Help! newbie and we've lost 2 chicks in the last 24 hrs!

[Cathyge416]

Hi All,

We started out with 14 chicks over a month ago - lost one fairly quickly but she did not seem to be growing. They are now between 5 1/2 and 7 1/2 weeks old (we got an assortment) and are in a large horse trough (?) with a screen door over it. Everybody seems healthy, but 2 black sex links (prob about 7 weeks old) in the last 24 have just died. We have been lowering the temp 5* a week and are down to 75 or so, plenty of medicated starter, fresh water 2x a day. Um, we took them outside for the 1st time last sunday and let them play on the grass in a pen (sunny CA - it was 80* or so) for about an hour? I clean the shavings 1x per week (big tub) - any one have any ideas? I am feeling like a failure about right now! Cathy

 

[mnferalkitty]

Are you sure they are not getting to hot? At 8 wks mine are off heat. I would put electrolytes in the water, also clean and sanitize what ever you are using for thier water and food dish

 

[Cathyge416]

The little packets of electrolytes? Alos, I have a few that are only 5 1/2 weeks and I have been running things according to their schedule, not wanting to lose them! Anyway, tell me about electrolytes, please?

 

[mnferalkitty]

Yes that, or you can buy a big pack at the farm store that is cheaper then the save a chick small packs. It is usualy found in the cattle section and comes in a foil pack and says electrolytes for livestock but it has pictures of goats chickens cattle etc. on it

 

[Cathyge416]

Thankyou! I will do that 1st thing tomorrow. The heat lamp is off - lol - since the temp of our house is at least 75*! Cathy

 

[Cathyge416]

Hi All,

Make that 3 chicks now - 1 a day. Is it possible we have coccidosis or some other bug going on? I am so new at this and I don't have any idea what to do next. The remaining 10 are in the large horse trough with no heat lamp. The coop is not yet finished - my husband hurt his back, with has delayed things. We are at least another week from completion. If the chicks need to be outside - and they are too confined - I can't get them outside for another week. Any suggestions? Thank you, Cathy

 

[Kmillerhan]

I'm kinda new to this too, we are in our second year of raising chicks and we lost one out of 18 this year. One thing I've learned about the heat lamp thingie, I don't go so much by the age of the chicks. We had them in a bin with mesh on the top and a lamp (like the silver ones that mechanics use under the car hoods that clamps), and 2-3 different wattages of bulbs. If the chicks are really cheeping loudly, and you know what that sounds like, they sound distressed and are huddling together in one big pile to sleep, then I put a higher wattage bulb in, like a 60 watt. If they are lying around loose or just in small clumps of 2-3 chicks, the wattage is probably just about right. If they are spread out and their wings are being held away from their bodies, it is too hot. As far as the electrolytes, yes, the ones in the yellow packet in the cattle section is the one to use. But I'll tell you, I had some amazing luck with crookneck syndrome in a couple of my Jersey black giant chicks by using Vitamin B12 drops and E capsules. The chicken "guru" at our local feed store says he uses Vitamin B12 for just about anything if the chicks aren't looking good. Just a couple of drops in a little water night and morning and it cleared up our cases of crookneck in 4-5 days. Do NOT use the vitamin B12 AND the electrolytes in the water at the same time though, it is too much for them. Use one or the other if you do...

 

[CAjerseychick]

Cathy I am new at this too (our first chicks ever this year)-- i was patting myself on the back at getting our first set through to 6 weeks next Tues and you are saying you are losing birds at 7weeks -- EEK-- chick raising is fraught with obstacles.
Our almost 6 week olds-- have been out in the Coop for a couple weeks now, no heat (mostly d/t the fact we got 15 days olds in that needed the Brooder)-- and its quite cool here in the Sierras (first week they were transitioning to the Coop it was 99 and 100's daily) but these last few days its been 70's daily with lows in the low 50's upper 40's at night (they still seem perky and happy , it even rained yesterday)-- anyways I dont think it is the Heat Lamp issue....
I did start the 15 hatchlings on electrolytes (the almost 6 week olds were hatched at home by a hen so they never went thru shipping and had been raised outside the whole time without heat with their mother) to overcome any shipping stress they might have had however, and they look pretty good to me (10 days old now--
Pls keep us updated on what continues, and what you think might be occuriing-- I am very interested.
Also all my birds are on medicated feed, and the 15 younger chicks were all vaccinated for Marek's as well....

PS
I do not happen to have a "handy" husband (Inlaws built us a coop when they were in town) so I just used a large cardboard box that our couch came in -- folded out the bottom -- and moved it around as a lawn tractor for the birds-- I think it is good to get them exposed to dirt and grass and natural helpful bacteria. I covered the top with poultry netting to prevent aerial predation-- that worked great and was a quick fix-- just make sure you dont have dogs that will dig under the box etc....

 

[donrae]

I think they were too hot and are too crowded. They should be mostly feathered at this point and just keep that heat lamp off, even at night.

11 birds even in one of my big galvanized steel troughs is too many at this age. You need to get them more space, even just during the day. The'll all pile up at night, so they could probably go back in the trough to sleep, but they need to spread out during the day. You might just need to rig something for a few days until honey can get the coop finished.

 

[Cathyge416]

Thanks everyone - we are calling for help tomorrow so we can get the coop done asap, and I will put them out in the "playpen" this afternoon so they are at least outside. Chicks are so fragile - and I feel very overwhelmed! It means alot I can come here and get questions answered right away!!!! I will not give up - I am learning a ton. Not sure I will want to do chicks again though - I feel bad I contributed to 4 chicks deaths so far cause I don't know what I am doing! I still have 10 little ones to take care of - gotta move forward, right? cath