth, it is sitting inside our coop which has hardware cloth covering the few openings. We just redid the hardware cloth on the coop days before getting the chicks so we feel pretty good that we’ve got all holes covered.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Good just wanted to make sure.