Chicks die in night without warmth?

GhettoRoo

Songster
5 Years
Oct 7, 2014
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Hello. I have hen with, now 11 chicks. So this morning again, I acutally dont remember this is second or third chick to found out dead. Chicks ar 23 days old, are pretty big.
I guess those who died, died cause they slept outside hen?
I know all that thing with controling a heat till month of age.
I hade seen in late evening in sleeptime, there are few which are sleeping outside, I made a nest bit bigger to get in straw leeward..
 
Maybe she has too many chicks? Hens can also just decide they don't want a chick for any reason and not all broody hens are good mothers. If you're worried about it you could take a few away from her and put them under a heat lamp.
 
Maybe she has too many chicks? Hens can also just decide they don't want a chick for any reason and not all broody hens are good mothers. If you're worried about it you could take a few away from her and put them under a heat lamp.
This one is pretty good one. She adopted 7, but now 3 of them are dead.
As I had saw there are chicks which are sleeping few inches away from hen, but Im not 100% sure, cause im havent seen them in night time. my theory is the chick froze in midnight time.
My question is, is it possible..
This one was Australorp.
 
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Yes they will die if they don't have heat. If chicks would sit under the hen or the hen won't let them, they should be taken out and put under a heat lamp.
 
My neighbor put his week old chicks into a grow pen two days ago with no hen and they're all still alive and seem to be thriving. Our night time lows have been in the 70's and the daily highs in the upper 90's. He says if they were on the mommabin springtime they'd be colder than they are now. Is he right or lucky?
 
What are your night time temps. right now? I put a batch of chicks out recently that where 1.5 weeks with no heat and they did fine. Our lows are around 75 and highs are 100. At 3 weeks they shouldn't be getting cold.
 
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At three weeks mine are running on their own this time of year, if their cold they will pile, chicks are really a lot more hardy on temperature than we think, I agree it has to be something else besides temperature.

I do know some hens are done with their chicks at that age and will start pecking them, just a thought.
 
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How cold are your nights in Latvia? I think they would have to be pretty cold for this to be an issue at 3 weeks of age. I had a hen raise 15 chicks in fairly warm weather. By the time they were a week old they would not all fit under her as fast as they grow. Some would sleep outside her but if they got cold they would force their way under and force another one out. Most broody hens can handle things like this pretty well, but if it is really cold, fewer chicks is better. I’ve had 2 week old chicks pend the nights with temperatures in the mid 70’s F (low 20’s C) by themselves with no hen to keep them warm. I really don’t think cold is the problem but I’m here and you are there.

Are there any marks on the chicks? I had a chick less than 2 weeks old that killed a couple of its siblings. It pecked them to death. Rats can kill chicks too.

How are the chicks acting? Are they running around during the day or are they lethargic? If they are lethargic it could be a disease, probably coccidiosis but it could be something else. Make sure they have clean water every day and tell us about any symptoms.
 
Temperatures in night is 55-60 fahrenheit. 13-15 Celsius..
Today in other pen, I found 8 days old chick laying on his side, and acting like a fish out of water. I saw theres no chance to him and went to bury.
I think everyone of chicks which had die, are the brought in, incubated, all mines, less than a half of all are pretty healthy.

Im interested how to tell if chick is healthy or not. Mby if I take him in hand and drop, to saw how strong did chick fly and how stable it lands.


Photo before 1 week, 2 days old.
Mostly they look kind okey, there are some probs with **** on they puffy feathers.
1 is hen hatched, 8 is bought from incubator.
I saw today all bought ones under hen, while the one hen hatched run and chase a flies.
 

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