Heat lamps, Amprolium, and sad baby chicks, oh my!

[WakaFlockaChickens]

Can you take a handful of the feed out of the bag and get a picture of what the feed itself looks like please?

Oops! I did but I didn’t reply directly to you. Here it is again. My apologies.

 

[Kiki]

Sorry, that was confusing. Yes the feed is from the barn I bought the chicks from. It’s a family owned barn/farm store that provides feed for a lot of the higher end tilth/granges in our area. It has a proper tag and is 20% protein. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the feed, it’s just unmedicated which is why they sold me the Amprolium. It’s a liquid. Does that make sense?

There's absolutely no reason you would need to feed grit with this feed.
Them telling you to mix the grit in the feed is what makes me believe these people don't know exactly what they're talking about.
It lso makes me wonder if they sold you chicks that aren't exactly healthy to begin with.


Another thing... Since they know they have issues with coccidiosis They should know the proper dosage for it and should have told you to immediately treat your chicks for it.

It is also possible that your chicks have been suffering from it for a while hich could cause issues with them growing correctly.
Suffering from coccidiosis can prevent the absorption of the proper nutrition from the feed.

 

[Kiki]

Oops! I did but I didn’t reply directly to you. Here it is again. My apologies.

Sorry.. looks like I missed that post to begin with.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Chick feed shouldn't need to be mixed with grit. Grit should be offered free choice. I switch to medicated feed once my littles start going on field trips outside. There is a learning curve that you can only learn by doing it unfortunately. Be gentle on yourself. I lost half of my first batch of chicks so you're doing better than I did!

 

[Iluveggers]

Sometimes feed stores/farms have different opinions on raising chicks. I’m glad you came on here to ask! No need to give Corid unless one of your chicks gets sick. I used unmediated chick feed and it was fine. If the heat plate is working, stick with it! (I personally prefer plates & now have 3 of thrm!)

For an extra energy boost of nutrition, you can give your chicks scrambled egg. No other “treats” are really recommended at this age. They don’t need grit until they go outside. A chick electrolyte can be added to the water if they are weak, but it sounds like they are doing better now so probably not necessary. If you get a pasty butt bum, I found that coconut oil & warm water on a cloth was the easiest way to remove it. Good luck!

 

[WakaFlockaChickens]

There's absolutely no reason you would need to feed grit with this feed.
Them telling you to mix the grit in the feed is what makes me believe these people don't know exactly what they're talking about.
It lso makes me wonder if they sold you chicks that aren't exactly healthy to begin with.


Another thing... Since they know they have issues with coccidiosis They should know the proper dosage for it and should have told you to immediately treat your chicks for it.

It is also possible that your chicks have been suffering from it for a while hich could cause issues with them growing correctly.
Suffering from coccidiosis can prevent the absorption of the proper nutrition from the feed.

I got them at one day old, so I don’t think it had to do with them already having coccidiosis? But honestly I feel absolutely lost and confused on most of this stuff now because I’ve been told and read too many different things. I am trying so hard! And I think doing okay given that they’re all alive and doing MUCH better now than even two days ago.

 

[Kiki]

I got them at one day old, so I don’t think it had to do with them already having coccidiosis? But honestly I feel absolutely lost and confused on most of this stuff now because I’ve been told and read too many different things. I am trying so hard! And I think doing okay given that they’re all alive and doing MUCH better now than even two days ago.

What does their poop look like today?

Did you happen to have a thermometer in your brooder for the days you were using a heat lamp?

Can you take a picture of your brooder setup the way it is right now?
Do you have a thermometer?

 

[Kiki]

I'd guess that you were overheating them which caused the pasty butt issues.
I'd guess they might have ate too much grit which could have been an issue too.
Depending on what their poop looks like today... Would give you a better idea if you need to use the proper dosage of Corid for a week or not.

So this time I really don't think there's much that you need to do... Since you've already fixed the heat issue and we moved to the grit....unless their poop looks off.

 

[Kiki]

I got them at one day old, so I don’t think it had to do with them already having coccidiosis? But honestly I feel absolutely lost and confused on most of this stuff now because I’ve been told and read too many different things. I am trying so hard! And I think doing okay given that they’re all alive and doing MUCH better now than even two days ago.

The people sending you off with Corid speaks volumes. It means they have issues with coccidiosis and likely sent coccidiosis home with you and your new chicks.

 

[spuddenly]

Oh boy - that feed is from Baxter Barn. I know you've mentioned this place as reputable a couple times, but... from my experience there, it's... not great. The Google reviews are super mixed for that place as well.

I will add a disclaimer that I purchased 2 started pullets from them and not baby chicks, so it's possible their baby chicks are fine. But I had a terrible experience and was frankly shocked at the conditions their pullets are kept in. They had 30+ chickens crammed into sets of of ~9x9 spaces, almost zero lighting whatsoever, and gave me no chance to inspect the pullets before they rushed me off to a purchase. Like buying chickens is like buying cereal at the store. When I got home and had a chance to look closely at the pullets, it turned out they were CRAWLING with lice. Oh, and they were malnourished - thin, missing feathers, super pale skin (when they were both supposed to be a yellow-legged breed). I'd never seen chickens so deathly quiet or afraid to move/do normal chicken things like peck grass. It took me months to nurse them back to health and get rid of their lice infestation.

Baxter Barn made me buy a bag of their chick starter with the purchase of the pullets and I tossed it/gave it away as soon as I could. I'm sorry, but I just have 0 trust for a place that would keep chickens in those conditions. I stick to NatureWise for feed for the most part and it's never let me down. I do have an extra bag of NatureWise medicated chick feed from my February hatch that I'm happy to share with you if you're in the King County area. I also have some extra Sav-a-Chick electrolytes or vitamins that I'd be happy to give away, as my chicks no longer need them.