Am I doing something wrong? Hatchery chicks are dying :(

I started them on Corid today.
The mill date on the bag is 01 2018. Is that good?
I would go get a fresh bag of chick starter, I know you want organic, but you may have to use something like Purina Start & Grow or even Flock Raiser. The bag of feed you have is 10months old, that's too old in my opinion. I won't buy if it's more than 4 weeks from mill date. Find your receipt, take back that bag and ask for a refund or exchange.
 
Pics? Of course! lol
Hatchery birds aren't all bad, we all start somewhere. If you have any interest in incubating, I suggest finding hatching eggs. Its so much fun! :D

These are cream legbar chicks from eggs from my flock, it was my first test of my girls eggs. The broodies are frizzle bantam cochins, seems like I always have at least one of them that is broody! I currently have 3!
View attachment 1590643 View attachment 1590644 View attachment 1590645

They are so cute!! :love:jumpy Thank you for posting pictures!



I've used the zip ties, but you definitely have to watch them. Or the other options Mosey mentioned may work for you. Feather legged breeds are the worst for watching the zip ties. I forgot about one, and as his leg grew, the skin grew around the zip tie until he could barely walk. I had totally forgotten one was still banded, so I wasn't paying attention to him. I had to surgically remove it from under his skin. Not pretty. But he lived and did fine afterwards.

As they get older, you may want to check out wing bands, if necessary.
 
I would go get a fresh bag of chick starter, I know you want organic, but you may have to use something like Purina Start & Grow or even Flock Raiser. The bag of feed you have is 10months old, that's too old in my opinion. I won't buy if it's more than 4 weeks from mill date. Find your receipt, take back that bag and ask for a refund or exchange.
Thank you. So four months from mill date maximum. I bought this bag at our local feed store and it has never even came up in my mind to ask for the mill date. They just loaded it in my trunk. For the other brand I have to check TSC, because I don;t believe the feed store has that. And from now on I will check mill dates :)
 
Thank you. So four months from mill date maximum. I bought this bag at our local feed store and it has never even came up in my mind to ask for the mill date. They just loaded it in my trunk. For the other brand I have to check TSC, because I don;t believe the feed store has that. And from now on I will check mill dates :)
No, 4 weeks :)
4 Months is still too old.
 
The problem with zip ties is you're already at a point where you're gonna have a really hard time getting a scissor or sidecutter in there to cut it off, and that thing is gonna be good and tight within a week. They're alright on a bigger bird since you can leave them much looser, although I still prefer actual legbands as I've had zip ties tighten inexplicably on their own.
That's why you need end cutters to cut thru the lock, staying away from the leg altogether:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-banding-with-zipties.68075/

The mill date on the bag is 01 2018. Is that good?
Hard to know if that means "Jan 2018", you'd have to contact the manufacturer to learn what their coding means, or ask the store manager. Some brands are obvious, just got Purina today 8OCT26 MFI1, others can be a mystery.
 
I contacted the store. The mill date is October 15, 2018. Phew, so at least the food is still good. Wonder why they put such abracadabra code on the bag :rolleyes:
And I got them new leg bands today, some of them were still very loose, but replaced them anyway.
Because of the coughing/sneezing started them on Tylon 50, sigh. I am really trying to save my last 6 chicks :fl
 
Did they explain the marking on the bag?
Was it something they milled or a brand name stocked by them?
Yes, they explained it. I actually contacted the brand company (I don;t know how else to call them) and they contacted the mill. They explained to me that the number on the bag is a random number, but the mill has all the dates.
It is actually interesting to find out how this works, I am learning a lot :)
 

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