Necks breaking!!

[Misterpigeon124]

Could it be a teflon bulb in your heat lamp? Those give off toxic fumes. Check your bulb asap.

How can I tell?

 

[Misterpigeon124]

Crested breeds have vaulted skulls; there are gaps in the bones that leave the brain highly susceptible to injury. If another bird lands a peck in just the right place, the injured bird will display the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (staggering or inability to walk or stand, head held to one side or over the back, etc).




Heat lamps intended for use in the food industry may have a teflon coating on the bulb. As @townchicks said, this coating gives off toxic fumes that can kill your birds.

I'm using a 100watt reptile bulb

 

[Misterpigeon124]

Could it of been Coccidiosis? I checked the bedding and there was some diarrhea. No blood. I've been giving them medicated feed and the occasional nutri-drench

 

[townchicks]

I'm using a 100watt reptile bulb

Probably not teflon then, but if you still have the packaging, double check. To be safe, you could switch to a heating pad, you would need one that doesn't have a thermostatic shut off.

 

[Misterpigeon124]

Also with the last 2 that died I noticed they were opening their beaks while dying as if they were gasping. My grandma had put the body in the fridge to preserve it and thats how I noticed she was still alive when I looked at her. If that would help pinpoint the issue

 

[Geena]

Another one of my chicks died today. I was giving them vitamins for wry neck, the temperature was at 85 and their food and water was full. Same cause of death, broken neck. I am thinking of sending the body to be analysed. I noticed she was a bit lethargic this morning but she was fine besides that.

It's extremely unlikely that your chicks are dying from having their necks broken. A dead or dying bird's neck will be limp and hanging due to the muscles no longer being used to keep the head upright, no matter what the cause of death.

 

[Chickassan]

Wild theory but stick with me. What if your plastic tote is getting too warm and giving off fumes? Those little bins are often made of substandard crap and heat makes them offgas some nasty stuff.

 

[Misterpigeon124]

It's extremely unlikely that your chicks are dying from having their necks broken. A dead or dying bird's neck will be limp and hanging due to the muscles no longer being used to keep the head upright, no matter what the cause of death.

Look what I said in the post right after that

Wild theory but stick with me. What if your plastic tote is getting too warm and giving off fumes? Those little bins are often made of substandard crap and heat makes them offgas some nasty stuff.

I was actually considering that too. These deaths are very odd and anything that could of been causing them I'm trying to fix. I'm currently building a larger wooden brooder for them

 

[Geena]

Also with the last 2 that died I noticed they were opening their beaks while dying as if they were gasping. My grandma had put the body in the fridge to preserve it and thats how I noticed she was still alive when I looked at her. If that would help pinpoint the issue

That's probably agonal respiration, again something that typically happens when something is dying and not the actual cause of death.

If the breeder's chicks are still healthy and doing well then it must be something going on in their new environment. Try a different brooder, that plastic tote might be gassing off when heated. Check the feed, it could be moldy.

 

[Misterpigeon124]

That's probably agonal respiration, again something that typically happens when something is dying and not the actual cause of death.

If the breeder's chicks are still healthy and doing well then it must be something going on in their new environment. Try a different brooder, that plastic tote might be gassing off when heated. Check the feed, it could be moldy.

The breeder keeps the chicks in the house so I can't tell you about their health. No mold in the feed, and I dry the bowl every time they spill water into it