Mysterious dead chick

[mishort]

got up the morning to check on our 3 almost 4 week old chicks, one had passed. I see no obvious reason for it, vent was clean, we had vaxxed against coicoidosis, no diarrhea, no respiratory problems noted, just died it seems. She was sprawled out underneath the heat lamp. Temp is at about 85-90 degrees-we had it warmer earlier this week, but the chicks seemed to be asking for it cooler, so we set back the light about 3 days ago, since then everyone has been moving about the brooder happily. Water and food are good. Any ideas? I wanted to make sure I didn't missed anything and that our other chicks are not at risk.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

3 almost 4 week old chicks
...She was sprawled out underneath the heat lamp. Temp is at about 85-90 degrees-we had it warmer earlier this week, but the chicks seemed to be asking for it cooler,

Hi @mishort Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry for your loss.
How many chicks do you have in your brooder? How much space in the brooder?

It sounds like she may have overheated. If your chicks are fairly well feathered out (photos will help), they may not need much supplemental heat at all.

Watch the chicks, if they are completely avoiding the heat, panting, etc., then it's too warm. Keep only one spot in the brooder warm, let the rest go cool. Keep the water and feed on the cool end.

If you're weather is warm and you have their coop space ready, you may want to consider putting them outside to see how they do.

 

[theoldchick]

She could have had a congenital heart defect. Sorry for your loss

 

[EggSighted4Life]

got up the morning to check on our 3 almost 4 week old chicks, one had passed. I see no obvious reason for it, vent was clean, we had vaxxed against coicoidosis, no diarrhea, no respiratory problems noted, just died it seems. She was sprawled out underneath the heat lamp. Temp is at about 85-90 degrees-we had it warmer earlier this week, but the chicks seemed to be asking for it cooler, so we set back the light about 3 days ago, since then everyone has been moving about the brooder happily. Water and food are good. Any ideas? I wanted to make sure I didn't missed anything and that our other chicks are not at risk.

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry for your loss.

Interesting, I didn't know there WAS a cocci vaccine. It is my understanding though that if you feed medicated starter it voids the vaccine. Hope you will skip it in the future.. as it truly isn't needed if you keep your brooder dry. It is probably best utilized in situation where people are raising large # of birds in minimal space. Please note that in MOST cases a vaccine indeed does NOT mean a bird won't catch whatever they were vaccinated for. It generally means they will have less SYMPTOMS. But I would expect symptoms of cocci (sleeping standing up) to show before sudden death. Only 1 strain of cocci presents as blood in the feces. An the one time I DID have to treat for cocci, only the occasional bloody stool showed up. Even the bird I saw do a bloody one had COMPLETELY normal stools in between. But I'm an OCD, attention to detail type person. Even then, I have missed things.

What are you feeding, including treats and supplements, in addition to the other questions asked? Have you taken them chicks out yet? If not, they are likely ready. But you can bring in a dish of dirt to get them some exposure to your ground bacteria. They will play in it and have a good old time. Other wise a couple days in a row of short (couple hour) stents to the outdoors before going out full time

At 3-4 weeks old, your brooder should be closer to 80 degrees and completely cool/room temp out from under the lamp. Keep raising it, or try turning it off during the day. The industry tricks us into believing they NEED to be warm all the time. They are using the 250 watt lamps for like 100's of chicks in outdoor barns. Not a few chicks in the living room. So way too much heat on average. We RARELY hit 65 degrees, and my chicks are out on pasture sometimes as young as 3 days if it isn't windy and raining, even when temps are around 50. The temp in the sun is much higher than the ambient temp, especially because being low to the ground keeps it warmer. Provide a box or something to huddle in, and spot of sun and shade, and get them babes outdoors!

Also, in the same manner that hatcheries require a minimum # for shipping for heat, there may be enough of them to huddle they don't need even night time heat anymore. It's easy to experiment by watching their behavior. If they've never been in the dark they will protest a bit when it comes. But if they aren't all huddled and standing under the light (even though it's off) loud stressed peeping, they SHOULD be fine. Ditching the lamp (if they are warm enough) so they sleep through the night is going to give you happier healthier chicks... and less brooder cleaning!

Sometimes, things just happen. Sometimes the signs are easily missed, especially if the brood is large. Just be sure that you see everyone up running around, eating and drinking/playing. If ANYONE seems slow, find a way to identify them and keep a watch.

Hard to say for sure if your other chicks are at risk or not without knowing the source of the issue. But I wouldn't be paranoid, just alert.

Check your shavings... they may be wetter underneath than they look on top.

Good luck.

Pics of your other babies always welcome!