Dying chick

[Charlotteak]

Help! I just lifted the brooder plate and saw this little one looking lethargic and not moving well. I put her beek in water and it seemed like she drank a little. She’s not wanting to walk and chirping weakly. I put her back under the brooder plate. I got them Wednesday, so about 4 days old. The other chicks are happy and walking around.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your chick, she may be failing to thrive.

I'd give her 1-2 drop of Poultry Nutri-Drench twice a day. In between times, give her drops of plain water to keep her hydrated.

See if she will eat a bit of mushy wet feed once she's hydrated.

 

[Charlotteak]

I'm sorry about your chick, she may be failing to thrive.

I'd give her 1-2 drop of Poultry Nutri-Drench twice a day. In between times, give her drops of plain water to keep her hydrated.

See if she will eat a bit of mushy wet feed once she's hydrated.

Thank you for the tips! Unfortunately, she passed already. Another died shortly after. I rearranged the brooder and checked all the other chicks, so hopefully the others will be good.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the tips! Unfortunately, she passed already. Another died shortly after. I rearranged the brooder and checked all the other chicks, so hopefully the others will be good.

I'm sorry to hear this, I hope the others will be o.k.

 

[gtaus]

I put her back under the brooder plate.

I'm so old that I still use my heat lamps in my brooder setup for the past 30+ years. I have a remote thermometer sensor under the heat light and can read the temp on my base unit in the house. I still think the most important thing for days old chicks are warmth, water, and feed. Probably in that order.

Have you checked the temp under the brooder plate? Just curious to know what the temperature is for your chicks. I still go by the first week set at 95F, the second week at 90F, etc... until the chicks are fully feathered out.

IMHO, one big advantage to using heat lamps is that you can visually see how the chicks are responding to their environment at all times. They are never hidden under a plate, or brooding tent. But I'm just comfortable with the way I learned how to brood chicks 30+ years ago. I have not changed anything.

I hope the rest of your chicks will do fine. Good luck.

 

[Charlotteak]

I'm so old that I still use my heat lamps in my brooder setup for the past 30+ years. I have a remote thermometer sensor under the heat light and can read the temp on my base unit in the house. I still think the most important thing for days old chicks are warmth, water, and feed. Probably in that order.

Have you checked the temp under the brooder plate? Just curious to know what the temperature is for your chicks. I still go by the first week set at 95F, the second week at 90F, etc... until the chicks are fully feathered out.

IMHO, one big advantage to using heat lamps is that you can visually see how the chicks are responding to their environment at all times. They are never hidden under a plate, or brooding tent. But I'm just comfortable with the way I learned how to brood chicks 30+ years ago. I have not changed anything.

I hope the rest of your chicks will do fine. Good luck.

Thank you! I think they were overcrowded under it. I swapped for a bigger plate and they've been much better. My mistake there! I am too anxious with the heat lamps. We used a heat lamp last time, but I didn't sleep. I have little kids and I'm so paranoid about the house catching fire. I do believe they work better than the plates though!

 

[gtaus]

Thank you! I think they were overcrowded under it. I swapped for a bigger plate and they've been much better. My mistake there! I am too anxious with the heat lamps. We used a heat lamp last time, but I didn't sleep. I have little kids and I'm so paranoid about the house catching fire. I do believe they work better than the plates though!

I am glad to hear that the bigger plate seems to have solved your problem.

Heat lamps can be dangerous, as you mentioned, but I secure my heat lamps with at least two methods, sometimes three ways. If I use the clip on the heat lamp, I will also add a rope or chain just in case the clip fails. I never trust a clip on a heat lamp. Also, on my brooder system, I have a hardware cloth barrier top over my brooder. If a lamp should fall off the chain (never happened), it would fall on the hardware cloth and not into the brooder litter where it could possibly catch fire.

I do think the new brooder plates and tents are less dangerous in terms of fire hazards, but I'm not convinced that they are better for the young chicks. Of course, I would put yourself and your kids above all else. That's understandable. I am more comfortable being able to look into my brooder and see everything. Nothing hidden under a brooder plate or heat tent.

I am sure setup environment also plays a big difference. When I brood chicks out in my garage, it can get down to 20F at night. That's why I always have two heat lamps on all the time and a remote thermostat sensor which sends the temperature to my base unit in the house. My base unit allows me set both a high and a low temperature alarm, so I sleep better at night.