Have a question..need some help PLEASE!

[Burton Wyandotte 601]

I have bought some babbie chicks from a hatchery this year on Febuary 15th and raised them inside untill April 15th. After the 15th I started to put them outside in a chicken tractor during the day and brought them in a night, soon after I began to leave them outside with a heat lamp. They have all done great up untill the time I began to leave them outside full time with a heat lamp at night to be on the safe side, because it was warm enough, then they started to die off at about 60-70 days old everyday some times 2 a day. It was very upsetting, I tried and tried (I thought about everything i could) to help them but nothing worked . I started off with 84 chicks, and after every day of loosing at least one, occaisonally every other day. Untill I had about 20 left around the end of May then they stopped diying, which was really, really great!!. All up until this very day. Now they are starting to die again at about 1 every other day. This is very, very, very upsetting. What did I do wrong and can anybody help me? Is this gona start effecting my other chickens that I did not get from the hatchery?

 

[Dazlin]

Gosh, I would really like to offer some advice, but you don't say much about feed, and outside temperature. They only need heat until they feather out, and it's been real hot all over. Are they breathing with their mouths open?
What does their poop look like...normal?
What are you feeding?
Anything you could think of might help.

 

[chickensioux]

What are you feeding them? What kind of bedding are they on? Any symptoms? They shouldn't need a heat source this time of year. Can you give more info?

 

[Burton Wyandotte 601]

Before and after I began to leave them outside, up until about the time they started to feather out they have been eating chick starter. And It was at that time in the upper 80s in the day and low 70s at night and the heat lamp at night was just high enough so that they would not huddel together under it. Thanks

 

[Burton Wyandotte 601]

They were in a chicken tractor about 20 feet long and 3 1/2 feet high, with half the bedding hay and the other half grass, There symptoms were and still are... they would start to just stand there all puffed up and did not want to drink or eat on there own, unless I helped them. There standing there would not last long most of the time when I found them they were laying there with their eyes closed and slowly breathing. So I would move the sick one to a more calmer area away from everybody else and take care of it. And every time, right before it would die it would just (stretch) out and die. No matter what I did for it. Thanks

 

[freddy22]

first i would probably move them out of there if you had that many die...and you had 84 chickens in there? doesnt seem like much room...i would move them outta there in case there were a virus or something around, and how do you get a heat lamp high enough from there with a 3 1/2 ft ceiling?

 

[Burton Wyandotte 601]

We built the tractor after we had ordered the chicks so we had figured out about how big to make it. It is 20ft. long 4 ft. high (sorry my mistake I just whent out and measured it) and 6ft. wide. And its a small heat lamp I made sure of that when I stuck it in the pen and tied it at the very top of the pen on the left side, so they could get out from under it. But they still like to huddel under the lamp. We didn't have 84 chicks long after I started to leave them out side. and when I noticed that there was a sick chick I got it out as soon as possible.

 

[Dazlin]

Well, they really don't need a lamp any more. Most birds will continue to huddle together for a few months, until they beigin to roost. But, It's really baffleling as to what is causing them to die off. I would only have to guess that maybe they were born with a genetic weakness, or, there is something poisonous where they are. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

you did not tell the breed
but it sounds like they are cornish cross broilers and they are dieing od water belly as they would get the water up around the heart and then sufficate and have heart attacks

also did you ever give them any meds for coccidiosis?

you did not tell us if they had blood in the manure?

if they are or did die of water belly the fact that you need to only feed them at 6 am and 2pm and leave them with out feed at night

the lamp is of no concern as they did not get too hot

it was only for light

so take the feed away from them at night by not feeding after 2pm

as for their being crowded that would not cause death

the chicken tractor is not the culprit it is their body health

come back with some answer as to what exactly and how much you fed them
also what breed they were

and if they are corinsh cross they would be old enough to slaughter now

any questions
email me