Chickies Dying !?!?!?

[Livinwright Farm]

What is going wrong with these chicks? So far we have only lost 2, but I don't want to lose more of them. They look fine, are walking around and chirping really loud, and then out of nowhere they get very lethargic, look like they are trying to puke, and then they have mucous coming out of their mouth and throat as they stop being able to chirp at all... this is rather strange and hard to witness... I NEED answers and help with this! Please!

 

[easttxchick]

What kind of bedding do you have them on and how old are they?
Does it seem like a respiratory thing or maybe impacted crops?

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Quote:
They are on Viva paper towels(the thick cushy kind) and the ones that died were only about 10-12 hrs old.... I waited until they were fluffy dry in the inc. before transferring them to their brooder cage. I am confused with the watery mucous from the mouth and beak thing... it just came out of nowhere... What are crops?

 

[easttxchick]

OK, it's not the bedding then(you're bedding is fine).
The crop is on the right side of the chest-it is a little bump that shouldn't feel hard or squishy.
I don't think that is the problem, though. The only reason I mentioned it was in case you had them on shavings-sometimes they eat the shavings and their crops get impacted.
Are they drinking a lot of water? I think sometimes they can overdrink(is that a word) and kind of regurgitate some of it-think that's a possibility?
I really don't know if it's respiratory or something else-gee, I'm a big help.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Quote:
I'n not sure if overdrink is a word or not, but that might be a possibilty... no way for me to really tell I guess, at least not without having a farm vet to do an autopsy or something of that nature.... wish we had one of those.

 

[MissJenny]

What kind of heat source do you have for them? Loud chirping often indicates that they are cold... chicks that get chilled can die in a hurry. I don't have an answer for the mucus...

Jenny