Sorry you had to go though losing all those babies!
Having dealt with a chick with heat stroke I can tell you that it takes diligent care to bring them back from the brink. Here is what I did for my hot chick:
Moved to a cooler place (cool for this chick being 80 degrees since she is just a baby)
First hour: 1 drop of honey every 15 minutes followed by three beak dips in water to force a drink each time.
Second hour (she was now not panting or drooping her wings): 2 drops of honey every 20 minutes still three dips every 15 minutes.
Third hour and until recovery (moved back to normal brooder at normal temp, in my girl's case 90 degrees): All the honey the chick will take once every 2 hours (mine took about 3 drops at a time), beak dip in the water every 30 minutes (usually she would take subsequent sips on her own at this point).
I changed the pattern by the hour because my chick was recovering. Some chicks may require the first or second hour intensive care for longer. About hour 7 my chick started running around, eating starter again, and drinking from the fount on her own.
If I had had any on hand I probably would have replaced the water with Pedialyte or added electrolyte powder to the water to increase the absorption of the liquid into the body. Vitamins wouldn't hurt either.
To feed drops of honey dip your finger in some honey, creating a drop on the end of your finger. If the beak is open just rub a little across the side of the beak and allow the chick to swallow when ready. If the beak is not open rub the drop on the tip of the beak from underneath so some honey goes up into the beak. The chick will eventually swallow unless they are too far gone already.
Most chicks (again unless too far gone) will drink when their beak is dipped into the water. Just make sure that as soon as you dip you give the chick the opportunity to raise it's head to swallow.
My little girl is fully recovered and shows no lasting effects from her brush with death. When I first found her overheated though I was sure she would die. Panting and barely able to lift her head. It seemed like she was never going to recover completely when I was working on her for so many hours. Although she improved a little over the first few hours she still wouldn't stand up at all. It wasn't until about 6.5 hours in when she got up on her legs but a half hour later she was acting like nothing had been wrong at all.
I hope by sharing this info that people in hot climates getting chicks can try to help them out with these tips!
Having dealt with a chick with heat stroke I can tell you that it takes diligent care to bring them back from the brink. Here is what I did for my hot chick:
Moved to a cooler place (cool for this chick being 80 degrees since she is just a baby)
First hour: 1 drop of honey every 15 minutes followed by three beak dips in water to force a drink each time.
Second hour (she was now not panting or drooping her wings): 2 drops of honey every 20 minutes still three dips every 15 minutes.
Third hour and until recovery (moved back to normal brooder at normal temp, in my girl's case 90 degrees): All the honey the chick will take once every 2 hours (mine took about 3 drops at a time), beak dip in the water every 30 minutes (usually she would take subsequent sips on her own at this point).
I changed the pattern by the hour because my chick was recovering. Some chicks may require the first or second hour intensive care for longer. About hour 7 my chick started running around, eating starter again, and drinking from the fount on her own.
If I had had any on hand I probably would have replaced the water with Pedialyte or added electrolyte powder to the water to increase the absorption of the liquid into the body. Vitamins wouldn't hurt either.
To feed drops of honey dip your finger in some honey, creating a drop on the end of your finger. If the beak is open just rub a little across the side of the beak and allow the chick to swallow when ready. If the beak is not open rub the drop on the tip of the beak from underneath so some honey goes up into the beak. The chick will eventually swallow unless they are too far gone already.
Most chicks (again unless too far gone) will drink when their beak is dipped into the water. Just make sure that as soon as you dip you give the chick the opportunity to raise it's head to swallow.
My little girl is fully recovered and shows no lasting effects from her brush with death. When I first found her overheated though I was sure she would die. Panting and barely able to lift her head. It seemed like she was never going to recover completely when I was working on her for so many hours. Although she improved a little over the first few hours she still wouldn't stand up at all. It wasn't until about 6.5 hours in when she got up on her legs but a half hour later she was acting like nothing had been wrong at all.
I hope by sharing this info that people in hot climates getting chicks can try to help them out with these tips!
