Help my chicks are dying ...

[Nada77]

My first time incubating and I had 15 eggs , 10 of those hatched and were doing well for 2 weeks then one got wobbly and died slowly over the following week and a half the others became the same I'm now down to 5, 3 have died in my hand and its very heart breaking, they have a clean brooder, warmth, food, water but they still have wobbly legs and cant balance properly and not looking well, I have to help them eat and now my strongest chick is starting to wobble and I'm afraid they will all die .., Not sure what I'm doing wrong... Not sure what to do.... I help them eat and they are ok but they don't seem to be getting better any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wyandottes7]

How warm exactly is it, and what are you feeding them? Have you seen them eating and drinking on their own? Temperatures for this age should be between 80-85 degrees F., and they should be being fed chick starter feed.

One possible cause is Coccidiosis. However, this usually affects chicks a little older than this. To be safe, you could go get some Corid (which should be able to be found in the cattle/livestock section of a local feed store) and treat them with that. If it is Coccidiosis, Corid would heal them.

Have you had any other sick birds in your flock, and have these chicks come in contact with other birds? One more disease that could be the cause is Marek's Disease. It can strike birds after two weeks old. But, Marek's is more common in slightly older birds, around 8 weeks old.

A vitamin deficiency is also possible. You can get some poultry vitamins or some Poly Vi Sol baby vitamins from a supermarket and try giving them some.

Sorry I can't be more helpful! I'm not exactly sure what is wrong with your chicks- these are only guesses. I hope they get better!

 

[Nada77]

Hi I'm not sure how hot it is exactly we did have two lamps and one lamp died on us and we didn't notice straight away, that's when the first chick started to wobble and die we put another lamp in which is very hot and the chicks actually move away from it to cool down and go back to it when they need too, I fed them pollard with warm water and then introduced veges like lettuce, cabbage, tomato, carrots and a little bit of ham cut up and plenty of water,
I read up a little on the vitamin deficiency and I think this might be it, I gave them a little sugar water last night as I don't have electrolytes and they seem to be moving a little better.
I will try and find some chick starter feed there is none in the super market and vitamins, the livestock shop we have caters a lot for horses but ill see what they have.

Thanks for your advice. Really appreciate it.

 

[enola]

These chicks need a LOT more protein thsn that diet is supplying. Feeding them at least one scrambled egg a day will help.

 

[GA Homesteader]

When we need something we ask out livestock shop down the road to order it for us and we come and pick it up. They will usually always have vendors that they can order chicken supplies from. You can also try other feed stores around your area and maybe a tractor supply store if you have one near by. I would start with your livestock store and see is they can order products for you or see if they know of anyone that has starter feed that you can pick up immediately. It should not be that expensive. I bought a 50 pound bag for $11. I hope your chicks get better. Protein is highly important at this stage.

 

[Wyandottes7]

These chicks need a LOT more protein thsn that diet is supplying. Feeding them at least one scrambled egg a day will help.

X2

 

[mamatobrahmas]

I lost one of my chicks by feeding them cantaloupe guts too soon. As I understood the advice I was given at the time, they cannot digest such foods without gravel in the gizzard and they typically don't eat sufficient gravel until slightly older. I would also question whether tomato seeds could cause illness at such a young age. My opinion is their diet may be the cause and I would hunt high and low for some chick starter, possibly medicated starter. Sorry your little ones are dying, I hope the rest make it.

 

[Nada77]

Hi guys, thanks for your advice, I managed to find a livestock shop and he had some chick feed that is apparently good for up to 8 weeks but they couldn't help me with anything else regarding the chickens.

So I gave them the feed and an egg which they lapped up (thanks enola), thought they were going well as they were eating on their own and chirping more however, this morning I found another one dead and now another two have there heads hanging down and one of these chicks has a floppy bottom beak I've never noticed that before as she was eating and drinking, she up to now seemed fine, Can beaks go floppy? they tend to stumble around a lot and on top of one another could that be the cause.Can they heal?
Has anyone ever heard of this????
I feel like maybe she should be put down , I really don't want to but I don't want her to suffer any more.
I've also put electrolytes in the water.

Raising my chickens with a broody mum is very very different to this, I don't think I'll be doing the incubation hatch again.
I've certainly learnt a lot the hard way.

Feeling bad.

 

[cafarmgirl]

You didn't say where you live so I'm not sure what you have around you as far as feed stores. But here is what I would do if this were my batch of chicks:

First, get a thermometer and check the temps under that hot light. If it's that hot then move it up so you don't roast your chicks if they fall asleep under it.
I would feed them chick starter and nothing else other then mashed hard boiled or scrambled egg. Were you giving them grit when they were eating all that other stuff? The starter you bought can be fed longer then 8 weeks. Starter can be fed right up to point of lay.

I suppose it's always possible you have a coccidiosis issue on top of everything else. It might be smart to run a couse of Corid (amprolium) in their water for 5 days so you can rule out that potential problem. After that put some good vitamins in their water. Avian Super Pak is a good one.

Those are the things I would do and hope for the best. They may or may not turn around.

 

[Nada77]

Hi Cafarmgirl

I'm actually in western Australia, I am now sticking with the chick starter and an egg a day, I woke this morning to another one dead

, i'll try and find a thermometer I can use and try the Corid(amprolium) that you suggested.

Thankyou for your help.