Lost 2 chicks, 3rd dying...please help!

[s n l]

I have 3 week old frizzles. They are 4 werks on the 24th. Inside the house. They were under a brinsea brooder, more chicks hatched so I moved the older ones into a LG box, fresh watter, heat lamp grit and starter food. 2 have died while I was gone 2 days and had a friend watching them. I got back tonight, one is very lethargic, by himself away from the other 12 chicks. I checked him, his crop is like a ping pong ball but very soft....like a balloon. What would cause this? Anything I can do? He's dying, the others dont look like their usual energetic selves either..

 

[s n l]

Thank you in advance to anyone with info or suggestions. ....

 

[yinzerchick]

The only thing I can think of, it sounds like sour or impacted crop, maybe? Is it hard or mushy? I didn't know little chicks on starter needed grit, but I guess they do? I always use dirt and sand for litter so I haven't ever used any.
I'm struggling with a mysterious illness myself, which brought me to the board this morning.
You can try messaging the crop, yogurt, and any other sour/impacted crop treatments you can find. If the crop is hard, it's probably impacted, if it's mushy, sour.
Good luck!

 

[enola]

How big is the box they are in? Can they get away from the heat lamp?

 

[s n l]

The little chick died....AND a second one!.the original ones crop was lg....ping pong ball size, and very mushy. It was like it had air or fluid in it. The box is 3x4, the can get away from the heat lamp, the temp at the bottom of the box directly under lamp is 104...they can go to an 80 degree area also.so that's the range depending on what they want. Clean water, non medicated started and grit....what's wrong???????

 

[enola]

The brooder is WAY to hot. Four week old chicks should be feathered out. 80 degrees is probably to hot for 4 weeks old and that is their cool area. Turn the heat lamp off.

 

[s n l]

Okay, thx, will do asap. Actually I told my friend to do that yesterday before I got home, but then I came home to one dying sooo... what if I put them outside in the new coop? But it naturally gets hotter than 80 even 90 degrees here right now....I'm in the houston tx area, about an hour north it's 70s at night high 80's to 90s during the day right now??

 

[s n l]

If I leave them inside we turn the ac to 73 at night, HE turns it back up to 78 during the day......so the enlarged soft crop is a by product of heat stroke maybe????

 

[enola]

78 is plenty warm enough.

They are probably dehydrated. Have you turned the lamp off?

 

[s n l]

with the lamp off....