help! my chicks arent making it!

[seagirl]

i dont know what is wrong with my hens or chicks for that matter. i have found three dead chicks in the nesting box over the past week. i dont know if a hen is mistaking the poor things for mice or if i am just having some bad luck with hatching them out! any ideas?

 

[boskelli1571]

Need a lot more info please. Did the hen brood them herself? If so, was she separated from the rest of the flock? Flock members will kill chicks if they are not protected. What do the bodies look like? Are they bloodied, pecked or just plain dead? More info. can give us a place to start and advise accordingly. Sorry for your losses

 

[seagirl]

thanks for taking the time to help! the chicks are not bloody or pecked looking at all, they are just dead. the hen has hatched out two other batches of chicks without any problems. she isnt completely separated from the rest of the flock but she is in a place that very few go. this has worked great in the past. i am very new to the whole chicken world so any advice would be great!

 

[boskelli1571]

thanks for taking the time to help! the chicks are not bloody or pecked looking at all, they are just dead. the hen has hatched out two other batches of chicks without any problems. she isnt completely separated from the rest of the flock but she is in a place that very few go. this has worked great in the past. i am very new to the whole chicken world so any advice would be great!

If there are no signs of trauma etc. it would seem they are just 'dropping dead'.... how many chicks did she hatch out? It may be just a genetic thing - chicks often die for no apparent reason - just nature. How are the survivors doing? Have you been using the same rooster all along? Perhaps it's time to change him out? How old is your hen? I'm just throwing ideas out there for you to think about and see what's useful to you. I will do some research for you tonight and post tomorrow, Sue

 

[seagirl]

thanks again, she isnt very old at all, just about a year and the same for the roo, she has hatched out 5 chicks so far and they are all doing great except for the two the dog played a little too rough with

i have a family member who seems to get chicks almost daily! she has one hen that hatched out 9, then last week got six more and is now days away from another 11.
again i have only had the chickens for about a year so i still have a lot to learn.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

thanks again, she isnt very old at all, just about a year and the same for the roo, she has hatched out 5 chicks so far and they are all doing great except for the two the dog played a little too rough with

i have a family member who seems to get chicks almost daily! she has one hen that hatched out 9, then last week got six more and is now days away from another 11.
again i have only had the chickens for about a year so i still have a lot to learn.

Once chicks leave the nest it is best that they not sleep in a restrictive nest box with their mother. This can be doubly important if the mama and chicks are living in the same coop or pen with the rest of your flock. Hens with chicks seem to be high status birds, so any other hen who ventures too close to a hen hovering chicks will likely provoke a violent pecking order reaction from the mama hen. If this "violent reaction" is launched from within the confines of a nest box the first casualties the mama hen can cause is to her own brood. Remember, a hens' personality often totally changes once she has chicks of her own so don't take anything for granted.

 

[boskelli1571]

thanks again, she isnt very old at all, just about a year and the same for the roo, she has hatched out 5 chicks so far and they are all doing great except for the two the dog played a little too rough with

i have a family member who seems to get chicks almost daily! she has one hen that hatched out 9, then last week got six more and is now days away from another 11.
again i have only had the chickens for about a year so i still have a lot to learn.

Hello - I really didn't find anything specific to tell you, the 'high' end of expected chick hatch death is around 5%. As worrying as it is, it's quite normal - 'natures' cull'. I would suggest a couple of things tho'. You say someone is acquiring chicks fairly frequently - are you isolating these birds form your own flock for at least 2 weeks before adding them to your own? If you aren't, I strongly suggest you start doing that. There is nothing worse than having a disease rip through your flock. Secondly, if you can afford it, buy Storeys guide to raising chickens - it's my 'go to' book for any problems. or see if your local library has it and borrow it for a while. Hope you have better luck with your next hatch,