Sounds like you have it under controll now. Sorry you lost so many. I like straw for bedding for them. After they are done with it I put it arround my flowers in the yard!
Losing a chick a day on average... please HELP!
- Thread starter StillwaterCreek
- Start date
Hehehe, how funny. When I started my response to your post there were no replies yet...as soon as I finished I found that several people had already beaten me to it!
Oh well, better to get too many replies to an urgent post than none at all I suppose!
I should also add that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself when you lose chicks. It just happens, even when you do everything right you will sometimes get a batch that just doesn't do well.
I bought 10 OEGBs from the feed store a while back and ended up with only 5 surviving despite heroic efforts on my part to save them. They were just not very strong from day one and even the ones that lived required desperate measures like hand feeding. I think I will call this group my little Duds!
Good luck with your chickies!
Oh well, better to get too many replies to an urgent post than none at all I suppose!
I should also add that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself when you lose chicks. It just happens, even when you do everything right you will sometimes get a batch that just doesn't do well.
I bought 10 OEGBs from the feed store a while back and ended up with only 5 surviving despite heroic efforts on my part to save them. They were just not very strong from day one and even the ones that lived required desperate measures like hand feeding. I think I will call this group my little Duds!
Good luck with your chickies!
Quote:
OKOK! I think we have a consensus of opinion here...
Oh, and your temp sounds fine. You sound like you are being pretty meticulous with it. I was the same way with my first brooder full of chicks. I had a thermometer and lowered the temp by 5 degrees per week and all that...after that batch I lost the thermometer and just arranged the brooder so that the chicks could pick their own temp. Then I would watch for signs of them being too hot or cold and raise or lower the light accordingly. Haven't had any temp problems so I guess this method is working out okay.
It's just like having kids...with the first one you read all of the books and try so hard to do everything perfectly. After that you sort of find your own way of doing things.
OKOK! I think we have a consensus of opinion here...
Also, make sure your brooder has a good variety of temp...95 is fine in one area as long as they can get far away from there if they start to overheat.
At the moment it's about 83 in the middle of the brooder. Probably 90 at one end (under the lamp) and 75ish at the other. They're not huddling together as if cold, nor are they always at the far end, away from the lamp. I think I'm OK temp-wise.
At the moment it's about 83 in the middle of the brooder. Probably 90 at one end (under the lamp) and 75ish at the other. They're not huddling together as if cold, nor are they always at the far end, away from the lamp. I think I'm OK temp-wise.
Oh, and your temp sounds fine. You sound like you are being pretty meticulous with it. I was the same way with my first brooder full of chicks. I had a thermometer and lowered the temp by 5 degrees per week and all that...after that batch I lost the thermometer and just arranged the brooder so that the chicks could pick their own temp. Then I would watch for signs of them being too hot or cold and raise or lower the light accordingly. Haven't had any temp problems so I guess this method is working out okay.
It's just like having kids...with the first one you read all of the books and try so hard to do everything perfectly. After that you sort of find your own way of doing things.
- Thread starter
- #24
It's just like having kids...with the first one you read all of the books and try so hard to do everything perfectly. After that you sort of find your own way of doing things.
I understand completely. I read every chicken book I could get my hands on up to this point, but now I can see that a lot of it is just common sense.
I understand completely. I read every chicken book I could get my hands on up to this point, but now I can see that a lot of it is just common sense.
- Thread starter
- #26
As bad as this is, if it does turn out to be the cedar shavings then at least I'm comforted knowing I haven't introduced some disease to our farm. There haven't been any animals here (other than dogs) in roughly 25 years, but we'll soon be adding a bunch more chickens, goats, hogs, and eventually cows and horses. I was really worried I'd brought something over from the farm where we got these chicks.
- Thread starter
- #27
Well, the one I feared was having trouble when I first posted this topic died not long after. And... another just about an hour ago. Ugh.
So, I'm now down to 3. We'll see if these can hang on... There is no cedar to be found anywhere around them (I took the bag of shavings down to shed) and I've aired out the room real well, too.
So, I'm now down to 3. We'll see if these can hang on... There is no cedar to be found anywhere around them (I took the bag of shavings down to shed) and I've aired out the room real well, too.
Quote:
Okay, are the remaining chicks eating and drinking normally? Check their crops to see if they feel fairly full. How about the poo, what does it look like and are they actually pooing? If you observe them for several minutes you should see them poo at some point.
With every type of illness I've treated in my chickens, my first line of attack is to give supportive care: keep them warm and get food and water in them. Often I've noticed that just feeding them by hand while their own immune system takes care of whatever is wrong works wonders.
I keep an emergency kit on hand which includes the Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding Formula for all baby birds, lots of needle-less syringes of various sizes, and a bottle of the iron-free Poly Visol.
You can find the Kaytee at any pet store in the parrot section and it is great because it's a powder that you just add warm water to and you can mix it to whatever consistency you need. The Poly Visol is a liquid vitamin found in the (human) children's vitamin section at any store that carries vitamins. Make sure to get the one with no iron.
I usually start with mixing the Kaytee fairly thin to make it easy to syringe. Hold the chick gently and squirt the food into its mouth a little at a time. You don't want to drown them so take it slow and watch to make sure they are swallowing. Sometimes you can squirt just a little into the side of the beak and they will take it from there. I do the same thing with the water, just squirt it into the side of the beak and let them do the swallowing so you don't squirt it in the lungs.
I feed until I can feel the crop bulge a bit and then give them a drop or two of the poly visol. Repeat this at least 2 to 3 times a day. Check the crop to see when it is empty and watch for them to start eating and drinking on their own.
Some other useful things to keep on hand for the future are regular syringes with small gauge needles, Tylan 50 (feed store), antibiotic ointment with NO pain killer (poison to birds), preparation H (also with no pain killer, this is to treat prolapse), poultry drench, apple cider vinegar, Cocci meds, and standard first aid supplies like swabs, cotten balls and gauze.
I hope your remaining chicks make it through, and that this bad experience doesn't put you off the idea of keeping chickens. It is always sad when you lose some, but the joy that comes from the ones that stick around is well worth the pain.
Edited to add: Not sure why the site is substituting the word 'hen' wherever I used the singular version of the word chicks but it won't let me fix it so...whatever. Apparently we can say chicks but we can't say chick (watch, it is going to censor the word I really used here...weird).
Okay, are the remaining chicks eating and drinking normally? Check their crops to see if they feel fairly full. How about the poo, what does it look like and are they actually pooing? If you observe them for several minutes you should see them poo at some point.
With every type of illness I've treated in my chickens, my first line of attack is to give supportive care: keep them warm and get food and water in them. Often I've noticed that just feeding them by hand while their own immune system takes care of whatever is wrong works wonders.
I keep an emergency kit on hand which includes the Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding Formula for all baby birds, lots of needle-less syringes of various sizes, and a bottle of the iron-free Poly Visol.
You can find the Kaytee at any pet store in the parrot section and it is great because it's a powder that you just add warm water to and you can mix it to whatever consistency you need. The Poly Visol is a liquid vitamin found in the (human) children's vitamin section at any store that carries vitamins. Make sure to get the one with no iron.
I usually start with mixing the Kaytee fairly thin to make it easy to syringe. Hold the chick gently and squirt the food into its mouth a little at a time. You don't want to drown them so take it slow and watch to make sure they are swallowing. Sometimes you can squirt just a little into the side of the beak and they will take it from there. I do the same thing with the water, just squirt it into the side of the beak and let them do the swallowing so you don't squirt it in the lungs.
I feed until I can feel the crop bulge a bit and then give them a drop or two of the poly visol. Repeat this at least 2 to 3 times a day. Check the crop to see when it is empty and watch for them to start eating and drinking on their own.
Some other useful things to keep on hand for the future are regular syringes with small gauge needles, Tylan 50 (feed store), antibiotic ointment with NO pain killer (poison to birds), preparation H (also with no pain killer, this is to treat prolapse), poultry drench, apple cider vinegar, Cocci meds, and standard first aid supplies like swabs, cotten balls and gauze.
I hope your remaining chicks make it through, and that this bad experience doesn't put you off the idea of keeping chickens. It is always sad when you lose some, but the joy that comes from the ones that stick around is well worth the pain.
Edited to add: Not sure why the site is substituting the word 'hen' wherever I used the singular version of the word chicks but it won't let me fix it so...whatever. Apparently we can say chicks but we can't say chick (watch, it is going to censor the word I really used here...weird).
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #29
Okay, are the remaining chicks eating and drinking normally? Check their crops to see if they feel fairly full. How about the poo, what does it look like and are they actually pooing? If you observe them for several minutes you should see them poo at some point.
They seem to be. Of course, this being my first batch of chicks I'm not entirely sure what "normal" should look like. They eat and drink throughout the day, and as soon as I come to change/refill their waterer or add some feed, they attack both like nobody's business. Which is funny, because I never let either run out or even close. But you'd think I was starving them!
Poops look "normal" to me now. Last week I had several with diarrhea, but that seems to have stopped now. The only poo oddity shows up only shortly before they keel over. I noticed two puddles of solid brown poo underneath one of the ones that died yesterday afternoon. It's not liquidy with some chunks of solid stuff (sorry to be so graphic), it's just solid medium-dark brown, almost like very wet mud.
Now, about those crops... how exactly do I check their crop? I understand basic anatomy but these little chicks are pretty fragile and I don't want to go poking around on them too much!
As far as the liquid vitamins, I've been added electrolyte/vitamin mix to their water since day one.
They seem to be. Of course, this being my first batch of chicks I'm not entirely sure what "normal" should look like. They eat and drink throughout the day, and as soon as I come to change/refill their waterer or add some feed, they attack both like nobody's business. Which is funny, because I never let either run out or even close. But you'd think I was starving them!
Poops look "normal" to me now. Last week I had several with diarrhea, but that seems to have stopped now. The only poo oddity shows up only shortly before they keel over. I noticed two puddles of solid brown poo underneath one of the ones that died yesterday afternoon. It's not liquidy with some chunks of solid stuff (sorry to be so graphic), it's just solid medium-dark brown, almost like very wet mud.
Now, about those crops... how exactly do I check their crop? I understand basic anatomy but these little chicks are pretty fragile and I don't want to go poking around on them too much!
As far as the liquid vitamins, I've been added electrolyte/vitamin mix to their water since day one.
- Thread starter
- #30
I just went in to check on them and my remaining Buff Orp is stretching its neck with each breath, almost as if it's gasping. But it's still walking around and doesn't seem to be in a panic... ??
I hope your remaining chicks make it through, and that this bad experience doesn't put you off the idea of keeping chickens. It is always sad when you lose some, but the joy that comes from the ones that stick around is well worth the pain.
Don't worry... I'm committed to this! We're starting a small family farm and chickens are definitely going to play a big role here. I've just got to hit the learning curve faster, apparently!
Don't worry... I'm committed to this! We're starting a small family farm and chickens are definitely going to play a big role here. I've just got to hit the learning curve faster, apparently!
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