New and my keets are dying!

[newb1rdmom]

I have had good success with wood chips as long as the keets have chick grit, which is something they need to get used to anyways. I put some clover in there tote for them to start munching on and a bug or two now and then. These are all things that my keets that are coop reared are exposed to and seem to be thriving on. Everybody does it a little different and the older they get the tougher they get.

I have been putting little cricket treats in with them as well as actual live crickets (to give them something to chase a little) and they did really well with that but they were still pecking at the chips as well. They also like to claw their food out and peck at it. I feel it may have been accidental eating of the wood chips but they still managed to gobble some up anyways which is what worries me since I’ve lost 3 keets already. Does the grit prevent them from eating the chips or is it just something more for them to peck on instead?

 

[newb1rdmom]

No need to apologize-I was where you are a yr. ago, & w/7 in the bathroom may soon be there again. What the temp is where the keets are. I also kept mine in a rm w/door close and vent covered. I still had to perfect the temp w/i the brooder. Put a thermometer on the floor under that light. If it's too high, raise the light. Too low, lower the light. It seems like most in here, including myself, switched to using a heating pad w/better success. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mama-heating-pad.1382550/#post-22709905
Personally I got frustrated w/the waterers, so we made one that worked perfectly. I got the cup waters they sell, poked holes in a juice bottle, inserted the cups and then sealed around entry w/E6000 adhesive (don't use super glue, it melts the plastic causing leaks).

I don’t have the exact temperature just yet. The thermometer I was going to use seems to be broken so I will need to get a new one. Hopefully today or tomorrow but the keets all seem to be doing decently well with the temperature they’re at.
The waterer idea sounds interesting and I may try that out to keep them from walking on the water at all. They don’t get their feathers wet so I haven’t been too worried but I don’t like it very much either.

 

[Sydney65]

looking at your pics, your keets are huddling, that's to keep warm. I think you need to placed those thermometers and then lower the lamp. I used an infrared thermometer I have for soap making (looks like this -https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Las...FjAAegQICBAC&usg=AOvVaw32KfmVtOupMQWovC8Yao2b ) and aimed directly on ground under heat.
The surface of ground- the easiest for little ones is to put some no slip cabinet liner on ground and paper towel on top of that. That gives them use footing and nothing to munch on.

 

[southwind00]

I have been putting little cricket treats in with them as well as actual live crickets (to give them something to chase a little) and they did really well with that but they were still pecking at the chips as well. They also like to claw their food out and peck at it. I feel it may have been accidental eating of the wood chips but they still managed to gobble some up anyways which is what worries me since I’ve lost 3 keets already. Does the grit prevent them from eating the chips or is it just something more for them to peck on instead?

The grit will help them digest what ever they eat including wood chips.

 

[Sydney65]

the grit helps digest what they eat-particularly important when using wood chips. I just avoided bedding all together until they were. You never want cedar chips as those are toxic, and w/my luck I figured I'd end up w/a batch of aspen chips that ended up getting cedar mixed in.

 

[Sydney65]

lol-incubator, not bathroom.

 

[Sydney65]

I still think the pads were the greatest. Puppy pads probably aren't as thick, less lining- so probably a better option. I think it's like everything else there comes a point where the little devils find a way to make use other than intended. That night we all got lectured-they to me for being gone and me to them about tearing up their bedding.

 

[R2elk]

I have been putting little cricket treats in with them as well as actual live crickets (to give them something to chase a little) and they did really well with that but they were still pecking at the chips as well. They also like to claw their food out and peck at it. I feel it may have been accidental eating of the wood chips but they still managed to gobble some up anyways which is what worries me since I’ve lost 3 keets already. Does the grit prevent them from eating the chips or is it just something more for them to peck on instead?

The grit makes it possible for the chips to get ground up as they pass through the gizzard.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

sorry, not much time to read - we use non-slip shelf liner - never had a problem with them eating it - got it at Walmart, can be cut to brooder box size - can be washed for re-use after drying

I put newspapers and paper towels underneath to absorb liquid

this is a great thermometer - I tape the lead at keet level on the wall

https://incubatorwarehouse.com/incubator-remote-thermometer-hygrometer.html

 

[newb1rdmom]

looking at your pics, your keets are huddling, that's to keep warm. I think you need to placed those thermometers and then lower the lamp. I used an infrared thermometer I have for soap making (looks like this -https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Las...FjAAegQICBAC&usg=AOvVaw32KfmVtOupMQWovC8Yao2b ) and aimed directly on ground under heat.
The surface of ground- the easiest for little ones is to put some no slip cabinet liner on ground and paper towel on top of that. That gives them use footing and nothing to munch on.

They aren’t normally huddled like that. They run from me whenever they see me. They tend to huddle together whenever I reach in to change their food or water if I get too close to their container. Other times they’re all over the box. Sometimes I see them napping together but only in a group of 2 or 3. Is this still a sign that its too cold? I only have one lamp currently that’ssplit between two boxes. I have it a bit more on the side for the younger yeets because I know they need a higher temp than the older ones but the older keets still have heat on their side and the room itself is fairly warm (I get a bit sweaty after being in the room for too long)