Please help - entire batch of chicks dying suddenly - TWICE

[VFamily]

I'm sure this is a reach, but could the Brinsea heater have an electrical short in it? I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this loss!

That could be a possibility. I will try to figure out if I can troubleshoot that.

If they were vaccinated, perhaps there's a bad lot from the company that produces it. A recall perhaps?

One batch vaccinated, and the other was not. The first batch that was vaccinated did seem a little weaker in comparison to the second, though. A possibility.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I'm so sorry , don't give up you have done so much correctly. I know chickens drink out of puddles but I'm wondering about your water?

 

[VFamily]

I'm so sorry , don't give up you have done so much correctly. I know chickens drink out of puddles but I'm wondering about your water?

Frankly, I’m also beginning to worry about water. It’s well water. Never had a problem with it. We have a sediment filter and after a couple months it’s pretty orange. Too much iron, perhaps? Though, we used it the entire time and the second batch lasted over 3 weeks.

 

[TaylorGlade]

I am having a very strange and troubling problem with keeping chicks alive (this has been my first attempt at chickens). I have had 2 different batches of chicks (two batches ocurring at two different times) all die within minutes of each other.

My brooder is a clear 100 quart tote with the cover cut out and 1/2” hardware cloth attached to that opening. I have a brooder plate for heat from Brinsea. The chick waterer and feeder are the style you can screw a mason jar into however it came with plastic bottles so I used those. Feeder and waterer were cleaned mornings and evenings of whatever they managed to get into them and topped off. We started with paper towels the first two days and then switched to pine shavings after that with both batches.

The first batch (mailed to me) was 6 Rhode Island Reds (ordered vaccinated for Mareks and coccidiosis). They were fed unmedicated chick starter from Grubbly Farms (Little Pecks I belive it’s called) and I added electrolyte to their water upon arrival. I lost two within 48 hours and spoke to the hatchery and explained my setup and was told it was a great setup. The remaining 4 seemed to be doing great after that. About a week later while vacuuming in the same room I noticed chaos in the brooder. Two of the chicks seemed to be actively dying (convulsing) and the other two seemed to be breathing heavily and lethargic. All chicks expired within about 3 minutes of each other. They seemed perfectly fine 10 minutes prior the last time I had walked past the brooder and put eyes on them. I frantically researched what it could be but came up with nothing. I thought that I may quite literally scared them to death when I started the vacuum in the same room.

Fast forward a few weeks and we received 10 chicks in the mail from a different hatchery (not because we were unhappy with the first but because of the availability of breeds). These were three Rhode Island Reds, four Plymouth Barred Rocks, and three Australorps. These were not vaccinated for anything. They were given electrolyte added to their water upon their arrival and were also fed the Little Pecks chick starter that we had leftover. These chicks seemed to thrive more than the last batch I had which is all I had to compare it to. They seemed generally livelier and seemed to grow a little more in their first week compared to the last batch of Rhode Island Reds. After 2 weeks we felt the plastic tote was beginning to get tight so we moved them to a plastic kiddie pool surrounded by 1/2” hardware cloth and added a chick roosting bar thingy for them to play on. They seemed to love this new area hopping up on everything they could. During this time the Little Pecks starter feed started to run low so we purchased a bag of Nature’s Best organic chick starter/grower from Tractor Supply. I took what was left of the Little Pecks and added about an equal amount of the new feed to it to start transitioning them over. That was about a week ago. They finished the mix in a few days and were fed the Nature’s Best since. Tonight while watching a movie in the same room we heard some commotion and checked on the chicks, assuming they knocked over their waterer or something. Instead we find two of the chicks convulsing. I tried to grab their waterer and add some electrolyte to it in a desperate attempt to save the remaining chicks but then a couple more died a minute later, a few more and within 10-15 minutes they were all gone. They seemed to have gone a similar way as the first batch. We were hanging out watching them for a bit before we put on a movie and they were jumping around playing on their playscape. Like the last batch, nothing seemed amiss. It may be worth mentioning we never had any cases of pasty butt on either batch.

At this point I am totally at a loss as to what is going on or what I am doing wrong. Does anybody have any insight? I tried to include as many details as I could but please let me know if I left some out. I’m sure I did.

Does it sound like this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...f minerals levels of phosphorus and potassium.

 

[VFamily]

Does it sound like this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/help-chicks-are-dying-larthergic-gasping-seizures-and-then-death-possible-coccidiosis.785126/#:~:text=it could be sudden death syndrome or SDS.,balance of minerals levels of phosphorus and potassium.

I suppose it sounds similar but in that instance the chick seemed to show signs that something was going on. We don’t see any signs at all and then within minutes every chick is gone.

 

[Kiki]

Frankly, I’m also beginning to worry about water. It’s well water. Never had a problem with it. We have a sediment filter and after a couple months it’s pretty orange. Too much iron, perhaps? Though, we used it the entire time and the second batch lasted over 3 weeks.

Did you happen to be giving them cold water?

 

[Kiki]

Are you aware you can send a refrigerated body to your state lab for an answer through a necropsy?
What state are you in?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...testing-state-labs-info.1236884/post-19849025

 

[VFamily]

Did you happen to be giving them cold water?

Made sure not to give cold water. Ran the tap in the middle trying to get it as close to room temp as we could.

I live in Massachusetts. I briefly looked into this after the first batch died but I understood that they had to be over a certain age. Maybe 16 weeks or something. I can’t quite remember the age but I knew I wasn’t even close.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My brooder is a clear 100 quart tote with the cover cut out and 1/2” hardware cloth attached to that opening. I have a brooder plate for heat from Brinsea.

The remaining 4 seemed to be doing great after that. About a week later while vacuuming in the same room I noticed chaos in the brooder. Two of the chicks seemed to be actively dying (convulsing) and the other two seemed to be breathing heavily and lethargic. All chicks expired within about 3 minutes of each other. They seemed perfectly fine 10 minutes prior the last time I had walked past the brooder and put eyes on them.

Tonight while watching a movie in the same room we heard some commotion and checked on the chicks, assuming they knocked over their waterer or something. Instead we find two of the chicks convulsing. I tried to grab their waterer and add some electrolyte to it in a desperate attempt to save the remaining chicks but then a couple more died a minute later, a few more and within 10-15 minutes they were all gone.

We were hanging out watching them for a bit before we put on a movie and they were jumping around playing on their playscape. Like the last batch, nothing seemed amiss.

I agree with @1dermaker1 I would investigate the electrical.
If possible, have your electrician come and do some troubleshooting.
There's a couple of things that stand out to me - brooder plate, hardware cloth, vacuuming and starting/putting on a movie...
There's also an outlet right behind the pool brooder - there's hardware cloth and a cord running out of it.
While perhaps the pool might act as an insulator, if the brooder plate or outlet is faulty...
I don't know of anything else that would take out chicks in 10-15minutes unless carbon monoxide somehow built up, but there's plenty of space and ventilation in there.

Just something to look at again.

I'm sure this is a reach, but could the Brinsea heater have an electrical short in it? I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this loss!

 

[1dermaker1]

I agree with @1dermaker1 I would investigate the electrical.
If possible, have your electrician come and do some troubleshooting.
There's a couple of things that stand out to me - brooder plate, hardware cloth, vacuuming and starting/putting on a movie...
There's also an outlet right behind the pool brooder - there's hardware cloth and a cord running out of it.
While perhaps the pool might act as an insulator, if the brooder plate or outlet is faulty...
I don't know of anything else that would take out chicks in 10-15minutes unless carbon monoxide somehow built up, but there's plenty of space and ventilation in there.

Just something to look at again.

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@Wyorp Rock , Thank you for articulating the electrical fault possibility. I was thinking along those same lines, to include that minutes before chicks were symptom-less and suddenly convulsing when something electrical changed in the room. Only you said it much better! The carbon monoxide poisoning could be a possibility I hadn't thought of, though everyone including the humans would be having symptoms soon after. (i.e.: Headaches and drowsiness. Then possible death!) Regardless, If it were me I'd like to know for sure! I hope @VFamily figures it out soon. They are in my thoughts and prayers!