Help with cause of chicks dying?

[Farmer Kitty]

Rick,

I'm sorry for the loss of your chicks.
To check temps use a thermometer. 1 day old chicks should be at 90-95 degrees. Move the heat lamp up to reduce the heat by 5 degrees once a week. I would say with yours not doing so well to have the heat at the 90-95 degrees and make sure when you sectioned off the brooder that you didn't exclude them a cooler place to go if they get to warm.

Good luck!

 

[KKluckers]

I keep my brooder 95 degrees than I drop it by five degrees each week. Till Im down to 70. With how cold the winter was I keep all my chicks with lights and they are four-five months old now. I just use a cheap thermometer.

With the water out of the mouth, is he maybe just sneezing/coughing?
Sometimes when I picked a few of my Orps up mainly the roosters, they would have water come out of their mouths. I think it was mainly because they were to full, mine are big pigs lol.

 

[Rick]

My question on the temperature is WHERE to measure it. The reason, is that the temp seems to fall off very quickly as I move out from directly under the light.

At one point in my checking last night, directly under the bulb was 100 degrees, but a few inches out was 88 degrees. I figured they would sit where it was best for them, or should I make sure it's no hotter than 95 anywhere?

And thanks farmer Kitty, I did make sure there is a cool place in the shade if they want it. The food and water are just outside the direct heat lamp (more in the 88 deg area) and the chicks move right back to the hotter area.

The other thing is, one of my digital thermometers was really off - like 20 degrees off compared to a new one. I threw it away. I need to stop in and buy a regular ol' mercury thermometer!

-Rick

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Wow, what a temp drop in a short amount of space! By any chance is your brooder set up in an out building where the temp. is cold? Even with a heat lamp they should be inside where the temps are warm.

I would measure under the heat lamp as that is where your main heat will be and then they move away from there to cool off.

 

[Rick]

I was surprised at the temperature difference too. The chicks are inside - but close to the outside door. (Only place the brooder would fit.) That's why I put in the divider last night, as the brooder was originally built when I had 16 Dominiques.

I'm thinking what probably happened was that the chicks got a chill over the weekend. I was doing a lot of work outside, the kids where in and out and then the problems started Monday evening.

I really appreciate all the input so I can avoid repeating this when I get more chicks.

-Rick

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Hmmm, maybe if there is a draft from the door some sort of barrier needs to be put up, cardboard, blanket, something to stop the draft. Drafts are not good.

I hope you can cure the problem so you don't have anymore trouble.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sorry for your losses. If the brooder is large enough for them to get away from the heat, I'd even let the "hot spot" get to 110F as they can then circle around where the temp is the best. My guess is that they accidentally got chilled with the door opening and closing.

 

[MissPrissy]

Again I am sorry for your loss, Rick. I am glad that you have been able to piece together some of the problems that could have caused the issues.

 

[cjeanean]

I'm a first timer, so I got suggestions from the feed store where I bought our chicks. The manager there had raised RIR's for most of his life, and he suggested Terramycin Soluble Powder for the first week for your chicks. It's a broad-spectrum antibiotic, and you only need a small amount. When I called the company that makes it to find out about conversions (I don't have a scale that measures in milligrams) I was told that 1 level tsp is equal to 200 mg. Because chicks are so small, and because it's mainly an immuno-booster, I only used 1/4 of a teaspoon in a gallon of water (I double checked this amount with the feed store manager who suggested it) and the chicks are fine. I had two chicks die on me within the first 72 or so hours, but that's about it, and the two that died were CA white leghorns. All my RIR's made it. The week is up, and right now they're on plain water. Seem to be doing good!

 

[silkiechicken]

Welcome to the world of chickens!

I personally would not recommend giving antibiotics to chicks or anything unless there is a confirmed bacterial infection or risk of one. I hear this advice from a decent number of old timers but it is now known that giving antibiotics when it is not necessary is how drug resistant bacteria are formed. These bacteria can reek havoc in the future when the animal gets sick and then the antibiotics don't work anymore. Just my opinion though.