Baby Chicks Dying

[gwright6]

Hello, I have been a chick mom for about 5 years now. I have reared 5 flocks and my count ranges from 75 t0 125 birds at any given time. I purchased 50 Red Sex Linked chicks from Valley Hatchery. There are located in Ohio, but ship out of Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, California, and Montana. So my chicks were born on 07/02 and I picked them up from the post office on 07/03. Their brooder was already set up, and the first few days they appeared to have made the trip with no issues. Day 4 - 1 chick that was very small died. On 7/18 another died. Yesterday 2 died and today 3 died and another one won't make it through the night. I am very aware of the need for heat lamps and kept a eye on the temperatures several times a day. I fee Texas Natural Feed, and put chick supplements in the water. I am now noticing that they do not appear to eat as much as my other babies in the past, and they are not as active. These chicks were vaccinated for Merek. None of my prior flocks have been vaccinated, and my first inclination was not to agree to have them vaccinated, but the person at the hatchery absolutely recommended and I finally agreed. Here are my questions: I am going to call the hatchery but I wanted to get some insight into Valley Hatchery, and some thoughts about the vaccination of chicks. If anyone here has had an experience with this hatchery can you share your thoughts and if you think that vaccinating these chicks have had any affect on what is happening how. I'm up for anyone's suggestions or opinions. Side note. I have a set of 50 chicks that I brought to the coop in May Ideal Poultry in Cameron Texas and they are all thriving.

 

[Debbie292d]

I highly doubt the vaccination has anything to do with this. I know one person personally who vaccinates all of her chicks herself. She has so many it makes it cost-effective as for smaller backyard flocks, it's not frugal to do it yourself. She's never lost a chick.

I wish I knew why little ones die like this though but I've heard of it before. Some have thought a rougher trip did it, yet that wouldn't explain why days later they're still dying. If they got roughed up to the point of internal harm, they'd die within 24 hours usually.

Maybe try just bottled water for a day or two. Too many days of electrolytes/vitamins can sometimes be counterproductive, causing diarrhea.

Any chance it's a new bulb, new bedding materials, anything new in the area different from in the past? Can you double check the heat on the floor of the brooder? They'd be crying if they were too cold though, and panting if too hot.

I hope you'll get some answers when you call.

 

[ksbkeys]

Hello, I have been a chick mom for about 5 years now. I have reared 5 flocks and my count ranges from 75 t0 125 birds at any given time. I purchased 50 Red Sex Linked chicks from Valley Hatchery. There are located in Ohio, but ship out of Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, California, and Montana. So my chicks were born on 07/02 and I picked them up from the post office on 07/03. Their brooder was already set up, and the first few days they appeared to have made the trip with no issues. Day 4 - 1 chick that was very small died. On 7/18 another died. Yesterday 2 died and today 3 died and another one won't make it through the night. I am very aware of the need for heat lamps and kept a eye on the temperatures several times a day. I fee Texas Natural Feed, and put chick supplements in the water. I am now noticing that they do not appear to eat as much as my other babies in the past, and they are not as active. These chicks were vaccinated for Merek. None of my prior flocks have been vaccinated, and my first inclination was not to agree to have them vaccinated, but the person at the hatchery absolutely recommended and I finally agreed. Here are my questions: I am going to call the hatchery but I wanted to get some insight into Valley Hatchery, and some thoughts about the vaccination of chicks. If anyone here has had an experience with this hatchery can you share your thoughts and if you think that vaccinating these chicks have had any affect on what is happening how. I'm up for anyone's suggestions or opinions. Side note. I have a set of 50 chicks that I brought to the coop in May Ideal Poultry in Cameron Texas and they are all thriving.

I have had no experience with this hatchery. My guess would be something contagious unfortunately. I hope the hatchery makes it right for you.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

My mom just got chicks from Valley (might have been a different distribution center) and they are doing fine. She kept them in a brooder for a couple days before giving them to a broody hen. I would try just the plain water for a while but I’m not finding any obvious causes in your post. Have you used this exact brooder set up before?