Newly hatched chicks all dying!

[kalaharichook]

I need experts help,my new chicks,hatched only two days ago,were found after the first night,scattered around the coop,lifeless. One was dead,the others on the brink,only occasionally opening their beaks.
I put them on a warm water bottle and eventually they came round. Kept them inside but last night one died.it became really lethargic,after eating drinking and pooping fine. Then it couldn't balance and just lay down and eventually died.
Now another one is doing it. I wonder if their mum knew there was something wrong with the chicks,and she didn't look after them?
I've put all their symptoms to Google but find no obvious answer. 've fed them growing mash,scrambled egg and their water has probiotic in in.poo has been normal,although the one that's I'll now has slightly runny poo. Mum seems healthy.
I live on the remote Kalahari so getting to a vet is not an option.
Had a bulb on them for heat,just a normal bulb but best I could do in such circumstances,and kept a warm bottle near.
Any advice would be great

 

[chickens really]

Not sure if being cold or the feeding of scrabbled eggs did it..? Did they get grit being the egg was fed? Premade starter feeds are made for chicks..No grit needed unless other food is introduced...
Chicks need to be kept warm at 85 to 90F....

Sorry for the loss

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I am sorry for your loss. I don't think it was the scrambled eggs.

Now I see you have them with a broody.... Maybe she doesn't have the experience or instinct to keep them warm. I would put them in a much tighter space, maybe where they can't wonder so far from the hen. Has she hatched and raised chicks successfully before?

Sounds a lot like a possible vitamin deficiency, but usually eating and drinking would give them a bit of a perk up. I have had shipped chicks that were weak, fill up nicely on feed and peacefully pass away.

It just didn't seem to make sense when they were just making happy peeps with full bellies.

It is true that some hens will sense something wrong and eliminate a chick.

When you say you put a light on them and a warm water bottle (great idea by the way) do you mean the hen is not keeping them warm? They would usually be making loud distressed peeps if they were cold. But if your hen doesn't provide enough warmth, they will all die.

If they have access to the dirt then they shouldn't need added grit. It's not USUALLY an issue with broodies, but you can keep an eye out for pastey butt just in case since it is deadly and can happen fast.

I don't know why, but I wish I could solve this! I hope you start to see improvement.

So, how many chicks total? Are there other hens or roos around? Is the hen doing HER job? Is she defending them, keeping them under her wing where they are warm, and showing them how to eat and drink? How many have you lost so far and how many seem to still be struggling? You say they seem wobbly, are they throwing their heads back and falling over onto their backs? What is your current weather like? Just trying to come up with possibilities and the details help. What are the probiotics you are using?

 

[Kdunn222]

Get heat light and dip beaks in water. If not 90 degrees they will die and won't want to move around. I always had babies inside except when the silky stayed with them and hit outside. She hatched 11. And no problems. Some breeds may hatch but don't tend to babies.so I took over and learned by reading this site how to make sure they would live. Don't know temp.but if moms not keeping warm that will kill them.

 

[chickens really]

Anyways, also if she is a first time Broody with Chicks? They sometimes do not understand the Chicks belong to them...They will lay on eggs and hate the Chicks...
Separate and set up a brooder....

 

[Kdunn222]

Pretty much what I said? If new to chickens I tried to tell her in a different way. Anyway hope that something helps.. sorry for your losses.

 

[Kdunn222]

Pretty much what I said. Sorry for the losses.

 

[chickens really]

Pretty much what I said. Sorry for the losses.

Your post was coming in the same time as I was posting....

Great info being its like mine!

 

[kalaharichook]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I am sorry for your loss. I don't think it was the scrambled eggs. 

Now I see you have them with a broody.... Maybe she doesn't have the experience or instinct to keep them warm. I would put them in a much tighter space, maybe where they can't wonder so far from the hen. Has she hatched and raised chicks successfully before?

Sounds a lot like a possible vitamin deficiency, but usually eating and drinking would give them a bit of a perk up. I have had shipped chicks that were weak, fill up nicely on feed and peacefully pass away.   It just didn't seem to make sense when they were just making happy peeps with full bellies.

It is true that some hens will sense something wrong and eliminate a chick.

When you say you put a light on them and a warm water bottle (great idea by the way) do you mean the hen is not keeping them warm? They would usually be making loud distressed peeps if they were cold. But if your hen doesn't provide enough warmth, they will all die.

If they have access to the dirt then they shouldn't need added grit. It's not USUALLY an issue with broodies, but you can keep an eye out for pastey butt just in case since it is deadly and can happen fast.

I don't know why, but I wish I could solve this! I hope you start to see improvement.

So, how many chicks total? Are there other hens or roos around? Is the hen doing HER job? Is she defending them, keeping them under her wing where they are warm, and showing them how to eat and drink? How many have you lost so far and how many seem to still be struggling? You say they seem wobbly, are they throwing their heads back and falling over onto their backs? What is your current weather like? Just trying to come up with possibilities and the details help. What are the probiotics you are using? 

We are in spring weather here in the Kalahari,so at night it gets down to about 7deg Celsius, the mother hen has only ever hatched one egg before,and that chick is now grown and doing well,it was the only egg she laid.
I'm using a probiotic from my vets,it's an all rounder powder you mix with the water. I fed the checks the exact food the older chick grew up on. It's a mash made for chicks.
When the chicks first hatched,I did see them try to huddle for warmth under mum,she wasn't trying to get away from them.it all looked very normal.
Unfortunately I'm just using your run of the mill 40w light bulb,as I like 300km from the nearest town so I can't just nip to the store!
They seemed to enjoy sitting on the warm bottle. I only make it warm,not hot,and it has a cover on it.the chicks have been housed in a crate in my spare room since I revived them. It's all just really odd. I thought chicks were hardier,can't work it out

 

[kalaharichook]

...

We are in spring weather here in the Kalahari,so at night it gets down to about 7deg Celsius, the mother hen has only ever hatched one egg before,and that chick is now grown and doing well,it was the only egg she laid.
I'm using a probiotic from my vets,it's an all rounder powder you mix with the water. I fed the checks the exact food the older chick grew up on. It's a mash made for chicks.
When the chicks first hatched,I did see them try to huddle for warmth under mum,she wasn't trying to get away from them.it all looked very normal.
Unfortunately I'm just using your run of the mill 40w light bulb,as I like 300km from the nearest town so I can't just nip to the store!
They seemed to enjoy sitting on the warm bottle. I only make it warm,not hot,and it has a cover on it.the chicks have been housed in a crate in my spare room since I revived them. It's all just really odd. I thought chicks were hardier,can't work it out[/quote I had four,but one died the first night so I took the three floppy near dead babies out. They were in a small coop with mum,her other older chick which is almost the same size as her,and a Silkie hen. The wobble,fall on their front,or side and gasp alot