baby chicks dying please help!!!

[sehfergy]

i just had my 3rd baby chick die in only 6 days & i don’t know what to do. i have 2 other sick/slow ones that i’ve sequestered & i’m concerned about.

background: ordered 28 from murray mcmurray & 4 were dead in the box. we got the other 24 settled in the brooder & they looked good-drinking, eating, moving around. the next morning 2 more were dead. all others behaving fine. day 3, 2 of them started to look weird-weak, unable to get up. thought maybe riboflavin deficiency so started supplementing w/ vitamins, electrolytes. we didn’t add lytes/vitamins on day one as we’ve never had to.

we have hand fed these 2 sick ones w/ a dropper every 2 hours & they are holding their own, but it’s upm& down. day 5 (yesterday) a 3rd one was suddenly week so we brought it out of the main brooder & started same treatment w/ hand feeding. today the 3rd one kept getting more & more lethargic & i just found it dead.

so a total of 7/28 chicks has died within 6 days of hatching, 4 in transit & 3 within 5 days of arrival. i have called mcmurray multiple times & they are totally useless. i am so worried about these last two & the whole clutch frankly. they are immunized & from different breeds. we have thermometer is the brooder & are watching them like hawks. they are not having diarrhea.

i’ve been raising baby chicks for years & never had losses like this!! any advice? what am i missing?

 

[Kiki]

What is the exact temperature in your brooder?

 

[Kiki]

Immunized for what?

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Is the light set up to one side?
What is the temp in the brooder?
What type of bulb are you using?

Shipping stress could have played a factor.

 

[ashlierami]

i just had my 3rd baby chick die in only 6 days & i don’t know what to do. i have 2 other sick/slow ones that i’ve sequestered & i’m concerned about.

background: ordered 28 from murray mcmurray & 4 were dead in the box. we got the other 24 settled in the brooder & they looked good-drinking, eating, moving around. the next morning 2 more were dead. all others behaving fine. day 3, 2 of them started to look weird-weak, unable to get up. thought maybe riboflavin deficiency so started supplementing w/ vitamins, electrolytes. we didn’t add lytes/vitamins on day one as we’ve never had to.

we have hand fed these 2 sick ones w/ a dropper every 2 hours & they are holding their own, but it’s upm& down. day 5 (yesterday) a 3rd one was suddenly week so we brought it out of the main brooder & started same treatment w/ hand feeding. today the 3rd one kept getting more & more lethargic & i just found it dead.

so a total of 7/28 chicks has died within 6 days of hatching, 4 in transit & 3 within 5 days of arrival. i have called mcmurray multiple times & they are totally useless. i am so worried about these last two & the whole clutch frankly. they are immunized & from different breeds. we have thermometer is the brooder & are watching them like hawks. they are not having diarrhea.

i’ve been raising baby chicks for years & never had losses like this!! any advice? what am i missing?

I would provide nuti drench this is best for chicks on arrival. Do they have any bloody poop? I'm thinking the stress of travel affected

 

[diamondsilkies]

Was there any delay/bad weather/other issues during shipping? I agree with the Nutri Drench advice.

 

[sehfergy]

temp is consistently 90-95 degrees. yes lamp on one side & have area they can escape to if too hot. they are staying near right under the lamp. we have 20 other chickens in same situation that are fine.

immunized for marek’s disease.it is a heat bulb we’ve used each year for brooding-same bulb exactly we used last year for our clutch.

 

[Kiki]

temp is consistently 90-95 degrees. yes lamp on one side & have area they can escape to if too hot. they are staying near right under the lamp. we have 20 other chickens in same situation that are fine.

immunized for marek’s disease.it is a heat bulb we’ve used each year for brooding-same bulb exactly we used last year for our clutch.

95 is too hot imo.
Is it a teflon coated bulb?

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Did you use nutri-drench when you first got them?

 

[sehfergy]

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I would provide nuti drench this is best for chicks on arrival. Do they have any bloody poop? I'm thinking the stress of travel affected

we haven’t given nutidrench but are giving poultry vitamins/electrolytes plus riboflavin as well as mixing brewer’s yeast in crumble.

it was very cold here (shipped from iowa to wisconsin in 30 hours) but have done this before & never lost this many-20% loss of the total number, that seems excessive to me.