Dead chick for no reason?

[Rattee]

I went to check on my 1 week old chicks today, and one of the Polish was lying on its side, obviously dead.

I checked the brooder for bloody poop, and there wasn’t any. All of the others are eating, preening, and pecking around like normal. Two are even starting to fly! No signs of illness whatsoever. The other Polish’s feet seem cold, but the brooder is anywhere from 91°-96°F depending on the heat of the day and the other chicks are as warm as they should be. I change their water a few times a week...

If it helps, I found the chick on the cool side of the brooder. However, none of the chicks huddle up for warmth or are overly spread-out.

I now have 1 Polish, 2 ISA Browns and 2 Asian pullets, all from TSC. Before my last batch of 5 week old chickens got killed, I had them in an identical setup as this one, so I don’t understand why this one isn’t working.

I’ll post a picture of my brooder setup for critiquing. I’m so worried I’ll find more dead! I’ve been so lucky with my poultry so far! I’ve been raising my ducks for a month and they’re great despite some hiccups in the beginning, and my last batch of chickens were iron-clad healthy before they got killed.

My only theory is that maybe they caught something from my quail, something that may have attached itself to my clothing? I never handle my quail, but I do mess around in their brooder sometimes when I have to feed them and whatnot. I hardly handle my chickens either, so I doubt that’s the cause. Hopefully it isn’t..

Editing because I found this poop after writing that. There’s no redness but it’s pretty runny.

 

[MountainWoman73]

One dead chick per batch is pretty normal. All sorts of things can happen in the first week. If the others look fine, I wouldn't assume anything is wrong.

 

[sinibaloo]

im sorry for your loss. i know raising baby chicks is so very exiting, and when you find one has passed away its heartbreaking. the only thing we can assume is that it was just unlucky, and maybe had lots of unseen health issues (chickens dont want to show any signs of weakness so they dont end up on bottom of pecking order). I think its just natural selection playing a part. Its so unfortunate that it happened, but now the odds are in your favor for having healthy chicks. If the rest seem like everything is fine, (do a little chick check indivigually, checking vents, nose, and eyes,) then it was probobly just not meant to be for the little baby. Im so sorry and hope that your other chicks are heathy.

 

[Rattee]

im sorry for your loss. i know raising baby chicks is so very exiting, and when you find one has passed away its heartbreaking. the only thing we can assume is that it was just unlucky, and maybe had lots of unseen health issues (chickens dont want to show any signs of weakness so they dont end up on bottom of pecking order). I think its just natural selection playing a part. Its so unfortunate that it happened, but now the odds are in your favor for having healthy chicks. If the rest seem like everything is fine, (do a little chick check indivigually, checking vents, nose, and eyes,) then it was probobly just not meant to be for the little baby. Im so sorry and hope that your other chicks are heathy.

Thank you so much. I’m trying to think that way; that any chick that dies is just setting future generations up for success because only the strong survived, but it still sucks! The others do look very healthy, and the Polish looks very robust today and is being a jerk like normal, so I have hope!
I guess it can maybe be failure to thrive...who knows. Thank you for your reply

 

[Rattee]

One dead chick per batch is pretty normal. All sorts of things can happen in the first week. If the others look fine, I wouldn't assume anything is wrong.

That’s good to hear. It sucks, but I guess it’s just part of my first-time, chicken-raising learning process