Sick Chicks Dropping Like Flies

[therealsilkiechick]

if they r sent priority i think only usps ships them but for express mail i have had fedex be carriers along the routes and fedex likes to loose them and take longer cuz u can't track it when in their transits. usually if gotten there in 24 hours they r in better shape. if i remember right chicks have to ship at less than a day old or weigh at least 6oz. to be shipped if older. i thought it was against regulations to ship ones that little unless under 24 hours old. i'm betting they have AE from the hatchery, got chilled or a draft along the way or are week stock, i'd see how many u can save and let the hatchery know there is a problem and request replacements or a refund for the ones u have lost.

good luck!

 

[BunnyMomma]

Try giving a weak lightly sweetend tea (Yes, you know, Tetley) from a dropper. I have had a lot of success using this with weak or disinterested chicks. It usually perks up their appetite so that they can eat on their own. I usually feed just a few drops 3-5 per chick about every 20 minutes until they perk up. Hope this helps.
Bunny

 

[CityChicker]

Quote:
Thank you. You are right- they are supposed to only be shipped as day-olds or adults. I don't know what it is with all these sellers lately advertising that they ship 2-4 week old birds. These birds were supposed to all be day-olds. I would not have gotten them otherwise. I am still waiting to hear from the hatchery/breeder.

I have not seen signs that would make me think AE, but I guess it is possible. The two that were barely hanging on have died now and two more are near death. Nothing we have tried has done any good at all. I have a feeling we may lose all of them. They are just not acting at all like normal chicks. I think you are very right that it could be a combination of factors. I have never, ever lost a whole shipment of chicks before (never even lost more than a couple, even on large orders). Something seriously went wrong at some point.

 

[CityChicker]

Quote:
Thank you, Bunny! That is a great idea. I will try it.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I didn't mean to insinuate that the feed was causing this. Rather if you have a weak chick to get the best food possible. It's my opinion that Purina foods aren't that great... especially not at 18% protein for a sick chick.
I'd also strongly advise against the tea; the caffeine might "perk" them up but there's no long term benefits out of it and could be dangerous at the wrong dose.

Just my $0.02

 

[CityChicker]

Oh, I know what you meant about the feed!

...or I should say, I *thought* that is what you meant, I was just sort of clarifying that you for sure didn't mean it was the Purina feed. I tend to agree with you about the Purina. I have seen our birds gradually not do as well on it over several years, especially since they eliminated the animal protein years ago and we can no longer seem to get their duck chow other than the Mazuri line (our main focus is waterfowl). We still do buy Purina occasionally as we change up the commercial feed periodically, but we definitely don't feed Purina alone. It is mixed with our own custom mix as well, which seems to make the birds look ten times better than with Purina alone, not to mention the increased fertility, better hatchability, increase production, etc...

As far as the tea, I don't know that it necessarily will hurt to try it on a couple of them at this point as they are all dying. Two more are dead now, so four more have died since I started this thread early last evening. I am down to 5 alive right now out of 14 chicks. When I opened the box and saw how bad they looked, I just was hoping and praying they would pull through since this was a rather major purchase for me right now. It doesn't seem very hopeful right now though.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I would say they were stressed from shipping and the cool weather also has done them in.

 

[CityChicker]

So, just to update this thread since I have mostly been on the Orp thread rather than posting here... we have ended up losing 10 of the 14 chicks. The last few, 2 of which appear to be about 2-3 weeks old and 2 of which appear to be about a week old (although obviously stunted at this point, so perhaps older), are doing MUCH better. The others just never recovered. They were dead and near dead upon arrival and just slowly succumbed, never rebounding. I think that they were simply too old to ship, mixed ages, and were starved/dehydrated to death. I also certainly can't rule out that something also happened in transit that they were too weak to survive without food and water. Again, there is a reason it is illegal to ship started chicks.

I was reluctant to mention at first that Greenfire had sent me old chicks of different ages (against my consent and the terms of the auction) but, I wanted to see how Greenfire responded first. Basically, at first they tried to only refund for some of the chicks. They refused to admit the chicks were older than a day old and different ages, basically they accepted no fault or wrong doing what so ever. I explained the situation and asked them to put themselves in my shoes and BE FAIR about this. They responded with a refund for all the chicks but one that had died (that one died after the refund or else they probably would have refunded that one too I imagine), but it certainly was not "service with a smile". They were quite curt about it, but I guess I should be thankful for at least getting some of the money back.

I don't know if this whole thing is simply a result of their inexperience (which is what I hope) or if they don't give a darn about the lives' of these animals. I would hope that they would, at some point, make the decision to not knowingly break Federal law in shipping chicks like this that are over 24 hours old. Several BYC'ers have shown me a tremendous amount of moral support and one has sent me links to threads as old as a year and a half ago where Greenfire pulled the same exact thing on two different people (so, take that how you will).

The remaining chicks that are ALL supposedly day-old chicks (well, actually supposedly 5 days old when the pictures were taken)...