Help Four Baby BO Died!

[abi24]

Hi everyone. I could really use some suggestions as to what I am doing wrong.

Hatched 4 of the 6 eggs in the incubator and then placed them in my new brooder.

They went into the brooder on March 22nd and this morning I found them all dead.

They looked fine yesterday when I checked them. There was lots of water and food.

The heat lamp was working okay and if they got too hot they could easily get away from the heat.

This is my second batch of eggs hatched and I did not lose a chick from the first batch (different brooder).

Should I have left the lid of the brooder open? There is a thin mesh over the area where the speakers used to be so I thought that would be enough air flow.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Don't want to start any more eggs until I figure this out.

 

[ranchhand]

Not sure, but I would start with checking the temps all across at chick level. The other thing that occurred to me was possible outgassing of the finish on the cabinet?

So sorry you lost them, that's a great idea for a brooder, might just need some tweaking to get it just right.

 

[DixieChickie]

Oh I am soo sorry, that's very sad.

But I do love your brooder idea........they're such entertainment to watch, kinda fitting.

 

[MetalSmitten]

where were they in the brooder when you found them? huddled under the lamp, on the complete opposite side, spread out..? the lamp looks pretty low, i'm wondering if you found them under it, maybe they fell asleep and cooked... otherwise i'm not sure... i wouldn't think the finish on the unit should still be outgassing (i'm assuming this is a vintage unit which you did not re-finish though).

ETA: y'know, the more i think about it, i wonder if it was just lack of air flow. pine litter can give off slight fumes, which is okay in an open-air or well-ventilated environment, but i wonder if the lack of circulating air might have let the fumes build up. or maybe that allowed too much dust to build up. or maybe if it was in the sun, the lack of circulation combined with the big glass window may have heated up the inside too much. stick a thermometer in there as far away from the light as you can and let it sit for a while, check to see if the temps climb too high.

 

[ralleia]

What's the wattage on that lamp?

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

When my peeps were young they really didn't want to walk very far from the light. I would move the food closer to the light. Plus the waterer is a pretty deep one. I would add some rocks so in case they fall in they don't drown and take it off the board. They really can't climb when they are very little. Here is a picture of the one I used last year. That is a 100 watt bulb in a 60 degree room and they stayed warm enough.

 

[allpeepedout]

Sorry about your chicks. Where is the ventilation in your brooder and is there good air circulation? Might ammonia fumes build up unless you completely changed litter frequently? Perhaps replace glass with wire screening. Also, they are not very smart about moving away from heat as tots, I found, and for mine, 95 degrees was too hot. A thermometer from the dollar store will give a lot of guidance.

 

[ralleia]

I missed that it might be a glass front, too...

I was going to say that the lamp should be no more than 60 watts in such a small space, but if it's all enclosed like that, then even 40 watts may be too much. They got cooked.

Absence of ventilation to allow heat to escape is dangerous, especially in an enclosed space.

 

[bufforphfan]

Is that a small log laying under the light? What kind of wood is it?

 

[Gypsy07]

My best guess would be overheating too. Should be easy to confirm with a thermometer.
So sorry about that. With a couple of tweaks it looks like it'll be a GREAT brooder.