New hatched chicks

[Sefirothe]

Is some loss of new hatched chicks fairly normal?

I set 96 eggs. Around 50 hatched around Jan 20th. Some were culled by me due to either deformity or failure to thrive right out of the incubator. I’ve lost one or two per day in the brooder. I’m down to 42.

Is this fairly normal for quail chicks from shipped eggs? Or do I have something else going on?

Chicks seem active and healthy in the brooder. I’m feeding this Bluebonnet feed:

This is my brooder set up:

The last few chicks I found passed under the heat plate at morning check. I’m assuming it’s been failure to thrive but wanted to double check.

 

[Nabiki]

There's something going on. It's not unusual to lose a couple, but you are losing far more than that.

What is the temperature on the ground under the heat plates?

 

[Sefirothe]

There's something going on. It's not unusual to lose a couple, but you are losing far more than that.

What is the temperature on the ground under the heat plates?

The concrete is probably pretty cold. But I have sheets of 1.5” foam insulation boards under the pen. This morning I used my hand to stir up the shavings under the heat plates to mix in poop. The shavings were appreciably warm to my hand.

 

[Nabiki]

The concrete is probably pretty cold. But I have sheets of 1.5” foam insulation boards under the pen. This morning I used my hand to stir up the shavings under the heat plates to mix in poop. The shavings were appreciably warm to my hand.

You should get a calibrated thermometer under there to check. Newly hatched chicks can be very sensitive to temperature.