Sick chicks

[coatsra]

I would. I'm so sorry. Were you able to confirm your brooder temps aren't too warm?

@Eggcessive @rosemarythyme @coach723 @Wyorp Rock @Ridgerunner @casportpony
Sorry to tag everyone, but the situation is dire (and I can't find someone online). This poster has had several new chicks die. The first may have had pasty butt, but everyone else seems clean. They noticed dark, tarry stools and started them on Corid yesterday. The chicks become weak, lethargic, and puffed up. There is a picture of their brooder setup above. Thank you so much for your help!

Thank you again! So, I just checked. The temp is around 93F. The chicks are around a week or more older, is this okay? The healthy ones will get comfy in the heat then zoom around. She did throw a few older ones in there. I think she had a lot left over she was trying to get rid of.

I just cleaned the waterer and replenished with the medicine. Cleaned the feed and replaced the bedding.

I appreciate you!!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Thank you again! So, I just checked. The temp is around 93F. The chicks are around a week or more older, is this okay? The healthy ones will get comfy in the heat then zoom around. She did throw a few older ones in there. I think she had a lot left over she was trying to get rid of.

I just cleaned the waterer and replenished with the medicine. Cleaned the feed and replaced the bedding.

I appreciate you!!

I'm sorry I can only help so much and no one else has come in. I think people are stretched thin this time of year.

I'd drop the temp to 85. If they get cold, they'll start peeping loudly (and you can adjust it), but it's better to be a little bit too cool than too overheated. Is the side with food and water at room temperature?

If she gave you a mix of older and younger chicks, that's really not ideal. The older chicks may have already been outside and picked something up (including exposure to coccidiosis). I would not get chicks from this person again and request a refund for the ones that passed.

 

[Yardmom]

If I'm seeing correctly you have a great brooder set up. Were the chicks directly from a hatchery, a feed store, or from an individual? From a hatchery there is usually a few days of guarantee. Praying the Corid helps.

 

[coatsra]

If I'm seeing correctly you have a great brooder set up. Were the chicks directly from a hatchery, a feed store, or from an individual? From a hatchery there is usually a few days of guarantee. Praying the Corid helps.

Thank you for your response! Good to know about the brooder as well. They were from a local hatchery. It wasn’t a very big one, though. She and her husband did it in their backyard. I am going to send her a message later on today.

 

[coatsra]

I'm sorry I can only help so much and no one else has come in. I think people are stretched thin this time of year.

I'd drop the temp to 85. If they get cold, they'll start peeping loudly (and you can adjust it), but it's better to be a little bit too cool than too overheated. Is the side with food and water at room temperature?

If she gave you a mix of older and younger chicks, that's really not ideal. The older chicks may have already been outside and picked something up (including exposure to coccidiosis). I would not get chicks from this person again and request a refund for the ones that passed.

I think you are exactly right. The older ones are honestly thriving. It’s just the younger ones that are dying off. This is good to know. I will get the temp a bit lower and see if that helps too.

I’ll contact her today. It sucks, but honestly a learning lesson in raising chicks. My daughter thought something was weird from the get-go, so probably should have stuck with her intuition.

And no worries at all. I feel so bad to bother you, but I appreciate you talking and walking me through it and trying to figure it out. You are the kindest.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I feel so bad to bother you, but I appreciate you talking and walking me through it and trying to figure it out. You are the kindest.

It's not a bother at all! You're very kind.

If you ever want to ditch the heat lamp, I have an article on heat plates. They're a little bit of an upfront investment, but they're cheaper to run and remove the overheating variable completely. Not sure where your brooder is, but they do need a room that's at least 55F to reach the proper temperature underneath. All my chicks have thrived with a plate, and I don't have to fuss with the stupid lamp height or worry about brooder temps.

 

[Eggcessive]

The way the chicks look standing far away from the heat lamp, could mean that the brooder temperature is too warm. I always put a cheap thermometer on the floor under the heat lamp, and start at 90 degrees, decreasing by 5 degrees as they get a week older. What is the temperature of the room they are in? Chicks who are suffering from shipping stress or have been kept to warm or cold, may suffer pasty butt for up to a week, needing daily checks. I would clean them as needed, and try to dip their beaks into water often if they are seeming weak. I’m sorry that you have been having so many losses.

 

[coach723]

To clarify, newly hatched chicks should have a spot under the heat source that is 95 degrees F the first week, and it goes down by 5 degrees per week until 5 or 6 weeks when they are fully feathered. It's really important with a heat lamp that you actually measure the temperature at the level of the chicks, you can raise or lower the lamp to adjust to what is needed. If the room/area they are in is drafty, temperature fluctuates, etc. it can change things significantly. They also need to have enough room to move in and out of the heat source to regulate their temperatures. Usually they will spend time under the heat, and then run around eating, drinking etc. and then go back to the heat, and the time out of the heat increases a bit each day as they grow. In the first picture I'd have guessed they were too cool since no one was away from the heat, but a single image is hard to tell from. If they seem to be always under the heat, they are likely too cool. If they huddle away from the heat they are likely too warm.
Corid won't hurt them either way.

 

[Ridgerunner]

See if I have this right. Please correct me where I a wrong. You have some chicks about a week old. Some of them had black tarry stools, drooping feathers, and three of them died. I think you have others this age that are not having any issues. And you have some chicks a little older that are not having any issues.

They all came from the same hatchery. Strange that a major hatchery would include older chicks. Some hatcheries sometimes send "packing peanuts", a few extra chicks for warmth during shipping. These are usually extra males. I've also had a hatchery send extra chicks of exactly what I ordered, a pullet of a specific breed. They had extras, I was at the end of them filling orders, so they added one in case a chick died in route. I'm really curious which hatchery would send older chicks? The way the big ones operate they should not have older chicks. But in any case, let them know. They may give a refund or a credit on another order. If they are getting similar complaints from others they may be able to do something with later shipments to other customers.

Black tarry stools generally means blood. I guess it is possible they could have eaten bits of metal shavings or broken glass and cut themselves up inside. More likely are parasites. The one we commonly think of is the one that causes Coccidiosis. Due to the life cycle of the protozoa that causes Cocci, you'd think it would take longer than 1 week to kill them, but some strains of that protozoa are really strong. It could be something else but I think starting Covid immediately was a great move.

I've had chickens poop bright red poop after eating beet skins. I've seen them poop fluorescent blue poop after eating red cabbage. Certain foods can change the color of the poop but they are not likely to turn it tarry thick.

One of the three chicks that died had a really messed up vent, the other two did not. Sounds like that one chick had a medical condition, maybe prolapse where part of the insides stick out. So there could have been something seriously wrong to start with. It is also possible some of the other chicks pecked its vent when seeing the prolapse, causing considerable damage. The other two did not have this damage and died anyway. Possibly two different things were going on.

I agree with Eggcessive. When chicks are cold they get as close to the heat as they can get. When they are hot they get as far away from the heat as they can. From that photo they look hot. You can reduce heat by moving the heat lamp further away or by using a smaller wattage bulb. Sometimes I use a 240 watt bulb. sometimes a 125 or 75 watt. My brooder is big enough that I can keep one area warm enough but the rest can cool off. That way I don't have to worry if the area under the lamp is too warm. They just move to an area that they like.

I never use the clamp to hold the heat lamp, they can fail, especially if something bumps them. I strongly recommend using wire or chain (something that cannot burn and will not break) to hold them in place.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would definitely contact the hatchery/breeder - they may have had other people get chicks who had the same issue, which would indicate there was something wrong with the batch for some reason.

It's very unlikely to be coccidiosis (or Marek's or anything, they're simply too young for any of that to develop) but Corid won't hurt and since you already started it I would finish the course of treatment.

Looking at your brooder photo they're all huddled under the heat lamp. Do they all stay under there like that or do they move around throughout the day? If they spend all their time under it they're too cold but that seems unlikely with the heat lamp so close overhead. What's the wattage of the bulb if you know?