New chick owners - please read

[sumi]

I went to see a friend of mine's new BO chicks. He mentioned one was doing well, so I picked it up and saw the problem immediately: pasty butt. I cleaned her butt, gave her some water, brought her home with me and did what I could, but she died. If he knew what to look for and treated her earlier, she would've been fine. My friend had no idea about pasty butt, never thought to look and admitted that he would not have known what caused her death if I didn't point it out to him.
He told me about another friend of his who got a 150 of chicks from the same hatchery, same day. He lost 53 chicks. The reason: they were in a smallish space under 2 heat lamps and they overheated.
I'm posting this hoping some of you will learn from their mistakes and not lose your little ones, 'cause you didn't know how to prevent it.
On that sad note: enjoy your chicks and feel free to ask us if you are unsure of what to do to ensure your fluff butts grow into healthy, happy chickens.

 

[whitlockj85]

Very good advice. I know after reading some horror stories on here my wife and I started checking.

 

[larca83]

Thank you for the post. I'm getting my first pullets this weekend. I have a couple of books that have really drilled checking for pasty butt into me as well as how to manage the heat lamps. It's good to know there are such helpful people on BYC.

 

[Ksherlock]

We just read about that today (day 3) and immediately took 8 of our 26 (we lost our runt on day 2) and soaked their bumbs in warm water to loosen and then used a warm, wet paper towel to clean off. We then put a blow dryer on low warm to dry the bumbs. All seem to be doing good so far. We will be checking for that frequently. We got this tidbit from a how to book for raising chickens.

 

[jopeep]

Thanks for the reminders. I got 2 new chicks today. My very first two from last year are thriving (with a couple mishaps!) but it's good to be reminded of the 'new chick stuff' again. These newbies are DAYS old= teensie! Is there such a thing as too much snuggling (so as to bond)?

 

[gamechickens]

good post wish people would read more before getting chicks. it a rough lesson to learn

 

[horseshowmomnv]

I could not agree more! I sold several 8 week old pullets, these people have NO clue. One person brought a small rubbermaid container (no lid) with a tiny wee bit of straw to transport these birds for an hour. Really? I had to make a lid and put in some shavings. Another family let their kids "bathe" the pullets.... REALLY? Read, learn, and listen... It makes the experience for both animal and humans so much better! EDUCATION!

 

[cary 1973]

I know before I get any new pet i do research I will say with the chicks i did my research on adult chickens and not chicks but as soon as I got home with the babys I instantly did my research. as far as pasty butt my little bit came home with it but i did not have to read that it had to be cleaned (i have a samoyed dog had the breed my whole life they get pasty butt all the time due to fur and I know what happend when poop stays on the butt can cause sores and bleeding ext) so i knew it had to be cleaned off then i found her whole and thought she had a prolapes (like i said read alot about adult chickens) but after a little panic and sadness found my answear well first i looked on line then i looked at the other 3 chicks found out she was normal but every day i do research on what is best for my girls. pleople really need to do research before and after they get a new pet

 

[sumi]

I just get really sad when I hear about people losing chicks because of ignorance. I've been there myself! I lost chicks through stupidity too and I learned the hard way, so I'm hoping to teach newbies through my mistakes and other's experiences. Sadly I urged both the people I mentioned in my post to get on this site and read and learn. It's just sad that it took 53 little lives lost before he went and asked for help from the "experts" who told him what we told him already.
I think hatcheries and everyone who sells chicks should give new chick owners a little "How To" guide with the basic do's and don'ts, what to feed etc. Or get them onto this site!

 

[chickensinwasillaAK]

Lets keep in mind also that you can do everything right and some may still die. You never know, one might have a bad heart, liver ect. I got some from one hatchery, half doa on arrival, the other half died that evening. The other chicks that arrived the same day thrived, my hatchlings thrived. Same brooder, same conditions. Some birds are just bound to not survive. I think the chicks they sent were weak to start as the shipment the following week was fine.

Now I do agree with the OP that you need to be prepared but if one does die, don't beat yourself up over it. (Now if 53 died, I would have been looking for a problem well before it reached that point)