New Babies Passing Away (6-7 days old)

[mourninglory]

So far one of my chicks suddenly passed and now another is going down quickly. I know this does happen with no warning and no noticeable symptoms. Clean bottoms, and eating and drinking well. All seemed fine (I have been staring at them almost constantly since arrival on Friday morning.) It has been a few years since I had chickens and just want to make sure there is no new miracle cure or treatment I haven’t yet heard of.
Good news is on arrival there was one shaky chick, but with sugar water and starter it is just as lively as all the others. No others seemed distressed on arrival or over the past several days –until now.
Any ideas?

 

[chickadeechina]

How awful for you! Totally new to all of this but just wanted to send condolences. (And now I can be paranoid that my 3-day-olds aren't necessarily out of the woods yet.) Fingers crossed for the rest of your chickies!

 

[mourninglory]

Aww. The other one just passed. I waited up expecting it to happen soon, but still hoping my little chick to perk up. Thanks chickadeechina for your kindness. I woke my husband up and he was a total butt, since I disturbed his precious rest. I'm thinking DH will be wondering why our 4 dogs will be enjoying lasangna tomorrow night instead of him!

 

[MissPrissy]

If they came from a hatchery please call them and tell them your chicks are dying. They can advise you on what you might do to help the rest of them. They will also make good on the ones that died. Sorry for your losses.

 

[bantymum]

Im very sorry to hear that, i hope the little one makes it, I agree with miss prissy!
good luck, hugs

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sorry for your losses.
I agree with you though, DH's sometimes just don't get it...
Call the hatchery and tell them that you've been having losses...
What kind of flooring do you have them on? Sometimes if you have them on shavings, they'll eat them instead and the shaving will get stuck.
Good luck with your wee peeps.

 

[2mnypets]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I agree with everyone else. Call the place where you got the chicks. There might be a magical number five rule though on getting re-imbursement financially though. Regardless of that fact they need to be aware of the situation. I'm also curious as to the bedding that you're using. If you are using pine bedding, did you place papertowels over top of them for the first couple of days to ensure that they know what their food looks like? This is a common problem that many people encounter. I wish you only the best and keep us updated on what's happening.

 

[bayouchica]

I'm so sorry about losing your babies. It's tough when they are so young.
What kind of feed are they eating? Is it medicated or not? What's their poop look like?

 

[mourninglory]

Thank you everyone. They have all been on papertowels with good traction and no access to shavings. so no leg problems or eating shavings. Not sure if the feed is medicated because I got it repackaged in just a 10lb paper sack with no info on it except "Start'n'Grow". Poops are fine and even the 2 that passed had clean bottoms. So far no more losses. We have 24 of the 26 left and all seem fine. It's been so long since I brooded chicks and I'm still just as worried about them. Everyone here is so nice and helpful.