Chicks dropping like flies

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I use totes only if I have a small hatch and I use the clear ones, because I like to watch them. I put 1" heavy duty wire cut to fit where I'm going to put the heat lamp. i also always have a thermometer in there to check the temp in every area of the tote. I have the heat lamp set to where I can adjust the heat as they get older. I think you maybe need to get you a thermometer and check all your totes in all areas and adjust heat lamp accordingly. By turning off the heat lamp when it's hot in the room and not really knowing if the temp is correct can get a chick cold quick. Always, always have an area in the tote where they can go to cool down if need be. For the first week I always keep the temp at 93 and always check to make sure to keep temp accurate and calculated when I'm running my air conditioner. We are having a heat wave here, but you can also kill a chick by too much heat. Oh, and never put a lid on the totes, because they need some sort of air circulation
 
I would definitely never stack the totes- and the only kind of lid I would use would be a frame of hardware cloth which allows for lots of air and can help keep household pets from "playing" with your babies, and to keep babies that can jump in there, but only as single layers.

The issue with some of the heat lamp bulbs- and there are many, many issues with heat lamps in general, though of course they are widely used- back to the bulbs - some of them have a coating that emits a gas that kills chicks. I don't know which ones do and which ones don't but it can be devastating.

If the chicks were killing eachother (with the exception of a fear-huddle where they crush a couple of their flockmates) -- there would likely be blood. Once there's blood, that poor chick is doomed unless removed, and there would be plenty of tell-tale evidence.

Cedar shavings contain something that is lethal to baby chicks. So only pine shavings - or - in my humble opinion, compressed pine pellets that are sold in 40lb bags are best- sold in our area as "Nature's Bedding" or "Dry Den" - or paper towels. I like compressed pellets because they dry out the little baby poops really fast. The downside is clogged waterers unless you're using poultry nipples.

Personally I'm a big fan of the heat pad method (MHP) where you make them a cave using a heating pad that won't turn itself off after 2hrs- Walmart carries them for around $14... and some kind of frame so they can go under it to warm up, and go out the rest of the time and play.

Chicks with a momma hen go out in all sorts of weather. When they're cold, they run back under her, press their little backs against her body, warm up, then they're off and exploring again.

As humans keeping these little babies in artificial environments, sticking as close to mother nature as possible tends to give the best results. Heat lamps suck up electricity and they make everything artificially hot when the chicks really only need a warm up area. Otherwise, think of it as being stuck in an airplane on a hot day when the pilot can't turn on the A/C for the passengers.

Things like coccidiosis thrive in those kinds of conditions. I'm not saying that's how yours died- but everything bad likes those warm humid conditions.

They still need to be kept out of drafts from your fan or air conditioner regardless - because that cold air flow will rob them of the heat- but all the same they need an environment that allows the high concentration of moist air that comes from their breathing- and it's a LOT of moisture they expel - to escape.
 
This is how I made my tote brooder boxes.
2 (1).JPG

This is how I made the poles to suspend my heat lamps on. They're fully adjustable. Not only do I use the clamp, but have a chain that adjusts for extra protection against it falling.
1.JPG


Being fully adjustable, it goes from the brooder boxes, to a large dog crate, when they're more feathered in, and need more room.
2 (2).JPG
 
I start them out with the warmest part of the brooder box at 95 degrees, about an inch from the floor. I keep the lamp aimed a bit more to one side, so there is a cooler area. I put their water, and feed in the cooler section. The chicks will gravitate, and find where they're most comfortable. Each week, I raise the lamp, so the temp is 5 degrees cooler than the previous week, until they are fully feathered, and able to withstand the outdoor temps.
 
You may be overheating them during the day and under heating at night which could cause them to pile onto each other and smoother. I would definitely get a thermometer and place it under the heat lamp. What wattage of bulb?
 
Shezadandy said:
I would definitely never stack the totes- and the only kind of lid I would use would be a frame of hardware cloth which allows for lots of air and can help keep household pets from "playing" with your babies, and to keep babies that can jump in there, but only as single layers.

The issue with some of the heat lamp bulbs- and there are many, many issues with heat lamps in general, though of course they are widely used- back to the bulbs - some of them have a coating that emits a gas that kills chicks. I don't know which ones do and which ones don't but it can be devastating.

If the chicks were killing eachother (with the exception of a fear-huddle where they crush a couple of their flockmates) -- there would likely be blood. Once there's blood, that poor chick is doomed unless removed, and there would be plenty of tell-tale evidence.

Cedar shavings contain something that is lethal to baby chicks. So only pine shavings - or - in my humble opinion, compressed pine pellets that are sold in 40lb bags are best- sold in our area as "Nature's Bedding" or "Dry Den" - or paper towels. I like compressed pellets because they dry out the little baby poops really fast. The downside is clogged waterers unless you're using poultry nipples.

Personally I'm a big fan of the heat pad method (MHP) where you make them a cave using a heating pad that won't turn itself off after 2hrs- Walmart carries them for around $14... and some kind of frame so they can go under it to warm up, and go out the rest of the time and play.

Chicks with a momma hen go out in all sorts of weather. When they're cold, they run back under her, press their little backs against her body, warm up, then they're off and exploring again.

As humans keeping these little babies in artificial environments, sticking as close to mother nature as possible tends to give the best results. Heat lamps suck up electricity and they make everything artificially hot when the chicks really only need a warm up area. Otherwise, think of it as being stuck in an airplane on a hot day when the pilot can't turn on the A/C for the passengers.

Things like coccidiosis thrive in those kinds of conditions. I'm not saying that's how yours died- but everything bad likes those warm humid conditions.

They still need to be kept out of drafts from your fan or air conditioner regardless - because that cold air flow will rob them of the heat- but all the same they need an environment that allows the high concentration of moist air that comes from their breathing- and it's a LOT of moisture they expel - to escape.
Click to expand...
i only have the air conditioner on for me, because we are having 3 digit temp. Also, these chicks are from a hen that went broody and hatched 13. After a few days with her babies, she would pick them up by the legs and throw them. So, I took her babies before she killed them. I have nothing but broody hens and babies now and she is the only one that is not being a good mommy. We only hatch our eggs starting in February and we use the commercial stacking style. I do love watching the whole mommy and babies better then putting them in a brooder for 5 to 6 weeks.
 
You had me at "heat lamp on...turned off..." Either they are too hot or too cold. If they are chipping constantantly or huddled in a corner too cold. Take them out of the totes. You have too many in there. And its just too damp bc the air isn't circulating enough (that will kill a chick QUICK). Get a kitty pool, fill with pine shavings, a clamp a heat lamp onto something in a corner. That way they can move as close to or as far away from the heat as they need to.
 
No totes for these chicks. There's 32 babies in this kiddie pool
IMG_4553.JPG
with pine shavings like some of the other members suggested and quick chick electrolytes in their water. No problems at all, well except they've been listening to too much Scooby Doo on TV. Oopsie.
 

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