[Fixed] OMG MAJOR HELP 9 CHICKS DEAD IN 4 DAYS D:

[Coturnix Quail]

OK, SO EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE AND THEN ONE DIED ON DAY 3. I WAS SAD. NEXT DAY ANOTHER DEAD. NEXT DAY (TODAY) 7 DEAD! IM REALLY SAD AND GETTING SCARED. ANY TIPS OR ADVICE WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATED! I HAD 50, NOW I ONLY HAVE 41

PLEASE HELP ME I WANT ALL OF THEM TO LIVE! RIGHT NOW I JUST CLEANED THEIR CAGE AND ONE IS LIMPING! I GAVE IT FOOD AND WATER. AND NOW IM HERE ASKING FOR HELP SO PLEASEEEE TELL ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! I DONT WANT ANYMORE BABY DEATHS, I'VE ALREADY BEEN SAD!

 

[CheerfulChirp]

Firstly, it's not too unusual for a few chicks to die, sometimes that's just the way it goes. On my first hatch I had one chick die after four days. It had epilepsy or something. It was very distressing, but sometimes there's nothing you can do.

If there is another problem, we can find out what it is:

- Do you have a heat lamp for your chicks? If so, are they all huddling directly under it, all keeping well away from it, or just moving around freely?

- Do you have a water source for your chicks? Have you seen them drinking? Are they dying near the water?

If you can post a picture of your brooder box with chicks in, that would help answer a lot of questions very quickly. If not, don't worry, we can do a quick Q and A session

 

[CheerfulChirp]

OK, I've been reading up on some of your other recent posts, so please bear with me.

I don't know whether you received an answer to your question about leaving the heat lamp on overnight - yes, you should leave it on all the time, and give the chicks the ability to walk to either warmer or cooler spots in the brooder. If your chicks are still falling onto the marbles in your water and getting wet, this is especially important because they'll get cold even quicker. Were the dead chicks wet?

The hairdryer is a good idea, my chicks liked that too when they got wet. It looks like you are taking good care of them!

 

[CheerfulChirp]

You said one was limping - have you noticed any pecking going on? It's a bit early for that at five days old, but you never know. Were there any injuries on your dead chicks?

Is there any trampling going on, for example a big crush of chicks all trying to get warm or get to the water or feed at the same time? How much space do they have, and how long are your feeders and water sources? If in doubt and there's enough room, you could put an extra one of each in the box. It could help prevent competition between chicks.

 

[CheerfulChirp]

One final thing comes to mind - in another thread you say you're keeping them in the boiler room. Fifty chicks will need a good supply of oxygen. Are you absolutely sure there's enough ventilation for them in there (asking because in the UK boiler rooms are often glorified cupboards without windows? Probably different in the US or Canada, but it doesn't say where you're from in your profile)?

 

[Eric 2016]

Any blood in their droppings?

 

[pkhunter]

OK, SO EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE AND THEN ONE DIED ON DAY 3. I WAS SAD. NEXT DAY ANOTHER DEAD. NEXT DAY (TODAY) 7 DEAD! IM REALLY SAD AND GETTING SCARED. ANY TIPS OR ADVICE WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATED! I HAD 50, NOW I ONLY HAVE 41

PLEASE HELP ME I WANT ALL OF THEM TO LIVE! RIGHT NOW I JUST CLEANED THEIR CAGE AND ONE IS LIMPING! I GAVE IT FOOD AND WATER. AND NOW IM HERE ASKING FOR HELP SO PLEASEEEE TELL ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! I DONT WANT ANYMORE BABY DEATHS, I'VE ALREADY BEEN SAD!

I think you have a heat problem, not warm enough, it needs to be around 95 degrees in your brooder. In another post you said your birds looked wet, probably not from water but lack of heat. I've had this happen a couple of times when my brooder light burned out in the middle of the night, they will all look wet. don't know if you got it or not but you need a brooder lamp not a desk lamp and it needs to be on all the time. If you can put up a picture of your brooder it might help to understand your problem. not sure where you are located at but you need game bird feed if you can get it. Hang in there it could just be bad luck but 9 dead out of 50 is a lot, I usually lose 3-4 out of a 100. keep us posted.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Okay thanks sooooo much! Yes my chicks do get constant water and food. They are trampling each other but not because lack of space, but because of the heat. No blood droppings or pecking going on, they are all fine, but just appear to be dead. The ones that i found dead this morning were under the bunch. I am planning on putting them in a bigger box tomorrow. This will be very large for 41 chicks. After I cleaned their cage this morning, 1 hour later I went to check on them, and the limping one was fine!! (And yes the boiler rooms do have windows, but I'm not putting them in there anymore) I put them in the sun, and they were all happy! I just want to make sure none of them die again. They do have shade if they get too hot. Seems like the artificial light boiled them??? But then why were they trying to get close to the light? I checked on them now, and theyre doing fine no clumping anymore! I just want to know what happened to the ones that died! Because 7 in one morning IS NOT OK. They have a constant supply of food and water. And if they are hungry or thirsty, they'll go and drink. Well, I'll keep you updated and thanks for all the help!! Now the chicks are happy and so am I. Although I still am sad that 9 died. But I still have 41!

 

[eHuman]

If you found them under the pile up of babies then it points to your lack of Heat Issue. They were huddled for warmth and were suffocated on the bottom. Pretty common issue under the circumstances.

 

[CheerfulChirp]

OK, so it looks like we know what the problem was now. They were getting too cold, and it seems to be worse overnight.

You need to make sure that there is a heat lamp on overnight. If what you're using now is a desk lamp, it could still help to keep them warm but you really need to replace it with a heat lamp urgently. If this is the case, then wrap a couple of very warm hot water bottles in cloth or newspaper and place them in the box in the part your light is shining on. This should help them to keep warm whilst you go out to buy a heat lamp.

Otherwise, as soon as the sun goes down the temperature will start to drop again, they will become too cold overnight, huddle together and the ones on the bottom will probably suffocate again. You should expect more dead chicks by tomorrow morning unless you find a way of keeping them warm enough overnight. With a heat lamp on overnight, they all ought to be fine when you get up tomorrow. Aim the heat lamp at one half of the box only, that way they can stay cool by going into the other half.

Good luck, and I hope it all goes well!