California - Northern

[Meg2000000]

I use Cutler Supply and Ozbo. Ozbo has a low flat rate shipping charge, but it can take a while to get stuff from them. Shipping can be high with Cutler.

Ron

Thanks Ron!

 

[ronott1]

Sorry your chicks are dying. How old are they?

Take the dead one here: http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/index.cfm

Follow the instructions. You double bag and chill but don't freeze. Once you know what is killing them, you can figure out what to do.

Bye,

Ron

Well, we lost another one last night. When I came home from work last night (around 6) I checked on my 4 remaining chicks. They all seemed fine, although one seemed to be off by itself. I checked on them again around 9 pm and noticed the one that was alone earlier was having a hard time breathing. It was gasping for breath and making a clicking sound. I looked down its throat and there was nothing stuck. I googled it's symptoms and basically had to walk away and let nature do its work. It was very sad to watch and I wish I could have done something to ease its pain. I came back to check on the sick chick at midnight and it was already dead on its back. This is my first time having and raising chickens and I feel a little let down that two of my five have already died. I really hope it's nothing I'm doing.

 

[Meg2000000]

Ron - My chicks are 2 1/2 weeks old now. They're Barnevelders so I'm not sure if, because of the rarity of them, they're weak. If another one gets sick or dies I will take it to the people you suggested. It's so frustrating!

 

[ronott1]

Ron - My chicks are 2 1/2 weeks old now. They're Barnevelders so I'm not sure if, because of the rarity of them, they're weak. If another one gets sick or dies I will take it to the people you suggested. It's so frustrating!

Hmmm. At that age and not having chickens before, It probably would not be Cochidiosis. One thing that might not be an illness is heat. They need a place to get away from the heat in the brooder. Last year a BYCer bought a couple hundred chicks and half of them died before he realized they were getting too hot. At 2 weeks, the temp in the brooder should be 85 degrees at the hottest spot, not the whole thing. I hatched some that are at the same age as yours, and they don't use the ecoglow much, so they are making it over night in my garage that way. It seems that chicks don't need to be as warm as the claims say.

I had a bunch die from shipping stress. The ones that died, died up to three days after I got the shipment. After that they did not die, so probably not shipping stress with yours.


You don't have to wait until they die. If you are sure they will not make it and they are suffering, you can either take them to the lab for euthanization and Necropsy or you can cull them yourself with a pair of scissors.
I hope this helps,

Ron

 

[Meg2000000]

I picked them up locally so no shipping stress. The brooder is about 85-90 at the hottest point but there's plenty of space for them to get away from the heat. There's cooler areas that they can go to (70-80 degrees depending on the spot). Although I have never had chickens, I did get them from a local guy that has 45+ chickens. I just got them last Tuesday so his chickens may have passed something to mine but he says all of his are healthy. When I saw the little guy gasping for breath, it was really hard for me to walk away and not put it out of its misery. If it happens again I will cull it myself. I hate seeing animals suffer! Thanks for being supportive and offering your experiences with me!

 

[Papa Brooder]

Unfortunately, I get to join in the loss. Went out this evening and found one of my 7 week old chickens dead. I've been having something go thru the flock, whatever the jubilee orps brought in. ironically, this was one of the chickens that hadn't shown any symptoms (no swollen eyes or feather loss). Guess I get to make an unwelcome trip to UC Davis for a necropsy first thing in the morning. Hope it is just a random death and not related to whatever has gone through the flock.

 

[CowgirlJules]

Good luck, Papa Brooder. Don't freeze the specimen!

I've been doing some more research on Infectious Laryngotracheitis, as it doesn't seem to be all that common. Seems to be reportable in some provinces of Canada, but not here. I just turned out my young birds that stayed in the brooder way too long. If any of them get sick, I guess it's still running through my flock.

 

[Meg2000000]

Lost another one today. That makes 3 dead 2 1/2 week old chicks with 2 remaining. I'm rooting for the remaining ones though! I washed the feeder and waterer in alcohol and then let it sit in hot water and soap before putting back in the brooder. I also threw out my handmade brooder that they were all in and put them in a Rubbermaid bin. I'm heating part of the brooder to around 85 and giving them plenty of space to stay 70-80 degrees in other places. I'm doing my best to stop whatever is killing these guys. I said in an earlier post (after the second chick died) that of another died I would take it to the UC Davis lab to see what is going on but I've decided not to do that. If it's a sickness then the others probably have it and will be gone in a few days. It's heartbreaking but at this point I have to let nature do its thing.

Question that I can't seem to find the answer to: What are my chicks actual body temperatures supposed to be at?? I know what the brooder should be kept at but is that the same temp the chicks bodies should be?

 

[Happy Chooks]

85 is too hot for 2 1/2 week old chicks. 70-75 would be much better.

Are they lethargic? Standing there with their wings out? Panting? If yes, they are too hot.

 

[PetRock]

It sounds like it has been a rough spring for chicks for several of us. This is our 3rd spring with chicks and this year we lost 6 out of 10 chicks. 4 we lost to illness, 1 to mites, and just a few days ago we lost a young cockerel to our 1 yr. old dog. Clud got out of his enclosure and the dog thought that he wanted to play. I think that the poor thing died of fright because he only had some minor scrapes on him. I'm so sad every time I dig another chicken grave under the potato bush.