Pasting up help

[2rugratsmom]

I've been reading up as much as I can in the forums. Thank you all for the wonderful advice. But...

DH & I got 23 babies from our local feed store and have so far lost 2 I'm thinking from pasting up. We have one more who isn't doing so well. We've been really good at watching them and wiping their little bottoms when they need to be wiped. Plus, this lady at the feed store told us to put this electrolyte stuff in their water and that will help them from getting them from pasting up. One that died was a Polish Crested and the other was a Maran. The one that's sick is a Polish.

The sick one is now in my bathroom in his own little brooder and my DD and I are taking turns giving him water out of a little syringe, even tho I'm pretty sure that's not going to work and he's still not going to make it.

We started using bedding for snakes but quickly took that out and used old bed sheets in the bottom of the brooder. Although over the weekend, my 4 year old neice decided they "were hungry" and dumped a large portion of the bag in there.

The only time we've had babies was last Sept. and we started out with 10 and had 7 survive. Are we doing something wrong (other than the bedding) or is this just the way things are when raising babies? Are there some breeds more susceptible to pasting up? Or is there anything I can do differently? BTW, the first one died within 3 days, the 2nd 5 days and this one is almost 3 weeks although he's been fighting this for over 1 1/2 weeks.

Sorry to make this so long. Thanks again for all the advice I've read on here, DH & I have used alot of what we've read when we've had questions or needed ideas
Heather

 

[silkiechicken]

Are you sure you lost them to pasting up? As long as you are taking off the poo on their bottoms they should be able to survive. Next time when you take the poo off, wipe on some olive oil or vaseline to prevent more sticking. If they are pasting, they probably got chilled somewhere along the way.

It is normal to lose a few chicks around a week old, but 3/23 sounds a bit high if you picked them up from the feed store. However, they were will with the range of going due to shipping stress so there is nothing you can do about that.

Can you tell us more about your set up? What type of litter, feed, water and so on? I hear it is not so good to give too many electrolytes as that can throw off their balance. Clean fresh water is all they need after they are settled in.

When the polish are adults, you will need to keep an eye on them and make sure they can see to eat, and that the others don't pick on them as they can be easy targets.

Best of luck.

 

[Daniart]

We had our first 4 chicks last year. One was severly pasting & I diligently applied warm paper towels & wash cloths to her behind to soften the poo & at times, really had to work to pull it off. Once I even had to work a piece of pine shaving out of her. She survived & at 1 year old is my favorite - I call her "Poopy".

This year, we started w/ 5 more chicks (now 3 wks old). Two were pasting up alot & again, every am & pm I'd work the poo off as they screamed & hollered. I then went & got our last 4... the owner told me to make sure I am mixing enough grit in w/ the starter feed.... Now... I haven't had 1 paste up. Make sure the grit is super fine.

Thankfully, we've never lost a chick. I change their water 2-3 times a day & only feed them chick starter w/ grit (my daughter calls is "salt" for their food) - no treats yet. I like to wait till all their fluff is gone.

I hope it goes better for you - good luck.

 

[airmom1c05]

A bit of apple cider vinegar in the water might help. 1 Tbls. per gallon or 1/4 Tblsp. per quart.

 

[2rugratsmom]

Sorry for taking so long to reply, our internet was out. Thanks satellite

silkiechicken ~ I'm pretty sure they were pasting up, after I posted I read that sticky post about mortality in chicks and noticed some of the symptoms. We tried to check each bottom of the chicks but those little buggers are fast and it's hard to tell which ones we've checked and which ones we haven't

As for setup, we started out using shredded aspen for the litter, we got it from the pet store. It's supposed to be for reptiles and small animals, dust free, etc. After the first one died I cleaned all of it out and have been using old bed sheets that I changed every other day, I've been picking these up from the thrift store for .50 so it's not too expensive. We've been feeding medicated chick starter and have stopped using the electrolyte in their water. I change their water at least 3 to 4 times a day if not more because we have 2 Turkens and they like to roost on top of the water and get it all poopy. Since they are in the garage, the garage door has been opened a couple of times in order to get something out of it. We don't park cars in there, but there are things that are too large to go thru the house, so they might have gotten a chill that way. Although they are at the far end of the garage close to the wall of the house. Since I posted we've had to paste up and we've been diligent about wiping their butt and have used the vaseline on them, so far they are doing great.

Daniart ~ I will try putting some grit with their food, I have some small bird grit left from my other chicks. I gave them grit when they were about 6 weeks old and started letting them "play" outside.

airmom1c05 ~ I'll try the vinegar, I haven't heard of that. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for all of the great advice. I do appreciate it!
Heather

 

[LynneP]

I've also been told that you can trim the vent feathers with manicure scissors after cleaning the chicks, to reduce the chance they might paste up again...

 

[horsejody]

What is the temperature in your brooder and how big is it?