just joined

[Gma Kathy]

Hi! I'm a new member, but have enjoyed all that I've been reading so far. I just started with 4 Barred Rocks 3 weeks ago...they were doing so great, and then I found 1 dead this morning. The weather where I live has been cold and rainy, so yesterday was only their second day outside. They were out in their coop for about 4 hrs, with food and water, and then I brought them back into the house. They ask seemed fine when I went to bed,but she was dead when I got up this morning. I'm concerned that it's something I did wrong....I have 5 more arriving tomorrow...3 Ameraucanas and 2 Silver Spangled Hamburg, I hope it's nothing I've done wrong because I don't want to lose anymore...neither older or arriving new babies!

 

[emma p]

Hello and
At that age just be sure to be giving them at least a place that they can got o be warm under a heat lamp, other then that it could have just been a weird thing that happened.
Feel free to ask questions...

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

BYC has a very useful learning center

My 3 week old chicks outside for the first time in late January
of this year but the temp was 50F at the lowest and no wind
and dry and when I brought them in the heat in the brooder
was on 80 F degrees to warm them up and a nice worm hard
boiled mashed up egg was a waiting for them as there is
plenty of vitamin B-3 protein & niacin for them .........






My brooder's heat is in the back on top and it can be set
at 95 F but with all the vent holes on the side the air can
move easy so the temp 30 inches away is only 70 F
degrees and the chicks can move about to regulate them-
selves but my brooder is in a non drafted room and I have
had this same brooder for close to 20 years with many
chicks passing through it .......



I normally put my chicks on the ground at 6 weeks and this
is after 3 weeks in the introduction cage as shown above
and the chicks stay in the grow out run till week 12 then it is
free run time .....



Do you have any photos of your brooder for us to see and
maybe help you with ?????


Do the hard boiled egg with your chicks from day one as
mine eat a dozen a week and I have few losses .......







gander007

 

[Gma Kathy]

I had them out during the warmest part of the day and brought them in as soon as it seemed even a little cool. (My husband thought I was nuts...lol) Indoors they reside in a 250 gal water trough and I have a heat lamp at one end of that.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about your chick. Was there anything unusual about the chick before, was she smaller than the others or anything? When you found her, what did she look like, was she in a corner or anything odd about how you found her? Are the other three still acting fine?

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

So sorry for your loss. 3 weeks old is pretty young to be outside already and they still need heat to stay warm. They really need to be fully feathered before they go outside. Drafts, dampness and cold can kill them at this age.

I hope you can figure out what happened to your chick.

 

[gander007]

I had them out during the warmest part of the day and brought them in as soon as it seemed even a little cool. (My husband thought I was nuts...lol) Indoors they reside in a 250 gal water trough and I have a heat lamp at one end of that.

That sounds like a very nice Brooder with plenty of room for them to move around I bet you could have 20 chicks at 8 weeks in something that big ...

Nothing wrong with your brooder but do you have wire top for it to keep the chicks in ....

 

[Gma Kathy]

The chick that I lost was the smallest chick...had been fine the night before...found her laying on her side this morning, no evidence add to what might have been wrong. It was a warm day here today and the other 3 were out for several hrs, but again, I brought them back in as soon as it started to cool off a little. The heat lamp sits at one end of the trough inside the house here, they can get away from it easily if they want to. I don't have wire over the top and that's a great idea, thank you for that....will head off future wrecks!I had never heard of feeding chickens hard boiled eggs, but will certainly begin doing that immediately.....again, thanks for that! My others should arrive tomorrow....how long before I should even think about integrating the two groups? There will be approx 3 weeks difference in age. I do appreciate everyone's help....I'm new to this, but love my babies and want to do everything I possibly can to have happy, healthy, friendly birds!!!!