Chicks Crushed In Brooder

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I think you may have answered your own question.
How old were the younger chicks when you removed them from mama?
You might need multiple different heat sources if you want to keep different aged chicks together.

They were 4 days old. The brooder is set at a temperature at one end suitable for the youngest.
The oldest chicks are 7 days older than them.

First batch hatched on the 20th, second batch hatched on the 27th September.

The brooder is big enough so that the older chicks can move away from heat if they need too.

 

[aart]

The broody hatched chicks may do better with a heat plate as they want to go under something to get warm...probably why they were trying to get under the older chicks.

Piling can happen with bator chicks too if the heated area is not large enough to accommodate them all, sometimes then it's best to crank the heat up until they are spread out a bit. It's a delicate balance.

 

[CCUK]

Sorry to hear this. Personally I'd try to keep different aged chicks apart until there a couple of weeks old. You have two brooders now and could use the smaller one for the youngest.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

The broody hatched chicks may do better with a heat plate as they want to go under something to get warm...probably why they were trying to get under the older chicks.

Piling can happen with bator chicks too if the heated area is not large enough to accommodate them all, sometimes then it's best to crank the heat up until they are spread out a bit. It's a delicate balance.

That's probably right, as soon as I'd put my hand in, the little chicks would run over and go under it, no matter which side of the brooder it was in.

I haven't experienced piling yet as I previously said, they all spread out, just the little ones liked to be physically under something. Which as you say is probably because they were broody hatched rather than the others which were incubator hatched.

I'll keep an eye though and will be on the look out for a heat plate! It's something I've wanted to try since I've heard they're cheaper to run than the lamps.

Sorry to hear this. Personally I'd try to keep different aged chicks apart until there a couple of weeks old. You have two brooders now and could use the smaller one for the youngest.

Honestly if I could have two brooder at once I would. Where I keep my brooder, there is only enough room for either the larger one or the smaller one. I thought going larger would be better but I've had deaths already in it. In the smaller one I never did

Everything set up the same, only difference is that they have more space to move around.

I can keep smaller chicks in the plastic box inside the larger brooder until they're about 2 weeks then they'll be too big and will have to come out.

Although, hopefully by then they should be big enough not to get squashed!

 

[chickens really]

Do they have a cool area and a warmer area so they don't pile up on each other?

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Do they have a cool area and a warmer area so they don't pile up on each other?

Yes they do, lamp at one end and gradually getting cooler towards the other end. The chicks don't pile on one another when sleeping.

There is a point in the brooder that is the correct heat for each of the two ages in there.

They can freely get under heat and out of heat

 

[chickens really]

Yes they do, lamp at one end and gradually getting cooler towards the other end. The chicks don't pile on one another when sleeping.

There is a point in the brooder that is the correct heat for each of the two ages in there.

They can freely get under heat and out of heat

Very strange..

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Very strange..

Very strange indeed

As I say, absolutely nothing has changed in how I brood my chicks except that it's a larger brooder. Maybe I should re-try the smaller one, although I though the larger brooder with more space for them to grow and move would be better.

I've never had deaths when brooding mixed ages before and I've done it quite often.

Most strange is how the quail, being the smallest of all, has evaded being squashed too. I never expected to Quail to survive long being in with bigger chicks but it's proved me wrong

 

[Miss Lydia]

Very sorry for your loss.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

Very sorry for your loss.

Thankyou