911 I need answers now!!!😭😭😭

Just this week I put a little grit in with their food and a little cracked corn, just a little though, I don’t like giving little chicks a lot of treats. They didn’t even like the bread I gave them they didn’t even hardly peck on it. Besides that they have just been on steady chick starter as I’ve done with my other chicks in the past.
And yes it is Louisiana.
 
Did you see the dead chick eat any of the corn or bread?

Putting grit into food isn't the best way to offer it to chickens. Each chicken has their own grit requirements, just as each laying hen has their individual requirement for calcium so putting oyster shell or powdered calcium into food isn't giving each chicken the choice to satisfy their own needs.

Grit and oyster shell should be offered free choice separate from food. For chicks, sprinkling grit over the floor of the brooder is the best way to offer it. Chickens eat grit as they feel the need for it.

For anyone reading this who is new to chicks, you can offer grit to new chicks by sprinkling it over the floor of the brooder. It must be chick grit as adult grit is too large. Chicks will instinctively consume the grit, hitting it heavily at first so some wonder if the chicks are eating too much and will get into trouble. No, they won't. They will stop as soon as their gizzards are supplied.

This is good insurance in case the chicks somehow get hold of something that requires grit to help digest it. (Corn, bread, grass, leaves, etc. Without grit, a chick can quickly die from the undigested food clogging its system.
 
Did you see the dead chick eat any of the corn or bread?

Putting grit into food isn't the best way to offer it to chickens. Each chicken has their own grit requirements, just as each laying hen has their individual requirement for calcium so putting oyster shell or powdered calcium into food isn't giving each chicken the choice to satisfy their own needs.

Grit and oyster shell should be offered free choice separate from food. For chicks, sprinkling grit over the floor of the brooder is the best way to offer it. Chickens eat grit as they feel the need for it.

For anyone reading this who is new to chicks, you can offer grit to new chicks by sprinkling it over the floor of the brooder. It must be chick grit as adult grit is too large. Chicks will instinctively consume the grit, hitting it heavily at first so some wonder if the chicks are eating too much and will get into trouble. No, they won't. They will stop as soon as their gizzards are supplied.

This is good insurance in case the chicks somehow get hold of something that requires grit to help digest it. (Corn, bread, grass, leaves, etc. Without grit, a chick can quickly die from the undigested food clogging its system.
Like I said they didn’t even hardly peck at it, they did some but it wasn’t hardly any at all, and I will not be mixing the grit in with their food anymore!
 
Did you notice if the dead chick was much smaller and less active than the other chicks for most of these past four weeks?
No the two bantams were equal. The others are bigger breeds so there isn’t a comparison there. The past week my sister has been telling me something was wrong with it but I brushed her off and didn’t really think about it.
 
Unfortunately, "something wrong with it" isn't enough of a clue to even begin to guess why it died. You would need a necropsy, as others have pointed out.

My suggestion at this point is to keep careful watch over the rest of your chicks. Watch for any chick that is slow, fluffed up, head hunched into its shoulders, standing still with its eyes dull and droopy, any consistently runny poop, or poop that is much smaller and drier than the others.

At four weeks of age, chicks no longer require heat during the day in your climate. As long as the nights are mild in the 50s, they may be okay just huddling together as long as they've become used to the cooper temps and have acclimatized. But if you see temperatures forecast into the low 40s or lower, some heat at night might be wise.
 
You can add your location to your profile. I don’t remember exactly how but @aart posts screenshot instructions.
I’m sorry to hear this. Yes, you probably should have listened to your sister and also provided the heat lamp, BUT with the temps being what you said they’d been I can see why you would have removed the heat source. And not knowing your sister, it’s difficult to tell if she cries wolf or is usually a reliable alarm. Please don’t beat yourself up! These are hard lessons to learn, but you do seem to care and I’m sure you won’t forget any one this anytime soon.
Basics to remember:
- keep things very clean
- keep an eye on temps
- dump contaminated food and water, has bedding &/or poo in it, clean the containers and refill. Make adjustments as necessary to keep them from getting dirty.
- look in on the actual chicks at least twice a day. More is better!

Edit:
I hate waste, so I give small amounts of food more often.
I forgot about your food change. With all my pets, I do my best to buy the new food when I have about a 1/4 of the old left. In case the store is out of the usual I have enough to transition them and so I don’t forget and run out completely.
To transition foods:
75% old, 25% new for a couple days
50/50 for a couple days
25% old, 75% new for a couple days
100% new
This should take about a week. Stop if you notice undesirable issues and cut back on the old. The process can take much longer than a week, if necessary. Sometimes they just can’t handle the new stuff so don’t push it.
 
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I have no idea. I know that usually coccidiosis is blood in the poop. I have no experience treating really anything. Do cocci cause seizures?
Someone already covered this a bit.. There are at LEAST 9-11 strains of coccidia currently known to effect poultry and only ONE of those will actually present as blood in droppings, causing confusion for folks looking for blood! :hmm

So sorry about your loss, we had a very similar thing happen with one of our chicks about a month ago... it was about 3 days old
Sorry for you loss also.. :( The death was similar but the cause likely was not. At 3 days old many chicks will fail to thrive as they try to rely on their own digestive system etc as that's about when they run out of energy from their yolk.. and other organs will be needing to function which may not and pass dropping to get waste out of the system.. :hugs

I’ve never heard of other types of cocci but that is a good thought.
I'm sure you see what I posted first here since your not the first one I quoted.. but will also mention that these are just the ones that effect poultry and there are other strains (maybe hundreds, I'm not sure) that effect cows, sheep, goats, dogs, etc.. :)

I hope it is nothing contagious!
If you suspect coccidiosis.. it's HIGHLY contagious and would be wise to treat everyone with Corid.. I's probably go with an outbreak dose! At the stated age consider coccidiosis the most likely cause of death.

The past week my sister has been telling me something was wrong with it but I brushed her off and didn’t really think about it.
Your sister's attention to detail should be applauded.. apologize to her and pay more attention next time she voices a concern to see if you are able to identify what she is seeing. How much age difference is there between you two and who's the elder?

So these chicks were only under heat for a couple days/nights and have not had a mama hen or anything to stay warm under? At a certain point there's plenty of them to huddle and keep each other warm.. BUT.. being overly cold is extremely uncomfortable, making it almost impossible to sleep, diminishes growth, stunting development... not actually saving a dime in heating cost.

I HATE those heat lamps.. they cost soo much to run.. The rent a coop heat plate on Amazon.. will save it's purchase cost in electricity usage on ONE brood literally! The current temps may be fine for a chick that size and such if it isn't under the weather.. The under the weather.. but once other the weather.. all bets were off.. and while they may not ALL need the added heat.. some will definitely benefit from and appreciate you.. Use your best judgement.. do you have a standard 100 watt bulb or anything less intense than that huge red one.. those make it hard for us, though red IS preferred over white..

The other most likely cause.. according to what I've seen through out the thread would be crop issue.. but that wouldn't really makes sense..

If you have more pass and want answers send it in for necropsy. It's only $25 for 2 birds in California.. but here's the links to state labs..
State poultry labs

Anyways.. no judgement.. only thoughts, support, information, and hopefully some encouragement to community I value so much! :fl

I just ran across this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/disease-in-chickens.1420088/
@EggSighted4Life posted an answer with extremely helpful links
Thank you for sharing possibly helpful things when you find them! Have you learned how to book mark useful links for your own future reference yet? When I saw someone else posting fantastic links.. I made it my goal to learn how.. now I'm SLIGHTLY less computer illiterate. :cool:
 

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