First, a little background. I'm new to raising chicks and we're just starting out establishing a small family farm. I have 25 Red Stars and 25 Cornish Crosses on order from MMH, due to arrive in mid-May. I thought it might be a good idea to get a few chicks earlier than that in order to get our brooder setup worked out, learn a few things, etc etc before the big batch of chicks arrives. (Based on what has happened since then, boy am I glad I did.)
So, a week and a half ago I came across a couple nearby selling chicks. We went and bought 15, a mix of Buff Orps, Black Australorps, Light Brahmas, and Americanas. The conditions at this farm were not exactly what I would have liked in terms of cleanliness and organization, but they weren't bad enough to warn me away either. The chicks all seemed to be perky and healthy. We brought them home, got them under a new brooder lamp (thermo said 95 in the center of the brooder), a brand-new waterer with electrolytes and vitamins mixed in, and some non-medicated chick starter in a brand-new feeder.
The next morning, we awoke to find one of them dead. It was smaller than the others, so we wrote it off to it being a runt or some other unremarkable cause. The rest were very active, playful, and seemed to be eating and drinking well.
To cut to the chase, we've lost an average of one per day since then. Out of the original 15, only 5 remain, and based on what I've seen, we're about to lose one more.
One at a time, they go from being healthy, growing and active... to lethargic/stumbling, then they just look like they're sleeping except they don't respond when I come near (as the rest do), then they die.
I've noticed a little diarrhea, but otherwise nothing that stands out. From what I'm reading online it sounds like it might be coccidiosis, but I don't know enough to be able to tell for sure.
For their first few days, their brooder was a large cooler (with the lid open, of course) indoors on our back porch, with the heat lamp hanging above. Temps were very consistent, plus they had room to get a cooler spot in the brooder if needed. In the cooler, they were directly on cedar shavings. A few days ago I moved them to a cage-type brooder made out of 1/2" hardware cloth suspended a few inches over a bed of cedar shavings. That way their droppings fall through and they can't peck through the poop.
I keep the waterer and feeder full, and the ones that are perky seem to eat and drink well. They go from being active to being dead in a matter of a few short hours.
I tried to get some medicated feed (couldn't find any between several feed stores near here, believe it or not), but without knowing exactly what I'm facing, I'm hesitant to medicate them anyway.
So... I realize this is a lot of information. Thanks to all who have followed along thus far! Can anyone help? Suggestions on what to do? Is this something I'm doing to them? Were they possibly just sick from the originating farm, or poor quality genetics?
So, a week and a half ago I came across a couple nearby selling chicks. We went and bought 15, a mix of Buff Orps, Black Australorps, Light Brahmas, and Americanas. The conditions at this farm were not exactly what I would have liked in terms of cleanliness and organization, but they weren't bad enough to warn me away either. The chicks all seemed to be perky and healthy. We brought them home, got them under a new brooder lamp (thermo said 95 in the center of the brooder), a brand-new waterer with electrolytes and vitamins mixed in, and some non-medicated chick starter in a brand-new feeder.
The next morning, we awoke to find one of them dead. It was smaller than the others, so we wrote it off to it being a runt or some other unremarkable cause. The rest were very active, playful, and seemed to be eating and drinking well.
To cut to the chase, we've lost an average of one per day since then. Out of the original 15, only 5 remain, and based on what I've seen, we're about to lose one more.
One at a time, they go from being healthy, growing and active... to lethargic/stumbling, then they just look like they're sleeping except they don't respond when I come near (as the rest do), then they die.
I've noticed a little diarrhea, but otherwise nothing that stands out. From what I'm reading online it sounds like it might be coccidiosis, but I don't know enough to be able to tell for sure.
For their first few days, their brooder was a large cooler (with the lid open, of course) indoors on our back porch, with the heat lamp hanging above. Temps were very consistent, plus they had room to get a cooler spot in the brooder if needed. In the cooler, they were directly on cedar shavings. A few days ago I moved them to a cage-type brooder made out of 1/2" hardware cloth suspended a few inches over a bed of cedar shavings. That way their droppings fall through and they can't peck through the poop.
I keep the waterer and feeder full, and the ones that are perky seem to eat and drink well. They go from being active to being dead in a matter of a few short hours.
I tried to get some medicated feed (couldn't find any between several feed stores near here, believe it or not), but without knowing exactly what I'm facing, I'm hesitant to medicate them anyway.
So... I realize this is a lot of information. Thanks to all who have followed along thus far! Can anyone help? Suggestions on what to do? Is this something I'm doing to them? Were they possibly just sick from the originating farm, or poor quality genetics?
