help! what should i do!

[Ozarkhomesteader]

i have 40 chicks in a large homemade brooder, and have lost 6 in the last week. It is really sudden when one dies, like it is eating and drinking one minute only to come back an hour later to find it dead. Is it cocci? they are not vaccinated and don't eat medicated feed. any suggestions as to whats wrong? they are in my bedroom with 10 ducklings (seperate brooder) a few fish tanks, and a dog. i keep the thing really clean cause mom dosen't like the smell of it
I've got 6 more chicks coming tomorrow...what should i do? i really don't want to lose anymore.

 

[HatchaBatch]

Ok a few questions....how big is the brooder, what is the temperature like , where did you get them and is there blood in their poop ?

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

it is 8x6 feet, and has a 250 watt bulb 12'' above the floor. they are not cold, because they are spread out evenly among the brooder, not piled together under it. there are now only 29 in there (with 6 on the way) because of the dead ones and yesterday i put the 5 Cornish in a separate brooder. I got 38 from murray mcmurray, and 12 from the feed store. I just cleaned the brooder and there was no evidence of blood.

 

[HatchaBatch]

Sometimes chicks just pass and there isn't anything you can do , it just happens. I give my chicks electrolytes and vitamins in the their water for the first week . You might try some of that . I wouldn't think that they have any diseases or anything like that.

 

[song of joy]

A 250 watt bulb throws a tremendous amount of heat. When using a 250 watt bulb indoors, I usually need to position it 2 to 2 1/2 feet above the brooder floor to get the temperature right. If it's only 12" above the floor, it must be VERY hot under the bulb. Check the temperature in your brooder at a level of about 2" above the floor, directly under the heat lamp. Under the heat lamp, it should be about 90 degrees the first week, 85 degrees the 2nd, 80 the 3rd, etc. A foot or two away from the heat lamp it should be cooler - anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees cooler than under the lamp. If you find it's too hot under the heat lamp, either raise it or switch to a lower wattage bulb.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

Sometimes chicks just pass and there isn't anything you can do , it just happens. I give my chicks electrolytes and vitamins in the their water for the first week . You might try some of that . I wouldn't think that they have any diseases or anything like that.

ok, that may be what it is...thanks

A 250 watt bulb throws a tremendous amount of heat. When using a 250 watt bulb indoors, I usually need to position it 2 to 2 1/2 feet above the brooder floor to get the temperature right. If it's only 12" above the floor, it must be VERY hot under the bulb. Check the temperature in your brooder at a level of about 2" above the floor, directly under the heat lamp. Under the heat lamp, it should be about 90 degrees the first week, 85 degrees the 2nd, 80 the 3rd, etc. A foot or two away from the heat lamp it should be cooler - anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees cooler than under the lamp. If you find it's too hot under the heat lamp, either raise it or switch to a lower wattage bulb.

i don't think it's too hot, but i will buy a temperature thing today. They are in an unheated garage, so the air temp is a little cool without the heat lamp. nobody's panting or crowding away, they sleep under it a lot. Thanks for the info.