HELP!!!! 12 chicks dropped dead within minutes????

[Swbertrand1]

Is this the first time you've used this heater, or has it been used before?

 

[topochico225]

I had a Cozy Coop panel heater that shorted out and heated to about 200 F. Luckily, I noticed it before I put any chicks in. Was your heater stored outside at any time, or did it get wet?

 

[Swbertrand1]

I had a Cozy Coop panel heater that shorted out and heated to about 200 F. Luckily, I noticed it before I put any chicks in. Was your heater stored outside at any time, or did it get wet?

I can't get any specifics from the OP on the heater; hope you have better luck...

 

[NatJ]

Thank you!! I have given my chickens eggs from a teflon pan before

Eating things cooked in a teflon pan isn't the problem. The problem is breathing the toxins that are released from hot teflon while you are cooking-- especially if the pan gets extra hot because someone forgot about it for a bit. The toxins are deadly for birds, and they aren't good for people either (but we don't drop dead just from being in the same room!)

 

[Swbertrand1]

The problem is breathing the toxins that are released from hot teflon while you are cooking-- especially if the pan gets extra hot because someone forgot about it for a bit.

Yep! The same can happen if a brooder heater with Teflon over the heating element(s) OVER-heats...

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Eating things cooked in a teflon pan isn't the problem. The problem is breathing the toxins that are released from hot teflon while you are cooking-- especially if the pan gets extra hot because someone forgot about it for a bit. The toxins are deadly for birds, and they aren't good for people either (but we don't drop dead just from being in the same room!)

I'm pretty sure the teflon has to be heated to like 400 degrees or something like that. The self cleaning feature on ovens is done at extreme temps.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

The weirdest thing is how the chicks are all spread out in a line in the tote. Not huddled together (if for some reason the heater wasn't heating) and not all in a corner away from where the heater was either. Maybe toxin, but wouldn't animals succumb at different times due to how much was ingested or how much they were subjected to?

 

[NatJ]

I'm pretty sure the teflon has to be heated to like 400 degrees or something like that. The self cleaning feature on ovens is done at extreme temps.

Judging by the number of warnings and sad stories I've seen, teflon pans on the stovetop certainly can get hot enough that birds die from the fumes, no matter what temperature that might be.

400 degrees isn't that hot, if you're measuring in Fahrenheit. My oven can cook hotter than that, and so can every electric griddle I've seen.

 

[NatJ]

The weirdest thing is how the chicks are all spread out in a line in the tote. Not huddled together (if for some reason the heater wasn't heating) and not all in a corner away from where the heater was either. Maybe toxin, but wouldn't animals succumb at different times due to how much was ingested or how much they were subjected to?

I agree, that is really weird. It makes me suspect something in the air that made them sleepy, and then they died in their sleep. I agree with you that chicks would not be spread out like that if the temperature was the problem.

 

[theoldchick]

So sorry for your loss. The plastic in the tub holding the chicks can release toxic substances when heated. If this tub had been recently cleaned the effect will be increased. I've seen this happen in captive snakes during transport. Breeders put the young snakes in plastic tubs with small holes for air and placed on warming disks to be transported. The snakes succumbed to the fumes and arrived doa. I'd switch to another type of brooder with better air circulation-something that allows the air to move freely inside the tub.