Heellpp!!!

[v.cyr]

We just lost our one of our bantam chicks, and the other is hanging by a thread... I got home tonight to find our D'uccle chick dead and our sebright on its way out... they were fine this morning, and no sign of injury... they both have been having issues with their vents getting caked with feces, but we have been cleaning them daily... the two brahma chicks are fine, as far as I can tell... the only thing I can think is maybe the drop in temp today did it, but the heat lamp in the brooder has kept it warm enough, and the fact that the brahmas are unefected has me worried... I have the little guy wrapped in a towel over a hot water bottle right now... what should I do???

 

[Anianna]

Pasty butt (a blocked vent) has to be cleaned more than once a day for several days. After cleaned and dried, you can use a Q-tip to apply some olive oil around the vent to help keep poos from sticking so badly. It should clear up in a matter of days, but until then, it is necessary to check and clean them frequently.

 

[zengrrl]

I lost one of my chicks are 1 week for no reason, failure to thrive is very common with peeps as well. All you can do is provide the right enviroment and hope for the best. You can try some sugar water for the one going downhill, that might be enough to perk them up. Look under the ilness t hread as well.

 

[v.cyr]

Quote:
we have been cleaning them at night when we get home from work... we have been checking them in the morning and they aren't all caked up before we go to work... we are gone for 10+ hours each day though , so we will have to see if some one else can check them while we are gone, if that is the case... two more things... what can I do to ensure that the sebright pulls through tonight( it seems to be breathing a little easier now that it is warming up), and do I need to worry about my brahma chicks, since they were in the same brooder...

 

[Fritatta]

Over heated conditions can cause poopy butts - are they overheating? be so careful, many have lost chickens due to this weeks heat.

How old are they?

 

[v.cyr]

little guy didn't make it...

this is the first time we have ever lost any chick, much less two in one day...
I understand that 20 living and 2 lost in the last three years is probably good odds for a novice like me, but it still sucks...

 

[Anianna]

v.cyr :

little guy didn't make it...

this is the first time we have ever lost any chick, much less two in one day...
I understand that 20 living and 2 lost in the last three years is probably good odds for a novice like me, but it still sucks...

Indeed it does and I am sorry for your loss. Getting the temperature stable in the brooder and making sure somebody can clean vents throughout the day is likely your best bet to keep the remaining chicks healthy.​

 

[Roo on Harley]

My input may not be much, but we all care,,,sorry for your loss.
Now let's see what is up,,,first up, clean and separate any that you see that doesn't have pasty butt, then clean again and monitor each one,,,not sure what you should cut down on or add. Tell us more.

 

[triplepurpose]

I usually expect one or two not to make it in the first week. It sounds a little callous, perhaps, but that's just how it is. With a batch of twenty-five from McMurray, one of the most reputable hatcheries IMO, we have never gotten 100% survival in those first few days. Even with home-hatches underneath a broody hen, although my numbers are a little better, I still lose one occasionally. Keep checking their butts for the first week or so. If the doody has dried on and you can't wipe it off, you can also very CAREFULLY snip it off with a tiny pair of sharp scissors. IMO it's better than pulling and wiping too much, which could be uncomfortable for them, and sometimes its the only way I've been able to get a really crusty one off.

BTW anybody know why this isn't an issue when the chicks are raised outside by a hen? I've often wondered about that.

Good luck!

 

[v.cyr]

My input may not be much, but we all care,,,sorry for your loss.
Now let's see what is up,,,first up, clean and separate any that you see that doesn't have pasty butt, then clean again and monitor each one,,,not sure what you should cut down on or add. Tell us more.

thank you, everyone...
the two brahmas that they were in with are fine... yelling something fierce though, since their little buddies are gone... no sign of pasty butt on either... the one had a chunk of poo stuck to her leg, but that was it and I suspect unrelated... the brooder is a 20 gal plastic tote with a heat lamp suspended from the wire over the top of the tote, and aprox 9-10" from the bottom of the tote... since it got cool, we put a couple of hand towels over the top, covering about 75% of the top, to hold more heat in... the temp has stayed fairly stable... I just checked it now, and apparently the temp change outside hasn't really effected it that much... under the lamp, about 95-97F, about 80F at the other side... the chicks stand under the lamp about 1/4 the time, run around the tote like crazy chasing bugs or eating/drinking the rest of the time...​