Chicks dying…help!

[Verbon30]

Do the chicks and ducklings try and eat the sand since it’s small like the food? And if they do, does it hurt them or work like grit?

My neighbor uses sand I think it work just like grit he has not had a problem with it. I need to build a new brooder so I switch to sand. There is so much much debate over wood chips but most people agree sand is best. But make sure you get play sand

 

[NatJ]

3 have now died. This also happened with my last hatching and all 7 died over a 2 day period....
I hatched 3 incubators of chicks earlier this year (April/May) with no issues.

If you have problems now, and did not have problems earlier
and if all the eggs are from the same flock each time (your own)

Then think about anything that CHANGED between the ones that were fine, and the ones that were not.

Did you change heat source? Bedding? Different food for the parent flock?
Is the brooder in a different place? Is the unheated part of the brooder the same temperature it was before? (Seasonal changes, heating, and air conditioning might change the temperature where the brooder is.)
If you had been using a heat lamp, did you change the bulb between batches of chicks?

Check for mold in the bedding, the chick food, the parent food.

Check for things like cleaning chemicals or air fresheners, car exhaust, fertilizer or pesticides that may have drifted, etc. (Depending on whether the brooder is in your house, garage, shed, or outdoors, you might be able to rule out some of those quite easily!)

 

[Banana01]

I have had trouble with dry powdery pellet food and had some chicks die from impacted crop, if they eat too much and can no longer drink water i have lost a couple overnight like that. I check their crops before they sleep for the night whenever they have been with a food tray all day. Were their crops impacted after they were laying on their sides?

 

[Iluveggers]

I bought a plastic bin like that in case I was going to use it as a brooder. Maybe cut a hole in the side & cover w wire, or add little holes for ventilation. The heat plates are big & take up almost the whole space so I’d be worried there wasn’t enough airflow.

As far as bedding I use paper towels with a puppy pad under it until they are 2 weeks old. Very easy to clean also, just roll up the puppy pad and add a new one.

Is their food newly purchased & fresh? What are they eating? What did you clean their water feeder with (thinking chemicals).

I’m sorry about your chicks…I hope you figure it out!

 

[Mosey2003]

Others have made good points about your brooder. I use puppy pads, myself.

I would question: what is different about your breeders between those good hatches and these last two poorly ones? Has their feed changed? Getting more or different supplemental feed like table scraps or treats? Are they molting? Have they received any medication? Have they picked up a respiratory ailment at some point?

You say you washed your incubator(s), did you also sanitize after? Bleach? Sunshine? Oxine? If there is a fan, have you looked in it to see if it's full of chick scurf and fluff? Are your incubators running at a steady temperature and keeping humidity in line, or have they been a bit inconsistent the last two rounds?

Have you tried dipping your eggs before you set them? Personally, I always do, in a hot (to touch) mixture of 50% original gold Listerine and water. This can help a lot. Let them dry before going in the incubator.

Personally, if I were having these issues (and I have, not too long ago) I would be looking hard at the breeders' diets and health first and also sanitizing everything before a new try.

 

[Chickandducklover]

If you have problems now, and did not have problems earlier
and if all the eggs are from the same flock each time (your own)

Then think about anything that CHANGED between the ones that were fine, and the ones that were not.

Did you change heat source? Bedding? Different food for the parent flock?
Is the brooder in a different place? Is the unheated part of the brooder the same temperature it was before? (Seasonal changes, heating, and air conditioning might change the temperature where the brooder is.)
If you had been using a heat lamp, did you change the bulb between batches of chicks?

Check for mold in the bedding, the chick food, the parent food.

Check for things like cleaning chemicals or air fresheners, car exhaust, fertilizer or pesticides that may have drifted, etc. (Depending on whether the brooder is in your house, garage, shed, or outdoors, you might be able to rule out some of those quite easily!)

Because the ones died last time, I changed from a heat lamp to a heat plate. Food, bedding, etc is all the same. The hatches earlier in the year were when it was warm and since it’s now cold I’ve put this hatch and the last on in the house.

 

[Chickandducklover]

I have had trouble with dry powdery pellet food and had some chicks die from impacted crop, if they eat too much and can no longer drink water i have lost a couple overnight like that. I check their crops before they sleep for the night whenever they have been with a food tray all day. Were their crops impacted after they were laying on their sides?

I have no noticed any impacted crops.

 

[Chickandducklover]

I bought a plastic bin like that in case I was going to use it as a brooder. Maybe cut a hole in the side & cover w wire, or add little holes for ventilation. The heat plates are big & take up almost the whole space so I’d be worried there wasn’t enough airflow.

As far as bedding I use paper towels with a puppy pad under it until they are 2 weeks old. Very easy to clean also, just roll up the puppy pad and add a new one.

Is their food newly purchased & fresh? What are they eating? What did you clean their water feeder with (thinking chemicals).

I’m sorry about your chicks…I hope you figure it out!

Food is new bag. Because I have chicks and ducklings, they are eating all flock crumbles made specifically for new babies. Everything was cleaned with hot water and Dawn soap and thoroughly rinsed.

 

[Chickandducklover]

Others have made good points about your brooder. I use puppy pads, myself.

I would question: what is different about your breeders between those good hatches and these last two poorly ones? Has their feed changed? Getting more or different supplemental feed like table scraps or treats? Are they molting? Have they received any medication? Have they picked up a respiratory ailment at some point?

You say you washed your incubator(s), did you also sanitize after? Bleach? Sunshine? Oxine? If there is a fan, have you looked in it to see if it's full of chick scurf and fluff? Are your incubators running at a steady temperature and keeping humidity in line, or have they been a bit inconsistent the last two rounds?

Have you tried dipping your eggs before you set them? Personally, I always do, in a hot (to touch) mixture of 50% original gold Listerine and water. This can help a lot. Let them dry before going in the incubator.

Personally, if I were having these issues (and I have, not too long ago) I would be looking hard at the breeders' diets and health first and also sanitizing everything before a new try.

Incubator temp and humidity was steady all the way through until 3 days before hatch when I increased the humidity. I did not think to check for fluff in the fan when I cleaned it. No sanitation specifically just hot water with Dawn. The eggs are from my flock just like all prior ones. No change in diet in the hens.

 

[Mosey2003]

Incubator temp and humidity was steady all the way through until 3 days before hatch when I increased the humidity. I did not think to check for fluff in the fan when I cleaned it. No sanitation specifically just hot water with Dawn. The eggs are from my flock just like all prior ones. No change in diet in the hens.

I would definitely run some bleach water in it everywhere it is safe to after cleaning it this round. Pathogens can build up.

How was your hatch? How many eggs did you set, how many did not develop, how many developed and quit in the shell, how many successfully hatched, etc? Were the chicks vigorous when you took them out of the incubator?