Sudden Chick Deaths 2 night in a row

[Six Chickies]

That is what I did with the one that died last night, and I also did it with this tiny one, but she didn't poop after. I will try again. I would do almost anything to keep the remaining 11.

 

[Six Chickies]

Sorry, 10.

 

[Six Chickies]

I think i will try to bring them ALL in tonight. I will have to find a tote big enough. Or could I use a bathtub? Would that work? Then I can set up a mattress in the bathroom, and monitor them.

 

[Sjisty]

14 degrees C = about 57 degrees F. That's waaayyy to cold for week-old chicks! It needs to be about 30-ish degrees C, which is around 90 degrees F. They are probably huddling together to keep warm and the weak will be trampled and flattened. All the other problems, pasty butt, crop not emptying, etc., are all related to being kept too cold.

Coccidiosis can be passed from chick to chick. One of the most common symptoms is blood in the poop, so be on the lookout for it.

The tub would work, if you have a heat source. A lamp with a 60-watt bulb on one end will help keep them warm.

If they are all together in a huddle, that is a good indication that they are too cold.

Good luck!

 

[Sjisty]

By the way, you need to put towels in the bottom of the tub. Otherwise it's too slippery for them to stand. The towels will also help keep them warmer if you have a light on them.

 

[Six Chickies]

I have a reptile heating pad that i plan to bury under towels. I have a sheet covering the whole bottom of the tub. In the morning, I will treat for pasty butt and or constipation. They have a little plastic box with an opening in the long side - it's a desk organizer. I am new to 'shipped' day-olds, because my hatched ones stayed in the incubator-turned-brooder without a lamp, and there were fewer of them. My problem is space in the house and keeping them warm in the barn. Hope I have a full 10 at head count in the morning. :/

 

[Six Chickies]

Sorry for the double post.

 

[ten chicks]

These are the first day old chicks I have ever bought. (I had some earlier this spring that I hatched, but they were killed by raccoons), so I have really know clue what to expect, and we drove an hour and a half to get them. I don't think I will be sleeping at all tonight. Can Coccidiosis be passed from chicken to chicken? Like chick to rooster?

I would also give them grit,you mentioned in post that they were outside scratching around,if they eat anything other than chick feed,they need grit to digest feed. Coccidiosis is a parasitic infection of the intestinal tract,it is spread by droppings which get into feed water via droppings. If you suspect cocci,treat ALL chicks/older chickens. Cocci kills very fast. Dose for Corid(amprolium)20% powder is 1/2 tsp per gallon of water,dose for Corid 9.6% liquid is 2 tsp per gallon of water. For pasty butt,wash poop off vent area,dry bottom(use a blow dryer on LOW setting,chicks love the heat)apply vaseline to vent area this prevents poop from sticking. Make sure they are drinking water,add warm water to feed(so it resembles oatmeal,this also increases their water consumption)chicks love this and it is easier for them to eat

 

[cafarmgirl]

14 degrees C = about 57 degrees F. That's waaayyy to cold for week-old chicks! It needs to be about 30-ish degrees C, which is around 90 degrees F. They are probably huddling together to keep warm and the weak will be trampled and flattened. All the other problems, pasty butt, crop not emptying, etc., are all related to being kept too cold.

Coccidiosis can be passed from chick to chick. One of the most common symptoms is blood in the poop, so be on the lookout for it.

The tub would work, if you have a heat source. A lamp with a 60-watt bulb on one end will help keep them warm.

If they are all together in a huddle, that is a good indication that they are too cold.

Good luck!

This! X2! They must have heat! Chicks this age cannot survive in those temps without a heat source. A blanket over the brooder will not do it since they are not capable of creating and maintaining their own body heat. I suspect that if you correct that situation and get them properly warmed up your mortality rate and other problems are likely to disappear. The loud peeping is also evidence that they are cold and want desperately to warm up. Once they get to cold their bodies start shutting down and they die quickly.

 

[popsicle]

The reptile heating pad might work in your barn just fine if you've got good power--I'd personally prefer that to a heat lamp--heat lamps make me nervous.