I'll never use an incubator again

chicknmania

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Just an example of how bad one can screw up. I just killed my sweet chick, my baby, the only chick of our pet hen Chloe who was killed by a dog. She hatched on day 24 and we were so excited, she was so sweet and pretty, and tiny. Well, we gave her her stuffed animal, and a heat light, and put her in a mail tub. She was fine. I thought it might be a bit hot, but I was going to get a thermometer today, she seemed lively enough. We decided to get her some siblings, that it would be best. So we went to the feed mill today and got what they said were days old chicks. They were Golden Comets and a lot bigger than our baby. So I think they were probably older than what was portrayed. Anyway, she didn't like her new sibs very much, but we left them alone b/c eventually they did huddle together on her stuffed animal. They were shoving and peeping and acting like chicks do. But when I came back from the store, I was gone an hour, I decided to take a nap for an hour and leave the babies alone, I thought I might be stressing them checking on them all the time. Well, DS did go to check on them.
Baby was dead, rigor mortis had not set in yet so she had just died. He said he thought it was too much heat from the heat light, and the stress from the new babies was too much. We have turned off all the heat lights and are not sure just what to do, i can't find a cooler bulb and we are very reluctant to turn the lights back on. We had to buy six, according to the law, so we have three GCs and three very pretty straight run banty chicks who are older, two weeks or so. These six babies will now be constant reminders of Chloe's baby that I killed, and that really we had no idea what we were doing and I feel like this is all my fault, I am just sick about it. Sorry for the ranting but I just cannot quit thinking about this. And what about the other babies....
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My point is that from now on I will rely on the hens to raise the chicks. When they raise them, if one dies, or they kill one, I know it is because it was sick or too weak and the hens know what they are doing. The babies that they raise are acclimated to the flock and the hen will protect the babies from each other and the other flock members. I will never, ever, try to put two different broods together. The emotional backlash from everything that has happened with Chloe and now her chick, will be with me and my family for a long time. I never want to go through it again. OK, nuff said, thanks for listening.
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Did you put a thermometer in there? Once you have a thermometer adjust the wattage of the bulb to cool it down if indeed it is too hot. You don't need heat lamps if using a small brooder. A 75 or 100 watt incandesent bulb would be fine.
 
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I am sorry about your chick I recently lost one I have been raising seramas since last oct - nov and I have been so lucky I have not lost but 2 I did not make it out of the egg and the other was only 2 weeks old every now and then quail do not hatch right or one is just hard to keep alive some times ( fail to thrive) but I am almost used to losing a quail every now and then I have not had to experience losing chickens much yet
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Yes, well..thanks. I just relied on a lot of people telling me that I had to have a heat light, and yes, it was a small brooder box. Too late now. Like I said, I won't be doing it again.
 
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I'm sorry. A couple of weeks ago I had my first and only chick that hatched from an incubator. That chick was sick. Well, it was dieing so we culled it. I cried for the whole day. Hope for the best from your other chicks!
 
Using broodies is no guarentee that chicks won't be harmed either. I have seen chicks get killed by their own moms either by pecking or they got seperated from the others.

I bet nearly everyone here has their own stories about losing chicks or even full grown birds to situations that could have been prevented. And the longer they have been at it the more stories that they will have to tell.
 

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