losing a lot of chicks!

[McChooky]

Using a child's thermometer take their body temperature rectally being very careful .Their core body temp should be 104°-105.8° F

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The chicks are now 10 and 11 days old. they are eating and drinking normally, until they become lethargic... we had them on 2Tbsp/pint of water (1/4C per Gal) for days 5-9, then switched to plain water and Corid for the last 2 days

we also have a brooder plate we can switch to (and would prefer), but it takes up 2/3 of their current brooder and doesn't leave much room for their food and water. That would cause a decrease in ambient air temp (but not by much, its still about 80f here in the day and 50 at night. its a large brooder plate, so it can easily accommodate the chicks we have left. we only used the heat lamp at the hatcheries insistence.

I'm sorry about your chicks.

Can you post photos of your brooder?
Is your feed fresh, no mold in the feed?

I'd quickly make a bigger brooder and switch out to the plate and see if that makes any difference.
You don't mention where you are brooding, if it's a secured location, large cardboard boxes can be taped together to form a corral to keep chicks in. Spread a tarp or plastic on the floor and line with puppy pads or shavings.
This would give you room to use the brooder plate. 50F at night is not that cold if the chicks have a heat source, they'll be sleeping anyway.

Any changes that you can think of from your last batches of chicks to this one? Different feed, bedding, housing/container, heat, anything at all?

You're using a lamp, but prefer the plate, so I assume you normally use the plate? The bulb # seems to be o.k. to use for brooders, but I have to wonder if the chicks are overheating or fumes from plastic bins (are you using totes?) may be part of the problem. Even if a lamp is in one spot, the plastic bins absorb heat and chicks will often overheat .

 

[mnjlovell]

Its recommend the floor temperature in their brooder be kept 95 degrees F the first week. Most hatcheries will refuse to replace any that die if their recommendations aren't followed.

brooder temps where 95 under the lamp the first week. there was also a brooder plate, which is closer to 125 under it. the hatchery was complaining that my brooder was "outside" and that it was "on the ground".

The brooder is fully enclosed with mesh on half the roof. we have panels over the mesh that we remove during the day (when its hot) and close at night. We only opened them because it was 85F outside and the brooder gets too hot with the heat lamp on if it remains closed during the day. the ambient temp in the brooder was around 85 all day and dropped to about 75 at night. (We also have a heater installed to maintain ambient temps)

The brooder IS on the ground, but there was 4-6" of straw litter and we have not had rain in weeks. The ground was not moist and we were lot losing significant heat through the floor.

We lost the Turkey in the video, I just posted it to show where they went inside of 30 minutes from running around, eating and drinking normally. Its been 24 hours now (the longest we have gone without a death). we do have one of the smaller chicks that is looking pretty weak now though

We are now watering with rooster booster, garlic and honey. I'm still adding the Corid dose, but i think the rooster booster is probably negating its effect. Their watery poops just make the really worry about not providing them with electrolytes. I checked and none of the local vets can do a coccidiosis test in house. knowing would make it a lot easier to treat

 

[McChooky]

Taking their temperature will confirm its temperature related or not.

 

[McChooky]

Remove the bedding and lay plastic down then cardboard over the plastic before laying a bed of straw down to prevent heat loss .Cold feet can cause sudden death.

 

[mnjlovell]

I'm sorry about your chicks.

Can you post photos of your brooder?
Is your feed fresh, no mold in the feed?

I'd quickly make a bigger brooder and switch out to the plate and see if that makes any difference.
You don't mention where you are brooding, if it's a secured location, large cardboard boxes can be taped together to form a corral to keep chicks in. Spread a tarp or plastic on the floor and line with puppy pads or shavings.
This would give you room to use the brooder plate. 50F at night is not that cold if the chicks have a heat source, they'll be sleeping anyway.

Any changes that you can think of from your last batches of chicks to this one? Different feed, bedding, housing/container, heat, anything at all?

You're using a lamp, but prefer the plate, so I assume you normally use the plate? The bulb # seems to be o.k. to use for brooders, but I have to wonder if the chicks are overheating or fumes from plastic bins (are you using totes?) may be part of the problem. Even if a lamp is in one spot, the plastic bins absorb heat and chicks will often overheat .

The feed is the same we have used (a different bag, but same source). It doesn't appear moldy or smell 'off'. I might just pick up a different bag of (medicated?) feed today to rule that out. We used the brooder plate the last 2 batches, but dug the heat lamp out at the hatcheries insistence (we have used it prior to getting the plate). The bedding is just wheat straw. It appears clean and mold free. We have been laying down paper towels over the bedding for the last 24 hours and changing them out as needed. The 'big' brooder itself was used for one batch of chicks from 2 weeks on (they spent the first 2 weeks in the small brooder we are currently using).

The 'big' brooder is basically a plywood box, 4'x8'x 2 ' tall. it has a solid lid over half of it and a wire covered half. we have sheets (plywood) we can place over the wire area to completely close the roof (or slightly open it, etc...). It stays closed at night, and is only opened if it starts to get too hot in the brooder. The roof is hinged at the back with a 1" gap for ventilation. We have a small forced air heater that we can use to maintain temps (it blows through a diffuser at the top front of the brooder, so doesn't create a draft at the chicks level). The heat lamp was basically in the center of the brooder, with the brooder plate in the back corner of the covered half (hot side). food and water were available at both ends. temps at the 'cold' end were 65f the first night, then held at 75+_ the next few nights before we brought the survivors inside the RV into a large plastic bin we have used as a brooder before. daytime temps where in the low-mid 80's all week.

None of these temps 'fluctuate' throughout the day. They slowly rise and fall over the 24 hours. We know because we have been checking every 2 hours for the last week. Its been exhausting.

We have raised at least a dozen batches of chicks with WAY less stable temperature control than this without issue. Does any of the above seem unacceptable? We are at 85+% mortality and still losing chicks.

I think we are going to have to pay for a vet visit tomorrow, hopefully with a surviving chick or two. We have 14 older laying hens and another flock of young birds we are hoping to let breed next spring. We need to know what we are battling here and I don't think it has anything to do with the brooder(s). This has to be some sort of illness. It probably wont help these chicks, but I don't what whatever it is spreading to the rest of our animals.

Thank you for all your comments. Just connecting to others has helped my mental state through all this.

 

[mnjlovell]

Remove the bedding and lay plastic down then cardboard over the plastic before laying a bed of straw down to prevent heat loss .Cold feet can cause sudden death.

They have been inside the RV, in a plastic tote with straw bedding for several days now. It feels like WE are living in a brooder now (we basically are).

 

[McChooky]

Taking their temperature rectally will give you their core body temperature and could save you a vet visit. Being too hot and/or cold causes metabolic imbalances & sudden death.

They have been inside the RV, in a plastic tote with straw bedding for several days now. It feels like WE are living in a brooder now (we basically are).

 

[McChooky]

They have been inside the RV, in a plastic tote with straw bedding for several days now. It feels like WE are living in a brooder now (we basically are).

I don't recall reading they'd been moved indoors or wouldn't have suggested plastic and cardboard to insulate the floor.

 

[NanaK]

I think we are going to have to pay for a vet visit tomorrow, hopefully with a surviving chick or two.

I am so sorry for your troubles. It can be very frustrating trying to figure out what's going on sometimes.

It would be good if you can take a chick or two to a vet. The vet may be able to do a fecal to identify if and what type coccidia you may be dealing with.

There are about 9 types of coccidia found in poultry. Some may not respond to Corid. These types may need a sulfa drug such as Sulfadimethoxine. Discuss this with your vet. Here is a link with some information from Penn State on this subject.

https://extension.psu.edu/avian-coc...e species of,diseases in the poultry industry.

I hope you can get this resolved. Wishing you the best.