Lost 5 Baby Chicks in 4 Days...Please Help

[ChickenMom543]

On Monday of this week my family and I went to a local hatchery and bought 13 baby chicks from a random assortment they had from over hatch. Fast forward to today and I am down to 8. All five of my smaller chicks (3 of which were a Polish breed) have passed away. The bigger chicks are all doing fine and are thriving. I want to get more to replace the ones I lost but want to make sure this doesn't happen a second time. Any advice will be much appreciated.

 

[AshyNicole]

Try to make sure when you are selecting your chicks that you are not picking ones that seems like the runt, and that their eyes are open and they are alert.
Also make sure they stand good on there own, and toes are not bent.

I had one die of my 8 that I got the other day, he was also a smaller chick compared to the rest.
Goodluck

 

[azygous]

To lose that many chicks is cause for concern. Losing one or two, happens occasionally. But not five.

You need to do a checklist. Heat. Is the brooder too small for the number of chicks, making it impossible for them to get away from the heat source and cool down? The temperature under the heat source should be between 85 and 95F, but a good twenty degrees cooler in the rest of the brooder.

What is your water source? Is there fracking in your area? The ground water could be contaminated if you have gas and oil drilling operations going on. It's best to use bottled water for your baby chicks if you suspect problems with your tap water.

Several years back, someone posting here was losing so many baby chicks, they were convinced they were doing something wrong. It turned out to be contaminated tap water. They ended up moving.

Cocci can kill chicks. You need to monitor the chicks' poop. At the first sign of blood in the stools, you need to start treating.

There's a chance there's a problem with contamination at the hatchery. They need to know you've lost these chicks. If you can refrigerated the bodies and get necropsies done, either by the hatchery or an independent lab, then you will know what's killing them and maybe prevent more deaths. The hatchery may also replace those that died, so please contact them!