Hi all,
I got 25 chicks last Saturday from our local feed store. I've gotten chicks from them before with no problems, only a few losses. But these are not doing well at all. We lost the first one Saturday night some time, and I have lost 1-2 a day almost every day since then. I know they're getting sick when they huddle under the heat lamp and don't move much when I walk up to the brooder. The rest will run away. I've found that about 1 day after they start doing that, they die. I have a 9x4 foot brooder with lots of ventalation, warmth, water and food. Most of them walk around the space and scratch around doing normal chick things. But when I see some starting to huddle and not run away very quickly, I know they're about to be down. I've given them nutri-drench in their water (worked well for me last year when I had a lot I ordered from the hatchery with shipping stress), and cleaned everyone's pasty butts. The ones who die don't have pasty butts. I am figuring its contageous since it keeps happening a week after we got them. I went to the feed store today and the owner said that he hadn't had any problems, but some employees walked around the corner and said that a lot of customers had been calling and coming in saying they were loosing a lot of chicks. If the looks from that owner could kill...lets say I will be going to a different feed store from now on.
But can anyone offer any suggestions on what it could be or what I should do? I'm thinking I should get some anti-biotics, but I don't know if I can get them here fast enough if I buy online, and we don't have a chicken vet nearby.
I got 25 chicks last Saturday from our local feed store. I've gotten chicks from them before with no problems, only a few losses. But these are not doing well at all. We lost the first one Saturday night some time, and I have lost 1-2 a day almost every day since then. I know they're getting sick when they huddle under the heat lamp and don't move much when I walk up to the brooder. The rest will run away. I've found that about 1 day after they start doing that, they die. I have a 9x4 foot brooder with lots of ventalation, warmth, water and food. Most of them walk around the space and scratch around doing normal chick things. But when I see some starting to huddle and not run away very quickly, I know they're about to be down. I've given them nutri-drench in their water (worked well for me last year when I had a lot I ordered from the hatchery with shipping stress), and cleaned everyone's pasty butts. The ones who die don't have pasty butts. I am figuring its contageous since it keeps happening a week after we got them. I went to the feed store today and the owner said that he hadn't had any problems, but some employees walked around the corner and said that a lot of customers had been calling and coming in saying they were loosing a lot of chicks. If the looks from that owner could kill...lets say I will be going to a different feed store from now on.
But can anyone offer any suggestions on what it could be or what I should do? I'm thinking I should get some anti-biotics, but I don't know if I can get them here fast enough if I buy online, and we don't have a chicken vet nearby.