losing chicks in the brooder

[rocknrod428]

I am learning as much as I can in a short time and need to know why I seem to be losing chicks in my brooder. I seem to be losing a chick a day and they are the cornish cross. temp seems to be correct and i added a fan to circulate air for the humidity factor, and am giving medicated water. any help would be great.

 

[BCMominMD]

It would be helpful if you describe your brooder set up or post a picture.

 

[rocknrod428]

The brooder I have is an older version that I was given by a friend. It is an oakes, it looks like the roof of a house it used to have a cloth tarp setup that was dry rotted so I did away with it. The thermostat part was bad so being an electrician I installed a thermostat on it. I put a thermomoter and it holds the temp right where I want. I have been reading this forum and have been watching how they act and they seem to like the 80 degree range. Fresh water daily and plenty of starter feed. The size if the brooder is approximate 4 by 6. For the side walls I made a 2 by 4 framework and covered it with inch and a half pink board. Pink board is covered with wood about 10 inches all the way around to keep the chicks from pecking at it. Will have pics soon but dont have one until tonight.
Thanks for all and any help also chicks are only seven to 8 days old today and wonder if the cornish cross has a high mortality rate at the start.

 

[flopshot]

what's your heat source ? fan? this is a brooder right ? don't see a need for a fan in a brooder.

 

[tryingtohaveitall]

What are you using for bedding?

 

[rocknrod428]

this brooder has a heater element in the top approximately 14 inches around. I looked up possible causes of death, low temp, high temp, humidity, and genetics. It had a small fan that was made with it from the factory so I installed a small fan to help ventilate for high humidity. I have carpet on the bottom and have hay covering the carpet so when I am done I can roll it up to throw away easily. This might be a bad idea but thought it was a simple way for cleanup.

 

[rocknrod428]

Fan from the factory was broken so I put a replacement. This possibly could be a brooder for rabbits or who knows what else. Possibly may not be a brooder at all but it provides an enclosure for my chicks with a heat source.