panting chick???

[organiceggs]

One of my newly hatched chicks began to pant on and off after being moved into the brooder. The other chicks are fine and the temp seems to be ok too. Does this have to do with the change in humidity or is there another issue I need to worry about?

 

[Rammy]

She may be too hot. Is she able to move away from the heat lamp or your heat source? Hopefully, thats the problem. I had a baby start having trouble breathing. She would just lie on the bottom of the brooder and breath very hard and open her beak at every breath. She finally passed away Wed night. I think she had some sort of respiratory problem. She was a month old but only had the developed look of a chick a week old. Just had feathers on her wings and no where else.

Hope your chickie gets better.

Rammy

 

[organiceggs]

Yes, she is able to move away from the heat source, but she is in a glass tank, so I'm not really sure how the heat is distributed throughout. But, I think it may be caused by stress, since it happened when I first put her in and then noticed the panting picked up again when my 2-year old was trying to play with them. I hope she makes it. I'm sorry for your loss...the poor thing.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

What is your temp in your booder? If you don't have a thermometer, you need to get one a place it on the floor of the brooder under the light. This will help us to know if the heat is the problem or if it is something else. Is it drinking and eating OK? Hopefully it will resolve itself.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
How large is the tank?


I have not heard good things about aquarium brooders - they do not allow enough air flow and tend to over heat.

 

[organiceggs]

The tank is a bowed 45 gallon tank and there are only a few chicks inside. The temp is over 100 under the light, and a little below 90 on the other side of the tank. I guess a glass tank is not good to use. Any suggestions?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Well, I am not fancy and for many a clutch I have used a large cardboard box - the larger the better.


I have now "graduated" to a long, 50 gallon, rubbermaid bin. (It is 2.5 x 4.5 feet)

 

[organiceggs]

Great idea! I guess I will be going out tomorrow to get a rubbermaid bin.