Chicks dying!

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post some photos of the chicks, their poop and of the brooder set-up.

I'm not familiar with Fluban, but looking it up, I do not see it being listed as an antibiotic.
It looks like an allergy drug with antihistamine properties - Caffeine, Cetirizine, Paracetamol/Acetaminophen and Phenylephrine. Personally, would not give this to chickens.
@Eggcessive or @casportpony may know more the drug.

What are you feeding? ""we feed them a good quality food we mix ourselves (the same one we give our adult chickens). "" What is in the mix? Do the chicks have a source of grit?

What type of wood chips are the chicks on?
Any mold/wet or dampness in the wood chips?

What are your temperatures like where you live?

I'm sorry to hear you lost all but one of your chicken chicks.
The common denominator may be the Keets since you have not lost any of those. Possibly they introduced something to the chicks? Just speculation on my part, I'm not a vet.

 

[lynellegold]

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post some photos of the chicks, their poop and of the brooder set-up.

I'm not familiar with Fluban, but looking it up, I do not see it being listed as an antibiotic.
It looks like an allergy drug with antihistamine properties - Caffeine, Cetirizine, Paracetamol/Acetaminophen and Phenylephrine. Personally, would not give this to chickens.
@Eggcessive or @casportpony may know more the drug.

What are you feeding? ""we feed them a good quality food we mix ourselves (the same one we give our adult chickens). "" What is in the mix? Do the chicks have a source of grit?

What type of wood chips are the chicks on?
Any mold/wet or dampness in the wood chips?

What are your temperatures like where you live?

I'm sorry to hear you lost all but one of your chicken chicks.
The common denominator may be the Keets since you have not lost any of those. Possibly they introduced something to the chicks? Just speculation on my part, I'm not a vet.

Yes! Firstly, I think the Fluban medicine you found was probably a western medicine intended for people. I’ll pit a pic of our medicine, too.

The food we mix contains corn, dagaa (a small sardines like fish found in lake Victoria), very tiny shrimps also found in the lake which is a common chicken food here, bonemeal, salt, dried blood, and a little sunflower residue.

The wood chips are from local soft woods, mainly cypress and pine. We always leave them in the sun for a couple of days after purchasing them, so I think they are dry.

Temps here these days are in the high 20s (celcius) and it is the dry season.

 

[lynellegold]

Another pic of the coop.

 

[lynellegold]

The survivors

 

[lynellegold]

The survivors

This is what their food looks like

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Chickens really need to eat a balanced chick feed or all flock feed complete with added vitamins and minerals. Mixing a feed at home may be lacking in some nutrients, or possibly too much protein from the fish. Hard to know for sure. A necropsy by a poultry vet would be the best way to know what wnet wrong.

Enrofloxacin (Fluban, Baytril) is a good antibiotic, but some have reported that it tastes very bad, and should not be added to the water. It is better to feed it orally at a precise dose twice a day for 5 days.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes! Firstly, I think the Fluban medicine you found was probably a western medicine intended for people. I’ll pit a pic of our medicine, too.

The food we mix contains corn, dagaa (a small sardines like fish found in lake Victoria), very tiny shrimps also found in the lake which is a common chicken food here, bonemeal, salt, dried blood, and a little sunflower residue.

The wood chips are from local soft woods, mainly cypress and pine. We always leave them in the sun for a couple of days after purchasing them, so I think they are dry.

Temps here these days are in the high 20s (celcius) and it is the dry season.

Good to know! I learn new things everyday - thank you for the photos of the product

 

[MochaLatteGal]

Update: despite treating with antibiotics, all the chicks have died EXCEPT the two guinea fowl keets and one (apparently) super hardy male chick, may he go on to father many chicks with strong immunity

I’m very sad to hear this. It’s so frustrating to watch them die. For the future..I powder their hen house, nesting box and dust baths with diatomaceous earth. It’s a natural way to keep their digestive and respiratory systems healthy and controls mites. I powdered their oyster shells with it too. What I learned when it happened to me was that chickens, especially chicks, die quickly once they get this. Adults have a 50/50 chance of survival. This cocci lives everywhere in the dirt and environment. I sprayed the hen house with my home made wash. Let it air dry powdered diatomaceous earth (great stuff) everywhere and use apple cider vinegar in their water. Plus I worm them once per month. So far all is well. I’m so very sorry this happened to you.