HELP 3 day old chicks randomly dieing!

[jzervas92]

I have never bought from them before, but the reviews were really good. I emailed them and they have refunded me and I'm going to call them soon. There really is no symptoms the chicks go from running around, eating, drinking, and having fun, to constantly sleeping, extremely weak/lethargic, breathing heavy and slow, to dead. This gray one is the only one that is breathing fast and some what moving. She can also stand a little bit.

 

[jzervas92]

They told me that they rarely have problems with shipping, and the deaths were most likely caused from being chilled or jostled during shipping. So they refunded me but that's all they can do. I just feel like there's something else going on. I just don't understand why the chicks are healthy one day, and then dead the next.

 

[purplesquirrel]

they must've had something already, you can never trust what some companies say, at the end of the day it's their rep and money on the line...
If it isn't affecting their poo it must not be a parasite or tummy bug, if their breathing is erratic and they die quickly it must be respiratory.
If you think of it like if it was an illness in a person.
How many do you have? How many have died? How many seem happy right now?

I'm sorry it's hard and frustrating, I incubated a lot of eggs and none hatched! I was so annoyed and upset, wondering what I did wrong, it just happens...they're hardy animals but fragile at the same time.
If any survive they will be hardcore roughians that will probably give you a run for your money later on

 

[jzervas92]

Haha I'm sure they will! I started with 26, and when I took them out one was extremely weak and died fairly quick as expected. The gray one that is currently sick I thought would of died in the beginning too. She was very small and they were stepping all over her. Her legs were extremely weak, but after a few hours of me helping her drink and rest she was standing and running around with the rest. But the same night that the gray one got better another one (that was completely fine) got weak, was breathing heavy and slow, and then died. Then the next afternoon another one did the same thing. So all together 3 deaths and one more on the way. Is there something I can do to treat the other chicks? I would separate the weak ones but there is none! They go from running around happy to dead. None one is sneezing, nothing weird is coming out of their beaks, and I use large flake shavings.

 

[jzervas92]

And they don't really die quickly it takes a few hours. It looks like they're sleeping, but they don't respond to touch. The gray one does respond to my touch a little, and she can stand a little bit. But she's very weak.

 

[purplesquirrel]

hmm I'm not sure I'm not nearly as experienced as some people on here.
Try asking questions in a popular thread that already has lots of people responding.

Have you seen them all drinking water? And have they regular chick crumb? Have they got a nice warm area, but can easily get away if they get too hot? Do they cheap a lot?
It might be the stress of transit, shipping live animals in the post is illegal in the UK I know that for sure. There must've been a few weak ones, either through luck or their gene pool. Sorry to say it, but maybe the first couple days thins out the weaker ones.

Once I got 60 young goldfish off this lady for free because they were filling in their pond, after deciding it was too dangerous to have with 2 small children, and I was so pleased I got soo many for free. When I got them home I gradually introduced them to the new pond, everyone seemed happy. After a couple days I noticed some were acting slow and not eating as much, not seeming as active and having trouble with their buoyancy, within a couple months, I'd lost nearly half the goldfish, very there would be at LEAST one dead and one other starting go strange, sometimes 3 in one day. I thought it would never end! In the end, I ended up with 5 GOLDFISH and a couple young black ones I could barely see. There must've been an illness between them, bacteria levels changing in the season and the stress of transit.
But since the last weak one died, no one has died and all look incredibly healthy, even when it's freezing outside.

 

[jzervas92]

Wow that's crazy I've read about some people losing half their chicks which isn't good odds for me I only have 23 left. Everyone is drinking if I haven't seen them drink in a while I bring them to the waterer and watch to see if they drink. I have two feeders one really long one, and one meant for 8 chicks so they can wander where they want. Everyone is definitely eating they're making a mess all over the place. They have a nice warm spot to relax and plenty of space to cool off. The box is made out of wood and I believe it is 4ft long and 3 feet wide, probably a little bigger. I will never buy shipped chicks again! Next time I'm hatching my own less stress on the chicks and myself!

 

[purplesquirrel]

is the wood varnished/painted? does it get hot?

 

[jzervas92]

The walls are thin plywood and the floor is thick. The walls don't feel hot I have it pointed down towards the shavings. I'm pretty sure there is no varnish on it and definitely no paint.

 

[jzervas92]

Just got home gray one died and so did 3 more. I'm calling the hatchery in the morning so far I have 7 out of 26 dead.