Lost a baby

[jdennysgirl]

I had 3 RIR chicks. They were 2 weeks old yeserday. The temp here has been in the high 80's so I have been putting them out in the run for about a half hour the last 3 days. They were all doing fine. Then yesterday I brought them back inside and put them in their brooder, (the temp in there is set at around 85-90) and all 3 seemed fine. I got up about 4 this morning and checked on them and the smaller of the bunch wouldn't get up, it just layed there. I picked up to look at it and there were no marks of any kind on it where it may have been pecked at and the eyes looked good. I did look at the vent and there seemed to be what looked like a bit of white colored matter there. The chick just chirpped a few times and I put it back down. The others seemed to want to cuddle around it. They did not harrass it at all. I left for work and later called my hubby and he said the baby had died. Any ideas as to what has happened? The others seem just fine, but so did the little one before it died. I am afraid of losing them now too. The temp is around 85-90 in the brooder. Plenty of fresh water all the time. They are fed medicated chick starter feed all the time. I have given them dry squished up Quaker oats for a treat once a day. Raw not cooked. Also, they did eat some beetles in the yard a time or two. Any ideas as to why the runt died please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Yanna]

Goodness, I'm so sorry you lost one of your chicken babies.

I don't have any words of wisdom about this since I'm new to chickens but hopefully someone will be able to give you some useful information.

Best wishes for the other chicks.

 

[thechickenchick]

Oh I am so sorry this happened to you. I am sending hugs your way. I had this happen to a silkie baby. Someone reminded me that sometimes it can be an internal defect. In which case you can do everything right(sounds like you did) and still lose it.

 

[gumpsgirl]

I'm so sorry.

I know how you feel and can truly say that it isn't fun to loose a baby. I don't generally feed any of my chicks anything but chick starter for at least the first 5 wks. You can't help that they eat the beetles or grass, but I would hold off on the oats until they are a bit older. You also need to make sure that they have access to chick starter grit or some small pebbles if they are getting anything other than chick starter to help digestion.

Again, sorry for your loss. :aww

 

[TexasJoe]

Many things can happen to baby chix, so there is no certainty, but from your description i would guess:

It is likely "Pasty butt". basically, the chicks vent got clogged with poop that hardened and plugged it up. It is best to check all your chicks for pasty butt every couple of days for the first 2-3 weeks. If you notice any, put the chicks butt in WARM (95 F degrees) water and rub the area until the obstruction dissolves. Make sure to do this for atleast a minute. I've heard of people using toothpicks to further "unclog", but I've never attempted and I hope I never have to. After clearing it's vent of "pasty butt", make sure to COMPLETELY dry the chick, which means about 30 minutes of holding 'em in a towel

. Then, I will usually seperate the patient from the flock, and put on FRESH paper towels, that way I can tell if the chick is pooping correctly. If I don't see fresh manure within a few hours, I know I've probably still got something wrong.

oh, did I mention to WASH YOUR HANDS before/AFTER ?

Also, the oats is probably a bad idea, especially if any one of them gets too much. It is best not to feed anything but the chick starter feed for the first few weeks. If oats has a tendency to thicken stool, then it would be a contributor to pasty butt.

 

[jdennysgirl]

Thanks everyone. I don't think it was pasty butt, it was of a soft consistency not hard. It was very little and wiped right off. I will stop feeding them the oats then, till they are older. I went to check on the other 2 this morning afraid as to what I may find, but they seem fine. Wish me luck.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Sounds like it could have been a developmental issue if it was the runt. Also sounds like you did everything right.