Crisis! Please Help!

[TheRidingLibrarian]

I'm not sure how this happened, but I come home this evening and the Rubbermaid Container (my brooder) with papertowels as bedding (they arrived Monday morning so haven't moved to the shavings yet) is SOAKED! Hubby found two dead and removed them, and I found three more on death's door. Luckily I had picked up another lamp today and set up triage. Used a hair dryer on them, they were soaked through and through.They are trying to come around (though i doubt they will), and the fluff is dry but all matted. All the others just had wet butts, which are now dry, but again look wet, actually matted.

What do I do to fluff them up? AND prevent this from happening again? I am using a regular waterer like I see everyone else use. All I can think of is that they drank a bunch of it, and them the action of them jumping on it caused the rest to splash out.

Sorry for the rambling but I am a mess.

 

[ranchhand]

So sorry for what happened, whatever it is. The waterer is a possibility- I put mine in a plant saucer that is close to the size of the waterer base- that way it spills over into the bit of the saucer exposed and not into the bedding. It helps stabilize it as well.

Good luck with the soaked ones, they might still make it.

to all.

 

[MSHEN]

The most important thing would be warmth and dry bedding and hope for the best. I can't imagine what happened to the waterer unless something knocked the brooder s0 hard it spilled the thing. You may want to weigh it down with something, but if it falls again, it might kill chicks from the weight. I can see where a thick amount of shavings might destabilize it, but you said it wasn't on shavings?

 

[PQ]

Quote:
We put the waterer in a cake pan, when we have really wild ones we have bought cheep cookie racks and put the paper towels on those so the water goes down to the bottom and they are not sitting in standing water, also sounds like you might need one of the following another heat lamp (as I see from your post you now have) as it sounds like they are piling to keep warm OR a bigger box as it may be trampling each other. I hope your babies make it. Good Luck!

 

[NancyDz]

I had a waterer that leaked one time, it had to be perfectly level or all the water would flow out. I elevated it on two bricks, that kept it level and stable. If you give the chicks something to roost on it helps them not jump on the waterer also. I've seen people use two
blocks of wood with a dowel or a stick stuck through holes in the side of the brooder.

Sorry bout your babies, hope they make it!

Nancy

 

[TheRidingLibrarian]

Thanks guys! Two of the three are standing up now, fingers crossed that they might pull through.

The flower pot saucer sounds like a great idea. I think I have one that would fit the bill. We lost two within the first 24 hours, no fault of our own (I hope) but I feel horrible that others are sufffering for something that in theory could have been prevented some how.
Chalk it up to a learning experience I guess.

Looks like the two that are recovering are starting to fluff up just a bit...but any ideas on how to help them re-fluff?

Btw, I can't say enough good things about this Forum. You guys are amazing!

Patti

 

[TheRidingLibrarian]

Oh, and I put the healthy ones back in the kiddie pool, so should the waterer get dumped again I do no think it could soak the whole thing. I had moved them to a very large Rubbemaid container this morning as I thought it would retain heat better and it looks like what most of you guys use. When the water got dumped, it soaked the entire thing thanks to aborbency of the paper towels.

The soaked ones are in a regular-size rubbermaid box with their own lamp.

 

[bikergirl]

Quote:
Also to prevent this only fill the waterer up a coupel of in., if the paper towels get in the water they will soake it up and soake the floor

 

[Puff of Fluff]

My Grand daughter had cross threaded my water bottle a couple of years ago and we had 37 soaked chicks. I grabbed a bunch of hand towels, wash clothes and the hair dryer. I set the dryer on low and split the group. I took the lethargic chicks on a large towel on my lap, moving the dryer back and forth with one hand and with the other hand I used a wash clothe rubbing gently but vigorously to get circulation going again and to help fluff and dry them. I would work on them several at a time. Grand daughter worked on the ones that weren't as bad and we would alternate the chicks inside our shirts (by our belly) to help keep some warm while we work on others. We kept this up for about an hour and a half until we had them all nicely warm and dry. Then put them into fresh dry box with my MaMaHen feather duster and we did not lose a one. I thought for sure over 3/4 of them were goners but they bounced back great.

 

[pegasuschick]

When my chicks are just hatched and for about a week I don't use a regular waterer with the bottle. I use jar lids with marbles in them and that way the chicks can't splash out the water and there is no chance of the bottle draining into the container. Of course you have to fill it a gazillion times a day but better safe than sorry.
Gina