Original thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=484514&p=1
We received our chicks on Monday from McMurray. In our shipment we got 26 cornish roasters (along with some layers and a freebie). We lost three in the first 48 hours. I assumed it was because of shipping stress. Since then we have now lost three more. The first of those three was found on Wednesday afternoon, the second on Thursday morning. I just came across the third this afternoon.
We had been suspecting that it was too hot, so we turned off one of the two heat lamps on Wednesday. The one Thursday looked like it had been trampled by the others in the night, so we turned the second heat lamp back on and raised them both. I have two thermometers set up (one under the lamp, one in the corner away from the lamp). The temp. is averaging 95 under the lamp and 70 in the corner.
It was suggested that they were dehydrated and that we should add another waterer. We did that. We have broiler booster in the water (two waterers) and are feeding them a locally mixed grower feed (aprox. 23% protein).
The layers are kept in a different brooder with a medicated starter feed (Nutrena) and "Quick Chick " in the water. They are all doing just fine.
All of the remaining roasters were fine last night and this morning. My wife checked on them around 11:30 and they were still all fine. She had to leave for the afternoon. When I got home at 4:30 one was dead with blood coming from it's beak! When I took it out of the brooder and removed all of the bloody bedding (and bedding surrounding the area) there was a putrid smell coming from the chick.
The chick did not look like it had been smashed by the other chicks. All of them were fairly well spread around the brooder. It had a full crop.
The impression I am getting is that I need to change my management practices, but I don't know what to change. That's why I'm here. What am I doing wrong?
Edit to add: We disinfected all of the waterers and feeders with amonia, rinsed them thoroughly, and let them dry before the chicks arrived.
We received our chicks on Monday from McMurray. In our shipment we got 26 cornish roasters (along with some layers and a freebie). We lost three in the first 48 hours. I assumed it was because of shipping stress. Since then we have now lost three more. The first of those three was found on Wednesday afternoon, the second on Thursday morning. I just came across the third this afternoon.
We had been suspecting that it was too hot, so we turned off one of the two heat lamps on Wednesday. The one Thursday looked like it had been trampled by the others in the night, so we turned the second heat lamp back on and raised them both. I have two thermometers set up (one under the lamp, one in the corner away from the lamp). The temp. is averaging 95 under the lamp and 70 in the corner.
It was suggested that they were dehydrated and that we should add another waterer. We did that. We have broiler booster in the water (two waterers) and are feeding them a locally mixed grower feed (aprox. 23% protein).
The layers are kept in a different brooder with a medicated starter feed (Nutrena) and "Quick Chick " in the water. They are all doing just fine.
All of the remaining roasters were fine last night and this morning. My wife checked on them around 11:30 and they were still all fine. She had to leave for the afternoon. When I got home at 4:30 one was dead with blood coming from it's beak! When I took it out of the brooder and removed all of the bloody bedding (and bedding surrounding the area) there was a putrid smell coming from the chick.
The chick did not look like it had been smashed by the other chicks. All of them were fairly well spread around the brooder. It had a full crop.
The impression I am getting is that I need to change my management practices, but I don't know what to change. That's why I'm here. What am I doing wrong?
Edit to add: We disinfected all of the waterers and feeders with amonia, rinsed them thoroughly, and let them dry before the chicks arrived.
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