New Arrival of Chicks

[rudisillnolan]

I have been raising chickens for about five years, adults and baby chicks. For the longest time I have always borrowed a brooder from a fellow chicken raiser however we just recently built our own brooder. I ordered fifteen Millie Fleur D'uccle from Meyer Hatchery along with the Meyer Meal Maker they threw in. Remember, this is not my first time raising chicks and I have been fairly successful in the past with raising them. When these sixteen arrived on 2/4, six were DOA. At this current time all sixteen have died. I have never dealt with such sudden death of chicks and a whole range of causes are going through my mind. So basically I am questioning whether I am at fault here or what, the only thing that I could place any blame on could be treated wood on the brooder, besides that nothing comes to mind. I have been satisfied with the customer service Meyer has provided and they've agreed to ship me a whole new batch next Monday. Could anyone possibly share some thoughts on what might be the cause or if I might have done something wrong.

 

[lazy gardener]

What did you use to treat the wood?

 

[rudisillnolan]

Its ordinary treated lumber you buy at Lowe's. I treated it with nothing, its bought as treated lumber, you know?

 

[thegrovestead]

If 6 were DOA it definitely sounds like an infected crop. I'd take it up w/ the breeder.

 

[bhaugh]

It may be nothing and it seems like from what Ive read tonight a lot of people are having problems with dead chicks. I placed my first hatchery order, after hatching out many chicks and raising birds, and 4 have died. One is getting weaker. None of the chicks look like they are really thriving. Pasty butt on a couple of the chicks and the list goes on. I have chicks in the brooder that are 4 days older and 3 times the size.

I, like you, have never had such a high death rate. I expected a couple to die but without the birds thriving I just don't feel comfortable placing them at this point. I only wanted 3 but had to order 15. Thought I would sell the extra birds. With the way things are going Ill be lucky to have 3 left.

 

[3riverschick]

Maybe something for you here.
How To Deal With Travel Stress In Baby Chicks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/746509/how-to-deal-with-travel-stress-in-baby-chicks
I also use Goat Nutri-Dench with the usage and dosage instructions for the poultry formula. Tho their formulas are species specific, they also meet the scientific standards for a universal formula. So, in a pinch you can use another formula, just with the poultry usage and dosage instructions. Last year, I put the Goat Nutri-Drench in their water for the 1st month to get them off to a strong start. No sick birds, no losses. I like to stay close to the bird's size, so I only use the Pet Nutri-Drops or the Poultry Nutri-Drench or the Goat Nutri-Drench for my birds. For my collies, I use the Pet, Goat, or Beef formulas with good success.
What is important is to get their G.I. tracts functioning normally as soon as possible. Stress affects the G.I. tract. These Bovidr labs formulas do not need to be digested. They mainline directly into the bloodstream, unlike other helps. Even Gatorade-like formulas still need to be digested. You can get it at Tractor Supply or your local tack shop. If they are out of the poultry, you can use the Pet or Goat formulas successfully as I have. The trick with these stressed chicks is to interdict the timeline of the stress and stop it before the body systems start a chain reaction of failure. In puppies, a stressed pup gets hypoglycemic and the last stage before death is seizures. The Pet formula can bring back such a seizing pup in 15 to 30 minutes. The correct utilization for these formulas is 50% uptake in 30 minutes and 99% utilization. While you are Tractor Supply , buy a three ml syringe to measure out the formula into their water. It's very handy. Just give the stressed chicks one drop only by mouth every 8 to 10 hours as needed. I found my chicks preferred the 2ml dilution in their water to the 4 ml, which is just fine, according to the science tech at Bovidr.
Once you get them up and active, drinking, etc. then give them a bit of yogurt to populate the G.I tract with good flora.
Also, when they are 3 days old, give them chick starter grit. Then follow with the appropriate size grit at each age You won'tnotice any difference in their growth, however the proper size grit at the right time is helping them develop a larger, healither gizzard. As adults at point of lay or slaughter, depending on your needs, this can produce larger birds at slaughter or up to 20% more eggs in your layers. Here is where I get my grit from. It runs less than 10.00 for 50 lbs at Agway. Or call the granite company for dealers who carry it. No need to pay top dollar for the tiny bags at TSC. North Carolina Granite pioneered the use of large grit in poultry. They got their Gran-I-Grit trademark in 1935.
The Science Of Feeding Grit To Poultry ( posts one and three.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/891051/the-science-of-feeding-grit-to-poultry
excellent 2 page brochure:
http://www.jupefeeds-sa.com/documents/GraniteGrit.pdf
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

One other thing, is the bulb you are using in the brooder coated with Teflon? That will outgas carbon monoxide and kill chicks and adults when it gets hot. Look for an uncoated bulb. Sometime the coated bulbs say "Rough" or "Tuff" on them.
Best,
Karen

 

[bhaugh]

Oh I didn't know that about the bulbs. Its almost impossible to find regular bulbs these days. Mine is for outdoor use. But Ill have to look at it .

Thanks

 

[purplehen]

I have been brooding 8 chicks for over 3 weeks. Tuesday, I found one that was unable to walk, toes were flexed up and legs were outstretched. Chick was alert and not in pain-no squawking when touched. Died next day and found him stretched out completely like had been laid out for burial. All others were fine; eating, drinking, playing. Checked last night at bedtime and ok. This morn, two more were laid out the same way and dead. We have hatched and raised before. Never had this issue. Birds came from reputable dealer. We check these babies throughout the day and play with them as well. Any idea what could be the issue? I only have 5 of 10 remaining. I need to see if is something we r doing as have 6 dozen eggs in incubator.
HELP!

 

[dekel18042]

Losing peeps is really tough. Over what period of time did they die? You said 6 were DOA. The only thing that popped out at me is the time of year they were shipped. Over the years I have had several batches of shipped peeps with never a one DOA or dying afterwards. So last year I ordered 8 (Maybe more in the shipment would have helped.) and two were DOA. I thought I had ordered late enough in the season, but sure enough, we had a very cold spell then and worse yet, the box was lost and sat in Philadelphia for 24 hours thus aiding their demise.
Guess that is the last time I will get shipped chicks.