My baby bobs keep dying. What might be the cause?

[QChickieMama]

They're 1.5 weeks old. In a very large box for a brooder. In the garage. I have 2 lights in there, so the temp is about 86 under one light and 95 under the other. THey have clean water and chick starter. I had 47, but every other day I find one more dead one in there.

I put some hay in there so they'd quit nibbling toes. Hope that's not a problem.

The sides of the brooder are 3' tall on one side and 4' tall on 3 sides--not much chance for a draft.

What am I missing here? Or do they just do this?

 

[TheRealTimShady]

what position is the dead bird, streched out like it was lying down.

might be that the birds are gathering under the lesser heat, and bunching up, smothering the ones in the center.

would you be able to post photo's of your setup and birds.

 

[cva34]

If ther 1 1/2 week old 95 deg is higher than mine would be .But dieing sould not be a problem they should move over to the cooler area on there own. Double check your temp.esp at warmer part of day..cva34

 

[QChickieMama]

what position is the dead bird, streched out like it was lying down.

might be that the birds are gathering under the lesser heat, and bunching up, smothering the ones in the center.

would you be able to post photo's of your setup and birds.

Yes, stretched out on its side. I think one of them had bloodied toes from pecking.

When I check on them, sometimes they're bunched up but sometimes they're sitting individually.

I'll try to take photos. Gotta figure this out!

 

[TwoCrows]

Bob babies can be brutal on each other and you say you had 47 of them, you need at least 25 square feet for all these babies. Baby Bobs need a 1/2 square foot per baby. Less than this and they will kill each other.

1 1/2 week old Bobs need to be around 90 degrees give or take a few degrees. If space is not the problem, lower the temp by 5 degrees to chill them out so they are less aggressive. Use a infra-red (this is prefered so they can sleep at night) or just a red bulb ONLY. White light stimulates them too much and will cause fighting.

Make sure to have plenty of areas to eat and drink so there is no competition.

 

[_Randall_]

If theres a bloody "anything" on any part of the body, it's a flashing neon light so-to-speak for the rest of the crowd to move in like piranhas on a piece of bloody meat. Toes and nostrils are popular targets. Seems like I have one group that's nostril peckers, and the next batch will be toe pickers. About the best remedy for any of this is to have the brooder where no natural or artificial "white" light is present, and use red lights as the only source of lighting to camouflage the leak. Keep in mind, this only buys you time for a minimum loss of stock, as eventually they'll be put somewhere where there's natural lighting, and losing a bob every now and then just comes with the territory. I had a case in one of my grow-out pens where I was finding one every other day with a bloody toe, and the rest of the crowd was all but amputating the leg. Long story short, a strand of the 1/2" hardware cloth wire used for the flooring had broken loose and was pricking toes when they stepped on it. I was lucky to notice and fix quickly, but that's just an example of how the least little thing that can cause an injury will most likely put that bird on death row pronto.

 

[QChickieMama]

 

[QChickieMama]

 

[QChickieMama]

 

[QChickieMama]

Top down view of brooder floor. Warm areas & cold areas.