New chicks keep passing away for no apparent reason?! Help!

[FishMtFarm]

Yes and your treating for coccidiosis, not vaccinating. All birds carry it but stress and illness make it overwhelm their bowls.

 

[mixedbreeds]

I’m sure this has nothing to do with it as you had them for such a short time but when I have small chicks I run the feed through the blender so they have small particles the little ones can eat. I do this because I have lost chicks before that just never got enough feed and died not a lot of them but a few passed.

 

[kinkachy000]

Maybe pick up some poultry nutridrench while you’re there, too. It’s a fast acting vitamin supplement that you’ll want to give AFTER treating them for coccidiocis. And make sure you use the treatment dose for corid, not the prevention dose! Good luck to you & your chicks!

Thank you for this! I'll definitely keep this in mind and make sure I do it correctly!

 

[kinkachy000]

I just wanted to update everyone:

The third chick did end up passing away, again in my arms. All the others are very lively, bright Combs/skin, great looking poop (never thought I'd say this haha), and don't appear sickly. I threw out the 5 month old food, and got medicated food that will help fight off the cocci. I also got them pro-biotics and electrolytes for their water. If any of them have the cocci in their guts, this should clear it out and keep them all healthy. Thank you everyone for the help!

 

[aart]

If any of them have the cocci in their guts, this should clear it out and keep them all healthy.

If they already have an overabundance of cocci they'll need treatment.
The medicated feed only helps them build immunity.

 

[Relleoms]

I just wanted to update everyone:

The third chick did end up passing away, again in my arms. All the others are very lively, bright Combs/skin, great looking poop (never thought I'd say this haha), and don't appear sickly. I threw out the 5 month old food, and got medicated food that will help fight off the cocci. I also got them pro-biotics and electrolytes for their water. If any of them have the cocci in their guts, this should clear it out and keep them all healthy. Thank you everyone for the help!

Sorry about the third chick, but glad to hear the others are doing well. However, I highly recommend treating them with corid regardless. There is no harm in doing so, and if they have coccidiocis in their gut or brooder, the medicated feed is not enough to treat an outbreak and they can turn very quickly!

 

[Photokitty]

What are you using as a heat source? If it's a heat lamp, what wattage? Does it say "shatter resistant" on the bulb? If so, it may be Teflon coated and it would produce a deadly gas when heated and it would kill chicks.

Just prior to getting these chicks, did your area suffer some very cold weather?It's possible these chicks were shipped without heat packs and encountered some severe temperature drops. Chilling kills chicks within a few days of shipping.

I had 8 deaths in a span of 5 days of 30 shipped chicks. I received mine within 24 hours of them being shipped (I live less than an 8 hour drive from the hatchery). They had no heat pack and we had a freak blizzard the day they were shipped! I think this caused the losses, we had two dead in the box. I had ordered an assortment of rare breeds along with more common ones, ALL 8 were rare breeds (go figure). I only got 5 replaced since the other three died a day out of of the live guarantee.

 

[Kiki]

Just want to chime in to make it clear that medicated feed will NOT always prevent coccidiosis nor will it ever cure it.
You need Corid.

 

[MinervaELS]

Where are you located?

I second the shipping stress. I had the exact same thing happen with my bantams. Two separate groups, both bought on the day they came in. In fact, I lost two of the same breed of chick as in your picture. The bantams are definitely more fragile and I had some that just failed to thrive or succumbed to shipping stress.

 

[kinkachy000]

I a

Where are you located?

I second the shipping stress. I had the exact same thing happen with my bantams. Two separate groups, both bought on the day they came in. In fact, I lost two of the same breed of chick as in your picture. The bantams are definitely more fragile and I had some that just failed to thrive or succumbed to shipping stress.

I am located in Aberdeen, Washington. It's in the Pacific Northwest, so lots of rain lately. I think it was a combination.