Shipped chicks dying!**Update**

[NancyNurseCxMama]

@MTchicknman I am not crazy about the FDA either (even less so now that so many restrictions are slated to be zapped) but I am concerned about my chicks and would like to take any reasonable precautions regarding their health.
Old ICU nurse that I am, I do have a bit of faith in treatments and medications.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

No worries Nancy! I sure do understand the part about being tired. I have to take a lot of little breaks in this heat. I may not consider my chickens pets, but I do enjoy and care for them the best I can. And I'm certainly not above enjoying a fluffy chicky snuggle once in a while either. I like when they purr. Cutest little whirring sound.

I also appreciate you having the forethought to research compassionate care and euthanasia. Most people avoid those ideas when it concerns their pets.

So about the feed. I'll use this bag up, get another 25 pounds (and probably no longer needing to be medicated)and use it up, hopefully by then I've figured they'll be something like 16-20 weeks old by then. Hard to remember how much chicks eat when my last ones were over 20 years ago. If not, I'll buy more chick feed to get them to about 20 weeks or better. I want them on the high protein low calcium feed at least until they start laying.

Anyway, somewhere around 4-6 months old they will be coming into laying age, depending on breed and time of year, supplemental lighting. At POL (point of lay, or of an age to be starting to lay eggs) I'll switch to layer feed. Layer feed has less protein, more calcium, so on. Formulated for laying hens, obviously. Could use grower or flock feed and free-feed oyster shell for calcium. That feed is not medicated. It will partly depend on what's available to me locally at that time. I plan on selling fully half or more of these girls around that time, so getting them started on locally accepted and available quality feed is an important selling point, or would be if I was buying. I'm only keeping a max of 10 hens.

The withdrawal period for each medication given to any meat, dairy, or egg-laying animal (human consumption) is stipulated by the government. A 10 day withdrawal period means you must wait at least 10 days after the last dose given to use the meat/milk/eggs for human consumption. Some meds can be much longer, some even lifetime (the animal or its products must not be consumed EVER), some have no withdrawal period.

Amprolium is the most common coccidiostat (not an antibiotic) used in chicken feed here. I'm pretty sure I'm remembering the withdrawal as being 10 days for both meat and eggs. Doesn't matter for me since, as I said, it'll be months after they ingest it before I'll have eggs to donate, gift, sell, or use myself.

I'm allergic to lots of antibiotics. One of the reasons I raise some of my own food is because of that. If any of these ever get ill to the point of needing oral or injected antibiotics, I will either have to euthanize it or re-home it as a pet. Therefore it behooves me to make darn sure their quarters are impeccably clean and they stay in glowing good health.

I hope that all made sense. I'm sapped from heat and about to find a cool pillow for the night. Enjoy those pretty pet birds!

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

@NorthTexasWink ---thank you so much for taking the time to respond.
Go for that cool pillow....good night!

 

[debid]

No worries Nancy! I sure do understand the part about being tired. I have to take a lot of little breaks in this heat. I may not consider my chickens pets, but I do enjoy and care for them the best I can. And I'm certainly not above enjoying a fluffy chicky snuggle once in a while either. I like when they purr. Cutest little whirring sound.

I also appreciate you having the forethought to research compassionate care and euthanasia. Most people avoid those ideas when it concerns their pets.

So about the feed. I'll use this bag up, get another 25 pounds (and probably no longer needing to be medicated)and use it up, hopefully by then I've figured they'll be something like 16-20 weeks old by then. Hard to remember how much chicks eat when my last ones were over 20 years ago. If not, I'll buy more chick feed to get them to about 20 weeks or better. I want them on the high protein low calcium feed at least until they start laying.

Anyway, somewhere around 4-6 months old they will be coming into laying age, depending on breed and time of year, supplemental lighting. At POL (point of lay, or of an age to be starting to lay eggs) I'll switch to layer feed. Layer feed has less protein, more calcium, so on. Formulated for laying hens, obviously. Could use grower or flock feed and free-feed oyster shell for calcium. That feed is not medicated. It will partly depend on what's available to me locally at that time. I plan on selling fully half or more of these girls around that time, so getting them started on locally accepted and available quality feed is an important selling point, or would be if I was buying. I'm only keeping a max of 10 hens.

The withdrawal period for each medication given to any meat, dairy, or egg-laying animal (human consumption) is stipulated by the government. A 10 day withdrawal period means you must wait at least 10 days after the last dose given to use the meat/milk/eggs for human consumption. Some meds can be much longer, some even lifetime (the animal or its products must not be consumed EVER), some have no withdrawal period.

Amprolium is the most common coccidiostat (not an antibiotic) used in chicken feed here. I'm pretty sure I'm remembering the withdrawal as being 10 days for both meat and eggs. Doesn't matter for me since, as I said, it'll be months after they ingest it before I'll have eggs to donate, gift, sell, or use myself.

I'm allergic to lots of antibiotics. One of the reasons I raise some of my own food is because of that. If any of these ever get ill to the point of needing oral or injected antibiotics, I will either have to euthanize it or re-home it as a pet. Therefore it behooves me to make darn sure their quarters are impeccably clean and they stay in glowing good health.

I hope that all made sense. I'm sapped from heat and about to find a cool pillow for the night. Enjoy those pretty pet birds!

I think you'll be surprised by how much they eat. It's about 10 lbs. per chick for the first 10 weeks. I don't remember how many you have but if you're talking about keeping 10, you'll be through that 25# bag in a week or two. The 50# sacks are much more economical.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

Thanks debid! I'll likely get the 50 pound bag next time, in that case. I have 25 layer chicks. Like I said, couldn't remember how much feed I went through in the past, so I just got the 25 pound bag. Didn't want it setting around losing it's oomph. After refilling my little mason jar feeders repeatedly since they got here, you are probably right. I can almost see them growing!

Still happy active peepers as of this morning. I hear their contented chirping momentarily escalate with every thunderclap, as we've been having storms last night and this morning. Too cute!

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

With my seven chicks (brought home at two days old) I've gone through almost 35 pounds of feed in about six weeks. Yesterday I picked up the 50 pound bag and expect to need more before they are off the medicated chick starter.
Eating and pooping machines!

 

[MTchicknman]

With my seven chicks (brought home at two days old) I've gone through almost 35 pounds of feed in about six weeks. Yesterday I picked up the 50 pound bag and expect to need more before they are off the medicated chick starter.
Eating and pooping machines!

I'm thinking there's a challenge between how much feed ours are eating and how much horse bedding we're buying for them. They poop so fast the bedding has to be changed out every couple of days, and those bedding bales seem to go fast!

 

[Katrina89]

I'm really sorry y'all lost baby chicks so soon after shipping.

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed. My chicks were sent out on a Wednesday. They actually left the hatchery around midnight on Tues. After sitting at the PO all night, they started their trip. At every single leg of their journey, they missed their connection, and sat at each facility for an other 12 hours. They finally made it to Southern Maine early Friday morning. Repeated calling and urging resulted in me finally getting the info that they had been sent to a closer sorting facility, but again, missed the connecting truck to get sent to my PO. My Post Master was actually very helpful, and tried repeatedly to get a response from the local sorting facility. They never answer their phone there. So, I took a chance and drove to the sorting facility. It's not available to the public AT ALL. Met an employee in the parking lot who made a few phone calls and then she took the time to escort me and my car to the correct bay at the back of the facility. I'd not have got in if not for her help, her employee badge, and her knowledge of the system. The guy working that bay was completely deaf, and would have never known there was any one there. Had I not been pushy enough to complete all of these steps, my chicks would have sat there for 24 hours, and I'd have picked up a box of dead chicks on Saturday morning. As it was, I lost 2 due to lengthy transit.

 

[Katrina89]

Agreed. My chicks were sent out on a Wednesday. They actually left the hatchery around midnight on Tues. After sitting at the PO all night, they started their trip. At every single leg of their journey, they missed their connection, and sat at each facility for an other 12 hours. They finally made it to Southern Maine early Friday morning. Repeated calling and urging resulted in me finally getting the info that they had been sent to a closer sorting facility, but again, missed the connecting truck to get sent to my PO. My Post Master was actually very helpful, and tried repeatedly to get a response from the local sorting facility. They never answer their phone there. So, I took a chance and drove to the sorting facility. It's not available to the public AT ALL. Met an employee in the parking lot who made a few phone calls and then she took the time to escort me and my car to the correct bay at the back of the facility. I'd not have got in if not for her help, her employee badge, and her knowledge of the system. The guy working that bay was completely deaf, and would have never known there was any one there. Had I not been pushy enough to complete all of these steps, my chicks would have sat there for 24 hours, and I'd have picked up a box of dead chicks on Saturday morning. As it was, I lost 2 due to lengthy transit.

Oh no! Those poor babies! I'm glad you took the initiative...