Sudden death after home made grit

[yokel]

Had 3 very healthy chicks all around 3 weeks old in an old rabbit hutch with the broody.. been feeding and watering them daily but ceased giving them exclusively chick crumb about a week ago, they've been foraging about in there over the last week on a mixed diet of full corn, remainder of the crumb, crushed bread, assorted wild bird seed, bits of layer mix etc.

The other day I thought, they need some grit in their diet. I have a pile of several tons of crushed shell from the food industry - whelk, clam, mussel etc shells - so I took some and washed it thoroughly before pulverising it in a pestle and mortar. By the time I'd finished it was pretty fine - not quite sand but pretty fine-gritty. Put it on offer in a shallow tin dish. I figured the calcium out the shells would only be a good thing.

Put them to bed.. all got under mum, 2 under wings and one under the tail.

Left it next day till about 6, came in, 2 dead. it was the 2 I think that went under the broodys wings. Both fast growing cocks I think. The pure yellow 'runty' one that stayed under mums tail at bedtime, is still A-OK.

I'm thinking, the grit I 'made' for them out of seaside shells is responsible. But all comments welcome. V sad :-(

 

[rosemarythyme]

Shell grit is not appropriate for chicks due to calcium, but I don't know if that contributed to their deaths, like if there was something on the shell that didn't wash off. Female chicks should have about 1% calcium in their diet until they begin to lay.

More importantly, they should still be on chick crumble at this age. Most bread has almost no nutritional value, layer again is too high in calcium, etc. Malnourishment could be a factor but again, impossible to say without a necropsy.

 

[50-45-1]

mixed diet of full corn, remainder of the crumb, crushed bread, assorted wild bird seed, bits of layer mix etc.

Not appropriate diet for 3 week olds.
The whole kernal corn by its self would be indigestible for them and to large. That in itself could have done them in.
Chick crumble for a good 2 months, then grower for a couple months after that.
Sorry about your chicks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The broody still likes to stay in the hutch with the chick.. maybe I should arrange some sort of raised dish to put her food in, make it hard for the chick to get at it.

Somewhere I read chicks should have 'grit sand' (i.e. not calcium) but I'm kinda thinking the crumb should be all they need? Am I right on that?

Insoluble grit is for digestion. In the US it's generally granite. If you have naturally rocky soil that the chickens can access, they should be able to provide themselves with enough grit to get by. Some of us don't have that (or don't have particles of the right size/hardness) so we need to provide it.

The mama can safely eat the chick's food, but the chicks shouldn't have layer feed. So better to feed her the same as the babies.

 

[Fallenone05]

If your hen goes broody, let her raise them. The chicks hear her clucking from inside the egg and she hears them cheeping in the egg, and they bond that way well before they hatch. Your hen knows best on temperature for her babies - If they're cold, they go under her. If they're warm, they come out. Mom finds them food when they forage, usually bugs and little grit naturally in the soil and surrounding area.

Your chicken's instincts will raise the babies better than we can.

Your broody hen will not be laying eggs until at or around 5 weeks after the eggs hatch. Your broody hen AND the chicks need to be on chick starter/grower. The extra calcium for her is just building up in her system as she isn't spending it on making eggs, and the extra protein helps her build her system back up after constantly sitting and eating less while on the nest for nearly 3 weeks. That's 8 weeks of not producing eggs, she doesn't really *need* calcium at this point while she's brooding chicks.

I never gave my babies grit when momma broody was taking care of them, and I've seen chicks hork down crickets nearly as big as they were with no ill effect since they found what they needed to digest while ranging in the yard.

I will never forget watching a 3-day old chick eat a cricket that was as wide as its head was and still go back for more.

I incubate my own eggs at times, but I would -much- rather let a broody raise her babies as she teaches them what to eat and shows them the rules of the yard, plus they learn their place in the flock much faster than me introducing chicks to the group.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'm so sorry this happened. You were trying to do your best for your babies and it didn't work out. I agree with the others in that it's best to feed the hen "baby food" rather than to give the babies an adult formula they can't handle yet. Oyster shell on the side won't hurt the babies, as they instinctively won"t touch it unti they need it. But do supply grit appropriate for their age and all should be well. My birds free range part of the day and may find all the grit they need, but I assume nothing of the sort and take no chances. Good luck to you!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I am sorry for your losses but I can't speak to the causes. I also won't address the feed issues and will state at the outset that I am no authority in anything. Having said that however, I will express my opinion that no human can improve on the job a broody mother hen can do in raising chicks; they've been doing it successfully for millennia. Her body is perfectly designed to maintain both the proper heat and humidity required by baby chicks. They can leave her protection whenever they wish, and return to her when they feel chilled. She teaches them what, when, and how much to eat. If there is danger she protects them. She socializes them into the flock. There is just no substitute for a good broody hen. Better luck going forward!

 

[Shezadandy]

Thanks. I've swept them out & luckily my Mrs' niece had a load of chick crumb spare so I've been able to rapidly get the remaining chick the right feed. Obviously removed the grit as well.

The broody still likes to stay in the hutch with the chick.. maybe I should arrange some sort of raised dish to put her food in, make it hard for the chick to get at it.

Somewhere I read chicks should have 'grit sand' (i.e. not calcium) but I'm kinda thinking the crumb should be all they need? Am I right on that?

If they've been out and about in the yard chances are they've been ingesting grit the whole time they've been out there.

We feed all our chickens the same thing because there are always chicks of various ages around along with older hens and roosters - we feed an all-flock crumble - you can also feed everyone chick starter - and oyster shell in a separate dish. The hen and chick will not distinguish between the layer and chick starter- they have no way to know what's what.

 

[Perris]

I think that's much more likely.

On what chicks can and can't eat, mine free range from birth and their broody encourages them to eat all sorts. Within the first week they're quite capable of swallowing a chunky live mealworm (and love them so much it's like a feeding frenzy), and of course wild bird chicks eat almost nothing but whole insects that their parents bring back to the nest.

Have you found the UK thread btw? In case not, it's here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/uk-member-please-say-hi.655508/

 

[Mamatomany123]

Not appropriate diet for 3 week olds.
The whole kernal corn by its self would be indigestible for them and to large. That in itself could have done them in.
Chick crumble for a good 2 months, then grower for a couple months after that.
Sorry about your chicks.

Adding onto this,definitely should not be feeding them any layer feed.