Baby Chicks ...mass casualties

[Wagnit09]

My first question after looking at set up is this: what is that bedding?

I'm in agreement with Rebra. Brooder too small. Rubbermaid tote + heat lamp IMO is a recipe for disaster. My first batch of chicks were brooded in that fashion. I was diligent at checking the temp, and reducing it according to "protocol". One moment all was well. Several minutes later, the temp had shot up to 110* under the bulb. I almost lost those chicks.

FYI, any time a chick is panting, you have a crisis of overheating on your hands. The temp at the unheated end of the brooder should be room temp (if brooding in the house) or what ever ambient outdoor or coop temp is (if brooding in a coop).

I will no longer use a heat lamp. All my chicks are brooded with MHP brooder in an outdoor coop. If I ever end up brooding more than 50 chicks at a time, I would consider an Ohio brooder, but no heat lamp for my chicks.

Thanks for the input. Here is a pick of the bedding material recommended by the feed store to my husband. Sorry for the funny angle...I had to take it upside down.

What size brooder do you recommend? The size we have been using seemed to be working for us as it allowed the chicks room to move about. And with its longer size, we were able to have warm and cool areas.

I know overheating can be an issue be we saw no indication of it as the chicks freely moved around throughout the entire space. The middle space to closer to the lamp was were they liked to hang out. But they liked to make dust bathes on the far side.

We don't have the coop built yet. But I do have space designated in it for a future brooder box. In the meantime, we are working with what is on hand.

 

[Cyprus]

The shavings are pine, so not toxic.
However, they are really fine. It may be possible that the chicks ingested too much of the bedding and had impacted crops. Not very likely, but it's a possibility.

 

[Wagnit09]

The shavings are pine, so not toxic.
However, they are really fine. It may be possible that the chicks ingested too much of the bedding and had impacted crops. Not very likely, but it's a possibility.

I had thought of that as a possibility. But wouldn't there have been a sign of an impacted crop? Are there other signs aside from the common swelling?

 

[Cyprus]

I had thought of that as a possibility. But wouldn't there have been a sign of an impacted crop? Are there other signs aside from the common swelling?

Being lathargic and loss of appetite are other symptoms.
But, yes, you would have noticed it before death.

 

[lazy gardener]

The fact that so many of them all died at the same time points to some sort of poisoning or overheating. If the bedding were a choking issue, they wouldn't have all died at the same time. The fact that the oven was going might point to a teflon or air toxic issue, especially if it was a self cleaning oven (even if the self clean feature was not being used). Having the oven going could have also boosted the temp in the brooder to a killer level in a few minutes time.

The chicks did not rest under the heat lamp, that would indicate that the brooder was too warm. If the far end of the brooder was not 70*, the chicks would not have been able to self adjust their temp, and may have been at a critical state before the temp raised the few degrees with oven use. I know my house heats up when the oven gets turned on.

I suggest that you put a thermometer in the brooder and see what the temp is under the lamp, and what it is at the far end. My guess is there is very little difference.

 

[Cyprus]

@lazy gardener would chicks sieze before death if they overheat?

 

[lazy gardener]

Interesting question. Unless someone has a medical back ground, they likely wouldn't know the difference between a seizure and the neurological twitches that often accompany death.

 

[Wagnit09]

Interesting question. Unless someone has a medical back ground, they likely wouldn't know the difference between a seizure and the neurological twitches that often accompany death.

Probably the twitches. Seizure was just what came to mind when typing OP.

 

[Wagnit09]

Thank you all who replied for your assistance. I'll be keeping an eye out in the future for the things you suggested. I just hope I don't have any more sudden issues.

The 3 currently surviving chicks look like they might make it. <fingers crossed>

I'm definitely open to hearing more suggestions or theories as to what may have happened if anyone thinks of anything to add. This has been an interesting experience so far.

 

[SueT]

This is just a stab in the dark, but I do wonder about the safety of using a plastic bin for a brooder. As the chicks get larger and poop more and more, there could be a toxic buildup of gases/ammonia down at their level?
I use a cage with lots of ventilation...in fact half of it even has an uncovered wire bottom. The warmer (a ceramic heat emitter) just warms a small area under it and the ambient temp in the room this for this years' batch was 50 -60. They're 6 wks and outside now. I realize my cage at 2'X4' wouldn't be big enuf for 14 chicks tho. I had only 5, and eventually had to clean it twice a day as they grew, to keep the smell down in the room which is a spare bathroom in an unused part of the house. I'm not raising chicks in the house again.
I wish you luck with the survivors. Keep us updated, good luck!
Sue