New chicks dying

[CozyFanatic]

I bought 12 bantam chicks from Tractor Supply and for the first week they did fine. Have them in a 2x2 box with towels in the bottom and chick starter and water in lids and they were really active till all of a sudden they started dying off one or two at a time. It's still cold here in TN so I can't put them outside. I have a thermometer in the bottom of the box and a heat bulb that keeps it 90 - 95 degrees.
What am I doing wrong?
I've raised 10-20 this way this spring and they are doing fine. I have the 5 larger ones outside in the pen and the 5 smaller ones are in a separate cage outside.....but these ones are just dropping off one by one! I have 3 left! Oh....I must say that the 10 I had success with came from a friend of mine who hatches chickens for sale and not from TS! Could that be the difference?
I am so sad for the little things!

Appreciate any ideas!

Anne

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They need more space and less heat.
If you have electric in the coop for a heat lamp move them out.
If not get a couple large moving boxes from HD or Lowes and put them together cutting a doorway between them. Put the heat in one and food and water in the other.
2X2 and 90+ temp means they can't get away from the heat if they're too hot.
A mother hen doesn't heat all the ambient air. She provides a hot spot for them to warm up and off they go into the cool air.
Are there any symptoms before they die?

I move my chicks outside as soon as they come out of the hatcher regardless of temperature. They get a hover brooder if it's really cold or just a ceramic heat emitter if it's warmer. Still they have lots of cool space.

 

[azygous]

Canoe is right in every respect. And I might add that if these new chicks are a darker color than chicks you've brooded in the past, it would account for their becoming over-heated while the previous lighter colored ones did not.

If these chicks are the same light color as previous ones, the points Canoe brought up all would still apply. Your big problem as I see it is a much too small brooder box with no room for chicks to cool down in order to maintain a median body temperature.

 

[CozyFanatic]

Just moved them outside in a small space with water and feed and they started eating so....even the newly hatched ones that I hatched from my incubator yesterday! It's warm outside today and sunny so I'm gonna keep close watch on them and see what happens.
Thanks so much!

 

[CozyFanatic]

No, they are actually lighter in color. I brooded 3 black frizzles, one black silkie, and several red and brown mille fleurs and they were all darker than these. These have white wing feathers but the feathers on their feet were brown so I don't know what kind they really are. I still have two white ones and one darker one of the TS chicks, and 4 that I hatched in my incubator who hatched yesterday and one this morning.

Hopefully I got them outside in time!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If they run around they're fine. If they crowd together near the heat they're cold. If they crowd away from the heat they're too hot.