Please help, my poults are dying FAST!

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

I think you are right Mama! They drank like they hadn't seen water all day when I put them back in their cardboard brooder last night. I never imagined that they would be stupid enough to forget what their waterer looked like from one day to the next!! I am so sad about the ones that I lost, I feel like I could have prevented that, but I honestly never imagined that I would have to dip the almost two week old poults beaks to remind them where the water was. Sheesh, last year's poults were smarter than this bunch. I'll be more vigilant for the next couple of weeks...

 

[OmaBird]

Something about your story reminds me of my first year with baby turkeys. They died because they where in the sun not able to get to shade. It was like heat stroke. Mine where not in a wire cage like yours. Mine where in a wooden box with 4 ft tall sides that blocked any drafts. It wasn't until the noon sun hit them that they had no shade and they where dieing. Its not so much that they forgot to drink. If they can't get out of the sun, they die.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

They weren't in the sun, they were in the shade, all day... it would have been way too hot in the sun...

 

[longranger]

IMHO poults will not become dehydrated enough to start dropping like flies from a few hours without drinking, particularly if they were not eating and it was not blazing hot. A quick physical exam on the poults often tells the story. A significantly dehydrated poult usually has skinny gaunt looking legs compared to normal.

Comparing a human putting a poult outside to the attentions of a good momma hen is unrealistic. The hen is available to modulate the poults body temp at all times. I suspect that direct contact betwen the poult and hen warms them up quicker than heat lamps. Also instinct tells mamma to bring her babies to food and water frequently.

 

[thaiturkey]

I still have the feeling that the change of environment is at the bottom of this. I read a while ago that poults can be confused if their feed and drink containers are moved. Putting them in another place and then returning them to the original place could do much the same. Add to that the changes in temperature and something might well go wrong.

I think that it's inappropriate to write off recently hatched poults as stupid. Try taking a human baby from it's mother, putting in a box with some water and husks and see how well it feeds! These birds are laying eggs and chasing cats before a human baby can crawl.

 

[SandyC]

Sorry about your babies. I hope you get it all figured out.

 

[medan]

too young to chance it out side at all and you lose control over heat out side also you have no control over stinging insects ect just a very bad idea untill they have all their feathers