Our Baby Chicks are Dying Randomly

[charmedbychickens]

A friend and I went in on an order for chicks from them. We got them the 8th. We had the same symptoms with ours and lost A LOT. My friend call Mcmurry and they promised to replace the ones that died. Our next shipment from them was scheduled to arrive on the 15th(Monday). They didn't arrive until Tuesday. Needless to say, most of them are dead or on their way. Called Mcmurry again. They said we have to wait 48 hours and then give them a list of the ones that died again and they will replace them again. We are very unhappy with our order. How many chicks have to die before we actually get the right amount of chicks to live?

 

[chickens on grass]

yea its tearing us apart. I just hope our blue laced red wyandottes dont get it. mcmurray will only sell 6 of those at a time and we have many people wanting those from us.

 

[chickens on grass]

we have used mcmurray a whole lot but after this i doubt we will use them much. i like welp much better

 

[chickens on grass]

does anyon know what to do to stop this from killing more chicks???

 

[chickerdoodle]

Yikes!

Just go down the list (I may have missed something as I am not an expert):

Temperature of brooder good?
Drafts?
Water clean?
Food--could it be bad? Try some new food. Give them some scrambled or hard boiled egg.
poo look OK?
Any wounds?
Try either vitamins or electrolytes in water.
Any part of them cold--legs, etc (thinking circulation issues)?
Umbilical area OK?
Do you let them get some sleep by turning lights (NOT HEATER!) off 6-8 hours a day? After a few days of eating around the clock with lights they need some sleep time without lights.
Brooder light--using red? If using white I'd change just in case.


Hmmm..I can't think of anything else right now--good luck with the little ones!

 

[Chic Chick]

Wow, that's terrible to be losing all those chicks. I've had chicks shipped by plane when it was cold and snowing and I never had problems with any of them dying. Did you make sure their beaks were dipped in water and then the feed when you put them in the brooder? Maybe they aren't eating?
I would think it has something to do with bad feed or too hot in the brooder. Try giving them a drink of water that has honey in it.
Good luck, I hope the rest stay healthy.