mcmurry sick chicks please post here

[Yogiman]

I received 35 chicks from MM on Feb. 19, all alive.
11 Delawares
11 White Orps
11 White Rocks
2 Buff Orps
All were vaccinated prior to shipment.

Lost 3 chicks two days after arriving. Were very small.
Remainer are soon to be 4 weeks old and are doing great.

 

[Stormhorse23]

There is a difference in people whos all just die of the same symtoms and those who are perfectly healthy. THATS what we need to find out.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I asked a very knowledgeable friend of mine to read through and see what her input was... can someone please post the symptoms succinctly here?

Here's the list of things she asked:

When did the first symptom started, straight away .. or a couple of days after arriving?
What the droppings were like?
What they fed the chicks on arrival ?
Did they put any multi vitamin into the drinking water?
Did they put sugar into the water?
Did they put electrolytes into the water?
Was the brooder heated and ready for them when the chicks arrived or did they turn it on and the chicks had to wait for it to warm?

How crowded was the brooder?
What did they use for a base in the brooder?

Do they have chick crumble for them ?

What symptoms did they notice?

Many chicks die from a number reasons... cold is on the list.. very high on the list..

Had these people had chicks before? or were they new to chicks?

How high are the feeders?
How high are the waterers?

How hot was the brooder?

Where did they have the food and water placed in the brooder .. under the heat source or away from it ?

Where is the heat source places in the brooder?

What are they using for heat?

Can any drafts get into the brooder.. ?

How many times did they lift the lid to check on the chicks?
Do they have kids that liked to look at the chicks?

What breeds were affected?

There are SO many factors that can play into this...
I'm just trying to help get to the bottom of this. It breaks my heart that so many chicks are dying.

 

[amaliayosa]

Woke up tis morning and found a dead chick in the brooder (either an orrpington, or a New Hampshire red)
So far, lost-
1. New hampshire red DOA
2. Araucauna - this one acted drunk, running backward, in circles etc. (neighbor took it to try and nurse it. But I have'nt heard from her today.

And I have one chick which I think is the free rare breed, that is sick, although yesterday he looked like he was on his way out, laying on his side and back, I had to get it up hourly to make it drink and eat the 'soup' I made him. He was in a small box within the brooder. Well last night I went in to check on him expecting him to be dead and he had jumped out of the box, and has since been drinking like crazy and eating a bit soooo we will see. He is still not nearly as active as the others.

3. Woke up this morning like a said and found the dead chick, not sure what caused that.
Just wanted to add that I just brought them home 2 days ago, so this loss could very well be a result of cold weather during shipping.
Also I am feeding them organic chick starter from mcmurray
quick chick in their water
sugar in the water first two days
paper towels over pine shavings for bedding
and brooder temp between 90-102

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I haven't and am not ordering chicks right now but, I'm wondering, some of the posts are speckalating about the cold. It seems to me that it is MM chicks that everyone is having trouble with. If it were the cold wouldn't it affect other hatcheries too?

 

[damselfish]

I ordered 25 chicks from McMurray:
7 Barred Rock
7 Buff Orps
7 Speckled Sussex
4 Ameracauna

My order was early, shipped the week of Feb 18th. They hatched on the 17th (Sunday), we got them on the 20th (wed). President's Day was in there, so probably some mail delay, they only had to get from IA to Missouri, so shouldn't have normally taken that long.

26 chicks delivered. Six dead in box, two weak, with one showing the drunken symptoms, seeming unable to use one leg (a Buff). Lost those the first 24 hours. Lost one more after that on day two, just stopped eating and drinking, wouldn't stand up. Hand feeding and watering did not help.

The 17 remaining are happy and healthy. I believe it likely most of my particular problems were due to weather and the postal holiday.

The only unusual part about it is that I have only 1 Speckled Sussex left. All the others were part of the mortality, mostly in the delivery box.

All vaccinated for coccidiosis and Marek's, conditions of brooder up to par.

 

[DFCottage]

I'm in VA, and most of my chicks arrived healthy on 3/3 from MMH (hatched 2/29), and have been doing fine, aside from 1 that arrived without the ability to use its legs. She died despite our best efforts.
My chicks are now almost 2 weeks old, and irony on ironies, I read this thread yesterday, I come home and 3 of my 34 are starting to show the signs people are talking about here.. flopping around, almost total inability to use their legs. This morning a few of the chicks were piled on top of the 3 that aren't doing so well, so I separated them to hopefully have a fighting chance. They are still wanting to eat and drink, which is good, they just don't have the power to get over to the feeders/waterers all the time. The weather was decent here when they arrived, and the temps in Iowa/MN were cold, but not as horribly cold as it had been. Their brooder is inside my home, 250w heat lamp, plenty of room for them to run a bit. It's disconcerting and confusing...

 

[max13077]

I wonder if MMH reads this? It seems like they would want to...

 

[Chickee's Mom]

Hello from Canada.
We picked up chicks at Havre on Monday morning at 8 am, first of all they were outside on the steps!!!!
Everything was done properly once we had them, water with electrolights, warmed up, feed, etc etc.
They were just dying like flys, one lady lost about 75% out of 125 chicks, all bantams. I had ordered standard, JG, and three colors of Wyandottes. Lost three and one looking sick this morning. Everyone that went in on the order lost chicks.
I will get some of the other people to post and tell you there stories.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

We bought some Rio Grande turkey poults from MMH and only lost one when they arrived. Not sure why tho, everyone else was/and still are doing fine.

The funny thing is that this was the first time we had ever owned Rios and when they started molting into their jake colors they just dont look right. They were all mottled up w/ white and brown splotches and my husband kept saying "They gave us mutt turkeys!". I told him to call MMH and ask them if thats what they are supposed to look like or did they give us mutt turkeys. Their customer service was happy to talk to him and reassured him that once they molt again they would look like true Rios. Sure enough they molted again and turned out to be the most prettiest Rios I have ever seen.

This is the only time we've dealt w/ MMH as far as buying birds from them. We buy most of our supplies from them tho and have had no problems there.

Here's a pic of my boys Larry, Curly and Moe...