Lost a Baby Chick

[rosemarythyme]

You make a good point and you're probably right! My problem is I have an extremely sensitive sniffer and I simply cannot tolerate the smell.

This is why I brood outdoors.

Thanks for clarifying. I usually offer it every other day for about four days.

I don't think there's a specific wrong/right way to do it. Just makes sense to me to ensure newly arrived chicks get the support they might need. But it is easy to overdo it so I've reined myself in as far as how much and how long to supplement for. As long as the remaining chicks are active and bright eyed, just an initial boost to help them out should be enough.

With electrolytes with adults (for like heat stress) then yes I'd offer both clean plain water as well as the electrolytes, so they have the option.

 

[yakitori]

Sorry for your loss, I always make sure weak chicks get syringe fed a bit of yolk + sugar water every few hours and kept very warm. They will usually perk up in a day or two

 

[ColoradoChicken89]

I'm the opposite, I don't sanitize a thing. My flock doesn't have any illnesses as far as I know so I want chicks exposed to the pathogens and germs in their environment to help kick their immune systems into gear.

As far as the electrolyte or nutrient water, with chicks I'd personally offer that as the sole water source to ensure they ingest it, but I would discontinue both after a day or two at most, unless need calls for it. Electrolytes and excess vitamins are not meant for long term usage but in the short term, I want to make sure they're getting it in their system.

From the description of the chick I think it arrived weak and just never recovered.

I am just used to it. One of my cats is allergic to various molds and some soaps, so I'm just used to trading out water and food bowls and dipping them in bleach water and throwing them through my dishwasher without soap. The dog drinks every puddle and eats so much deer poop and grass, it probably doesn't matter for her... but I'm in the habit now.

And ok, I'll keep it in mind the electrolyte water. We are starting day 3 first thing in the morning, so I might trade it out for some fresh water. It has directions on the package, but I'm not near them now to verify, but it said something about only for a few days then to switch them to regular water. Something about weaning them though I think (where it's like half diluted then 1/4 diluted), but I'll double check in the morning.

Tbh this is what I was thinking too, or something weird like genetically with it? IDK much about chicks specifically, so wasn't sure if some aren't just born defective, or if there was something I could have done more to maybe help it. When they first got here, it was pretty cold here yesterday, so I didn't want to take them out from under the brooder, but wasn't sure if maybe I should have encouraged more water drinking.

 

[ColoradoChicken89]

Sorry for your loss, I always make sure weak chicks get syringe fed a bit of yolk + sugar water every few hours and kept very warm. They will usually perk up in a day or two

I will definetely keep this in mind for next time! I was worried there was something more I could do, I just wasn't sure, and was so busy monitoring them I forgot to send my question here.

Hoping not to ship next time though... I was supposed to get a rooster (and hoping the rooster isn't the one that passed) so that I can hopefully next time just hatch from my own eggs.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Tbh this is what I was thinking too, or something weird like genetically with it? IDK much about chicks specifically, so wasn't sure if some aren't just born defective, or if there was something I could have done more to maybe help it. When they first got here, it was pretty cold here yesterday, so I didn't want to take them out from under the brooder, but wasn't sure if maybe I should have encouraged more water drinking.

Possibly a genetic component too, though impossible to say - some chicks are born with what's referred to as failure to thrive, which is a catch all name for any physical condition that causes them to fail to grow or pass away with no known cause. Or it may have been weaker or smaller since hatch and thus had a harder time with the shipping process.

If it was cold during the trip, then that is enough of a stressor that some chicks simply don't make it.

 

[ColoradoChicken89]

Possibly a genetic component too, though impossible to say - some chicks are born with what's referred to as failure to thrive, which is a catch all name for any physical condition that causes them to fail to grow or pass away with no known cause. Or it may have been weaker or smaller since hatch and thus had a harder time with the shipping process.

If it was cold during the trip, then that is enough of a stressor that some chicks simply don't make it.

Yeah that does make sense! It was one of the smaller ones of the batch. Guess we will never really fully know.

Lucikly today the rest are doing amazing. They are so cute and so much personality already. So I'm a lot less anxious that it was something that could spread.

 

[SourRoses]

I dunno! I just put a few drops in the quart jar, a drop of Dawn dish soap, scrub it within an inch of its life with a bottle brush, especially the threads, use a paper towel to wash the outside, then rinse it about ... oh, I don't know, about 700 times, lol, then set it on a towel to air-dry. I use the same soapy water to scrub the plastic base. I may use the same soapy water to wash the next jar too if I have more than one.

I'm the same! But my reason is cocci. I used to have such a problem with it despite my regular cleaning protocol (germaphobe)... that I kicked it up a notch. It didn't help that the #1 response to my posts about sick chicks were that the waters must be filthy. Oy.
You know how I finally fixed it? Bottled water. I haven't lost any to cocci since.

But anyway, I was kicked out of the house with my chicken dishes. So I have a big tub, meant to be a muck bucket but never used for that. I like how tough it is for the purpose and it was cheap.
I put water in first, and then a quantity of bleach that makes me feel like I need a respirator. If the water isn't agitated the bleach lasts in the water a lot longer, I can get all the feeders and waterers we have done in multiple loads.
The hose on jet pummels most of the dirt off first, then into the bleachy water. Stir the cauldron with a long handled scrubby brush that I don't bother scrubbing with anymore (potent bleach does the work).
Then I take items out individually and set them on an old shower chair (holes in the bottom) which I found convenient for rinsing stuff off. I think our neighbors may think I'm a little cuckoo on chicken dishes days.
We live in FL so the intense humidity makes mold up in the top of the feeders when the feed dust clings on for a while, that's why I bleach at least monthly, more often if I see residue.
Mold is one thing I really don't like around chickens. Some can be so toxic, and even the most common mold can cause brooder pneumonia.

But aside from mold and cocci, I agree with exposing chicks to stuff, yet they do that themselves in the dirt.
I start all mine off with Probios in the water, and in times of stress like after shipping, a pinch of sugar.
I don't find electrolytes to do anything, really, those packets are just salt, and chickens don't sweat, and the feed has salt already at a level that's been studied nutritionally. Maybe sometimes a little could be helpful, but I think most new chicken owners are led astray by packages with names like "Save a Chick".

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hmm. I did not think they could get coccidiosis unless they were exposed to dirt? We raise ours in the house for 3 weeks, then they go outside. We do bring in chunks of sod for them to play with at about Week 2 to give them a little exposure to it.

Mercy, I could not use that much bleach! Read the label, it will tell you how much is effective. Seriously, in high amounts it is toxic and can damage your lungs.