Store bought chicks dying one by one

[rachellea]

I just want to say, I’ve got chicks in incubated and store bought chicks in the same brooder. One by one the 3 I’ve bought from rural king have died, with the same exact conditions in the brooder as the ones I’ve hatched . I’m pissed

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I just want to say, I’ve got chicks in incubated and store bought chicks in the same brooder. One by one the 3 I’ve bought from rural king have died, with the same exact conditions in the brooder as the ones I’ve hatched . I’m pissed

I'm sorry about your loss.

Please post photos of your brooder setup and the chicks.

What's the temperature in your brooder on the warm and cold side?

Shipped chicks can come with their own challenges. Sometimes they suffer from shipping stress, providing electrolytes or Sav A Chick for the first few days can be helpful.
If they were already running about at the feed store, they may be a few days old and may not require as much heat as just hatched chicks.

 

[rachellea]

I'm sorry about your loss.

Please post photos of your brooder setup and the chicks.

What's the temperature in your brooder on the warm and cold side?

Shipped chicks can come with their own challenges. Sometimes they suffer from shipping stress, providing electrolytes or Sav A Chick for the first few days can be helpful.
If they were already running about at the feed store, they may be a few days old and may not require as much heat as just hatched chicks.

I have 2 brooders, one for the adults one for the babies, I have a heat lamp in the adult one and a heat plate in the smaller babies one. I’ve raised 2 store bought chicks from rural king that did great, what I can say is that they seemed really calm and weren’t the fastest chicks. It’s actually quite horrific how they actually died, my stepson called and said the one was dead under the heat lamp, it was limp , he buried it before I got home. It was actually quite alive , and I had it back up and walking using electrolytes in the water, then it threw up the nastiest smelling stuff I’ve ever smelt and died for real this time. Woke up and the other baby store bought were also dead. I was absolutely horrified. Because part of me didn’t think they were dead. I’ll attach a picture of the dead chick that was actually alive- before I isolated it and it died again

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have 2 brooders, one for the adults one for the babies, I have a heat lamp in the adult one and a heat plate in the smaller babies one. I’ve raised 2 store bought chicks from rural king that did great, what I can say is that they seemed really calm and weren’t the fastest chicks. It’s actually quite horrific how they actually died, my stepson called and said the one was dead under the heat lamp, it was limp , he buried it before I got home. It was actually quite alive , and I had it back up and walking using electrolytes in the water, then it threw up the nastiest smelling stuff I’ve ever smelt and died for real this time. Woke up and the other baby store bought were also dead. I was absolutely horrified. Because part of me didn’t think they were dead. I’ll attach a picture of the dead chick that was actually alive- before I isolated it and it died again

What's the temp in the brooders?

How much ventilation do they have in the boxes?

Adults that are fully feathered can go outside and surely do not need a heat lamp.

I would make a screen top for the brooder so they have plenty of ventilation. A brooder plate is sufficient heat.
I'd also consider placing food and water in containers that are not clear, it's hard to distinguish food from bedding and the water containers somewhat seem to disappear as well. Small colored bowls or chick water/feeders would be better, these are brightly colored and easy for chicks to identify food/water. I would recommend if you keep them on shavings, that you provide them with chick grit (crushed granite) free choice.

Nasty smelling contents from the crop sounds like the chick had sour crop which is unusual in such a young bird, perhaps it was eating shavings instead of food and the crop became impacted. This can cause dehydration if food/water is not being digested properly.

 

[rachellea]

What's the temp in the brooders?

How much ventilation do they have in the boxes?

Adults that are fully feathered can go outside and surely do not need a heat lamp.

I would make a screen top for the brooder so they have plenty of ventilation. A brooder plate is sufficient heat.
I'd also consider placing food and water in containers that are not clear, it's hard to distinguish food from bedding and the water containers somewhat seem to disappear as well. Small colored bowls or chick water/feeders would be better, these are brightly colored and easy for chicks to identify food/water. I would recommend if you keep them on shavings, that you provide them with chick grit (crushed granite) free choice.

Nasty smelling contents from the crop sounds like the chick had sour crop which is unusual in such a young bird, perhaps it was eating shavings instead of food and the crop became impacted. This can cause dehydration if food/water is not being digested properly.

Sorry I mean adult chicks as in 4-6 weeks . Not full grown chickens , both have massive ventalation gaps.
We have a large coop for the outdoor chickens .

I hope they aren’t eating shavings but i also know that this is the exact same set up I’ve always had.

I talked to the store today, and they said it’s happened a lot and offered me a replacement . I declined . They are shipped and I guess that’s something that doesn’t happen with new borns . We talked a while about the save a chick , feeders etc.

I’m still so horrified but I guess baby chicks do die I just ..thought they only died with bad owners.

I have the temperature chart and 95-97 ish degrees under the plate ( one side is slightly higher than the other so they can move as needed) . The were bigger than my chicks and I did have it lower .

I guess we live and learn. My stepson doesn’t know they died . I don’t plan on telling him, I actually replaced them with tractor supply chicks that looked identical, I’ve been checking them non stop . I actually chose the other chicks because they looked less active and I guess I thought they looked sad. Bleh , long live this batch .

And to think I actually thought I’d be able to kill the roosters some day?

 

[rachellea]

The Polish is the day I moved him to the “ adult chick brooder) … new borns go in the other

 

[rachellea]

Update: tractor supply chicks still alive
Considering not incubating my last shipment of eggs ( silkies)
I am still really sad.
Ive decided to take a break , just finish raising what I have. haven’t tossed my silkie eggs but plan to. We had one last shipment of eggs come in for our flock.
I am really afraid of one day going through this again , those poor babies. I am sorry to all you chicken mommies who’ve been through this.
Did adjust the heat plate .

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How many eggs did you have shipped?
Seems like a waste to not hatch them.

Loss can be hard. If you raise more, yes, you may go through this again.

Living life, comes with the same loss and joys...