My Chicks R Dieing

[aidenspoppy]

I had 7 Black Austrolorps, then someone gave me 3 chicks they had gotten for easter, and then the wife brought home 4 bantam chicks. Now I only have 4 Austrolarps, and 3 bantams. No sign of sickness, all seem healthy but when I check them I find a dead one. What's up with that? Temp is fine, plenty of food and water. They are almost ready to go outside.

 

[bj taylor]

I think this is the risk we take when we introduce chicks/chickens from an outside source. I understand backyard chickens are significant for passing disease. we need to quarantine any new birds for 30 days far enough away that airborne risk is minimal & no close contact. that is A LOT easier said than done for me.

I think this forum has a lot of info & links addressing symptoms that can help you.

sure wish you the best of luck w/your chicks.
p.s. wish I could give you my big bad black australorp rooster. he's such a beast

 

[Angiebubs]

How old are they?
Do the chicks you have feel cold at all? (Feet/face?) Optimal temps are 95 first week and lower temps by 5 degrees per week).

Did you feed them medicated or regular feed?
What do their droppings look like? Any signs of blood in droppings?
Are the crops empty or full on the ones you are finding dead?

 

[aidenspoppy]

Angiebubs not sure what you mean by "crowns". They are kept inside under light and I watch temp. Not sure about medicated feed, but they are now 5 weeks old so I thought we were getting out of danger zone

 

[Angiebubs]

aiden I am so sorry-I agree-you would think if they make it past the first few weeks you would be out of danger!

I wonder if one of them was exposed to some sort of disease that they brought in and some are suseptible and others have a resistance?

crops are an muscular pouch on the base of their throat where the food is held-part of the digestive system. I usually check my chicks before i go to bed each night to see if there is a "bump" there to know if they have eaten or not. (When I raised exotic birds (parrots) and hand fed them, I would especially pay attention to this as they were finicky about the temp of their food temp, get impacted crops, or bacteria growth) With baby chicks, you can watch to see if this feels mushy...if its too hard you may want to watch to see if they are drinking enough, right temp. THe reason I was asking about the dead one was to see if it wasy empty/full and if it was hard (Bacteria can cause the crop to sour or harden).

 

[aidenspoppy]

When I got home today there was one laying face down and flapping its wings. It was chirping pretty loud and its neck seemed almost broken