Are these chicks old enough to go outside?

[Kiki]

Are you building another coop?


A 4 x 4 coop is good for about 4 chickens...if that many.

How many total do you have right now?

 

[FowlWitch]

4x4 is tight space to split for two groups.
Who died , where and from what?

I only have 2 older chicks if that makes a difference. And it was a bielefelder I hatched from Craigslist eggs. I posted about her yesterday - she was runty and sleepy. The night before she died, she was interested in food, but the next morning was very lethargic and weak. She felt skinny, had no food in her crop, and quiet. I gave her electrolyte water with a dropper, but she wasn't swallowing properly. She started gasping and died within 20 minutes.

 

[FowlWitch]

Are you building another coop?


A 4 x 4 coop is good for about 4 chickens...if that many.

How many total do you have right now?

I'm in the process of putting up a new coop. It's 6 feet by 10 feet, but it just arrived today in the late afternoon. I was asleep all day (night shift warehouse and overtime is a rough combo), so all I've had time for was to level out the area where I'm going to put the new coop. It's a dog kennel and I think it'll only take a couple of hours to erect, so all of my older chickens will be placed there tomorrow. I have 3 adult EE hens, a subadult cockrel serama, and two 4~ week old EE-Silkie crosses (the two older chicks). My coworker is taking the two chicks this Saturday, so it will only be the 4 adults in the 6x10 run. The older run is 7.5 x 7.5 feet with a big wood box coop (the 4x4 foot one). I'm actually making plans to dismantle it and rehab the whole run because it took damage in the winter from snow piling up on the roof. And then next week I have a third run I'll be setting up that is 8x8 feet.

 

[RoosterML]

Unless you know how to give them water via dropper or any other “forced” method be very careful. You may actually kill them. One method that is safe and the way I do it is with a dropper or kids plastic medication syringe with a closed beak put the tip of the dropper at the seam where upper and lower beak meet. Push water slowly and you’ll see water flow down the seam. The chicken will then swallow on her own.

 

[FowlWitch]

Unless you know how to give them water via dropper or any other “forced” method be very careful. You may actually kill them. One method that is safe and the way I do it is with a dropper or kids plastic medication syringe with a closed beak put the tip of the dropper at the seam where upper and lower beak meet. Push water slowly and you’ll see water flow down the seam. The chicken will then swallow on her own.

Yeah, that's what I've been doing. I actually lost 2 more chicks tonight, too... I'll be fortunate if anybody in this batch survives. This is the last time I'll be giving unmedicated chick crumbles - I had no idea coccidiosis could get this bad this fast. I didn't even know they could catch it from clothes and shoes if they picked up contamination I thought washing my hands before I ever touched them would be enough

 

[Kiki]

Where did the chicks come from?

 

[FowlWitch]

Where did the chicks come from?

Hatching eggs from eBay. None of the chicks hatched out from my flock got sick, only the eBay chicks. I lost 2 more today, but the Svart Hona's appetite is back, so I think she'll be okay. Oh also, all of the eBay eggs came with Npip certification.

 

[Kiki]

Hatching eggs from eBay. None of the chicks hatched out from my flock got sick, only the eBay chicks. I lost 2 more today, but the Svart Hona's appetite is back, so I think she'll be okay. Oh also, all of the eBay eggs came with Npip certification.

NPIP doesn't mean diddly. Just means they tested negative for PT in most states and PT hasn't been around in ages.

 

[FowlWitch]

NPIP doesn't mean diddly. Just means they tested negative for PT in most states and PT hasn't been around in ages.

I'll keep that in mind.

 

[Kiki]

I'll keep that in mind.

I highly recommend researching anyone you buy eggs from in the future.
I personally would never buy from EBay unless they were a member here on BYC and I was able to see they did indeed have a healthy flock.

There are shady people out there willing to sell anything to make a buck.

This doesn't just go for EBay...there are some of these types her on BYC too.