Baby chickens dying in the first few weeks.

[kyle bullock]

I am new hear and I am only 16, but I love birds and anything to do with them. I have a incubator and have hatched hundreds of chicks and have come across a little problem. Baby chicks just getting suckand die. They stop moving and wont eat, and let me tell you I have lost aa lot and it fills awfully, but there is a solution. Gatorade it is the best and cheapest thing I have found. Mix it with water and hope the sick ones drink it to. If they are to weak to drink it make them. I know that sounds rude, but it could save there life's. See the Gatorade has e lectrolights that they need for the first few days. Thanks for reading and if you have any ideas that would help please tell me.

 

[TwoCrows]

If you are losing baby chicks with in the first week, there can be several problems going on. First, you say you have hatched many babies before. Are you disinfecting this incubator after each hatch? If not, you are brooding bacteria and virus's with each hatch and this will kill babies. Incubators need to be fumigated after EACH hatch, as well as the brooders and equipment. This is a VERY important step to preventing bacterial infections in baby chicks.

Next thing that comes to mind is temperature. Too high or too low of brooder temp will kill babies. Simple as that. So you need to have a good brooding thermometer. One you get from a brooding supply place. Always keep the heat source on one side of the brooder and the food and water on the other so they not only have to leave the heat to get to the goods, but have cool places along the edges to chill out if they need to. If they are piling on each other, they are cold. If they are stretched out along the edges, they are too hot.

Next, make sure the babies know where the food and water is. Lay paper towels down and sprinkle starter feed all around the floor around the feeder so they know where it is kept. Dip everybody's beak in the water so they know where the water is kept.

Finally, if they are dying after the second week, they could be suffering from coccidiosis outbreaks. A parasite that overwhelms the babies from the poop and causes lesions in the intestinal tract. Babies will have bloody dark runny poop, sit fluffed up in the corners, not eat or drink. This hits babies between the ages of 2 and 4 weeks. If you suspect cocci, and as long as you are not feeding medicated starter feed, get some Corid from the feed store and use this in the water for 5 days. Keep the brooder VERY clean and dry and this will help stop the deaths.

Sorry about your babies. I hope you can get this solved soon.

 

[drumstick diva]

2 crows certainly covered the most common issues - hopefully this will stop more losses.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! TwoCrows gave you some great advice, good luck with your chicks. You could also try posting in the Emergencies forum about what has been happening with them https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

 

[gander007]

I need to make that a BIG X 4 on Two Crows

 

[kyle bullock]

Thanks very much Two rows. I do wash out all of my incubator out with bleach and dawn. I also have the thermostat that came with the incubator. I also like to dip the chicks beacks into the water and watch them to see if they are eating. And I have hay that I place it the bottom of the broader and change it daily. The cocci and meriks is something most of my chicks have been vaccinated because I bought them from Murray Mcmurry but I can't vaccinate them at home can I? Thanks again, and hope you reply back.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks very much Two rows. I do wash out all of my incubator out with bleach and dawn. I also have the thermostat that came with the incubator. I also like to dip the chicks beacks into the water and watch them to see if they are eating. And I have hay that I place it the bottom of the broader and change it daily. The cocci and meriks is something most of my chicks have been vaccinated because I bought them from Murray Mcmurry but I can't vaccinate them at home can I? Thanks again, and hope you reply back.

I would say then you are having troubles with heat or chilling. Get a really good thermometer even if you have to order one from a poultry supply. Something must be amiss in the brooder to cause them to always die. Either drafts or over heating. If you see them piling on top of each other, then they are chilling and dying. If they are sprawled out along the edges, they are over heating and dying.

Where are you getting these eggs? Sometimes chicks dying can be genetic. If the parent birds were not all that healthy, these traits can be passed down thru the egg.

But I think you need to work on your brooder. Over heating is very common with brooding. Keep the lid open, heat off to one side, food and water on the other. Don't over crowd the babies. If they are too packed in, they will starve and die of thirst as well. Give them about 1/2 square foot of space per baby. So if you have 20 babies, you will need 10 square feet of brooder space, or a 2x5 foot brooder. The temp should start out at 95 degrees on hatch day, and each week there after you lower it by 5 degrees each week for 6 weeks. Use a red or infra red bulb. And give them cool spots in the brooder so they have places to chill out.

 

[kyle bullock]

I have many different breeds and have breeder pens. When I wont to incubate a certain breed I place them in the breeder pens and what for them to breed and only my best birds are breed. I also have many different breeds in one incubator at a time ( buff orpingtions, Americans, road Island reds, barred chocins and some English game birds. All total 35 and I only lost 5. Well in this batch anyways. I have a brooder 8 foot long 6 foot wide and 4 foot tall, off the grond. The rest of the birds are fine walking around eating drinking. The are very happy, but two more are still sick and I an worried. Normally I will Listerine or two, but I have already lost five.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC - what are you feeding your chicks?

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]