Chicks dying, not sure why.

[SCallahan]

Hey everyone,

So, I ordered some chicks from McMurray, and they arrived just over 2 weeks ago. Columbian Wyandottes, BLRW and White Wyandottes. What can I say, we like Wyandottes. Anyways, when they arrived, there was a dead White in the box, it had pretty clearly been crushed. A few days later, I came home from work and my son said there was a dead chick in the brooder. Sure enough there was, and it was another White Wyandotte. It did not appear to have been crushed. A couple of days later I noticed a White Wyandotte chick laying in an unusual position, with it's eyes closed, and it seemed to be going to great effort to breathe. I seperated it from the bunch, it did not seem to be crushed. Then it happened again. And now, I got a call from home that another White Wyandotte chick isn't doing so well. They have plenty of water, it is neither hot or cold, we are using pine shavings on top of newspaper as bedding. All of the other chicks are fine. No other breed has looked ill in any way.

Are White Wyandottes particularly frail? When this has happened, it seems to have been rather sudden, there aren't any warning signs that I can see. Does any of this sound familiar, can someone please help me figure out what is killing my White Wyandottes?

Thanks so much.

 

[Katy]

Since it is only the whites that seem to be affected I would tend to think it has something to do with whatever breeder flock they get their hatching eggs from.

 

[SCallahan]

Well I hope that doesn't mean I should expect them all to die. Is it common for this to happen when you order from a hatchery?

 

[cluckcluck42]

From what I have read, hatchery birds are a risk. Either for shipping problems or sick chicks. That's why I am trying my best to never have to order from one. I'm so sorry about your chicks. I really hope the others pull through.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

put Apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon for 1 gallon, and molasses in there water

 

[SCallahan]

kody19 - Thanks, I'll try that.

cluck cluck - the sick chick died, but the others seem fine. I noticed that the one's that have died weren't feathering out the way the others were. The remaining chicks don't seem to have that problem so maybe we're clear of this now. I'd rather not buy from hatcheries either, this was our first time actually, they had breeds we wanted and it seemed like a good deal...

Thanks everyone!