Sudden death of healthy chicks

[HeidiGetsChicks]

Any chance you had a nonstick pan heating up on the stove or in the oven?

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Any chance you had a nonstick pan heating up on the stove or in the oven?

Being first thing in the morning you might be spot on. Wouldn't be the first time someone killed their chicks by making breakfast.

 

[I am Katsu]

Are you using Cedar wood shavings? What heat bulb are you using?

I use pine shavings and a heat bulb that I've been using with most of my previous chicks. I've used them both on all my batches so I don't think this was the problem.

 

[NatJ]

I have no idea why 6 perfectly healthy chicks would just fall to the ground and die right in front of my eyes.

Did every chick in the pen die? Or were some fine?

I gave my older chicks the same food and water and they were breathing the same air.

I have them indoors in a room dedicated especially for hatching eggs and keeping hatchlings. It's well ventilated with a good temperature.

Were there other chicks in the same room at the same time? If so, were they affected or not?

Today I woke up and when I checked my chicks they were all running around playing. I went to go change their water since it had woodchips on it (I always use purified water for them). After I came back I noticed one started falling down to the ground and kicking It's legs uncontrollably. The rest were doing fine and were still running around, but when I grabbed the one that was acting weird to inspect it I looked down again and one by one in a span of maybe 2 minutes they all started falling down to the ground kicking their legs uncontrollably.

Did they drink any of the new water before the symptoms started?

 

[I am Katsu]

Any chance you had a nonstick pan heating up on the stove or in the oven?

no, I haven't eaten nor cooked anything all day. I really don't feel like eating right now.

 

[I am Katsu]

Did every chick in the pen die? Or were some fine?



Were there other chicks in the same room at the same time? If so, were they affected or not?


Did they drink any of the new water before the symptoms started?

They all died. There were some older chicks but they were fine and I was just changing the water and they started dying as soon as I came back. I change it 3-4 times a day and last time I changed it was right before I went to bed about 7 hours before they died.

 

[I am Katsu]

Again I'm truly sorry, this would have me really stressed and confused (and doing my best to ignore the bizarre poodle comment.) Can you get a necropsy?

Don't worry about it, what happened already happened. I'll just move on and make sure my other batches are okay and they don't have the same problem. I don't think I want to get a necropsy, I just worry that my other chicks are okay.

 

[NatJ]

They all died. There were some older chicks but they were fine and I was just changing the water and they started dying as soon as I came back. I change it 3-4 times a day and last time I changed it was right before I went to bed about 7 hours before they died.

That is really odd.

If there were older chicks in the same room, it probably was not anything in the air of the room.

If they showed symptoms and died without drinking any of the new water, that water should not be the problem.

If the problem was the former water, or the bedding, or anything else that had been in the brooder all night, I would have expected them to die before you found them in the morning, or to die more slowly than what you described.

Dying that fast, all at once, makes it seem like something new was present right then. But if it happened right when you checked on them, and you did not see it or notice it, then I cannot figure out what it might have been.

Unfortunately, I'm just as stumped as everyone else. I feel like your answers have ruled out all the possibilities I was considering, and now I have nothing left

 

[HeidiGetsChicks]

Is there any chance you were wearing something that had a strong chemical fragrance? Like clothing fresh out of the dryer that had dryer sheets used? Perfume? Deodorant spray? Sunscreen spray?

I'm theorizing some sort of "fume-y" type thing that's more localized than all the air in the room, so the larger chicks in another area of the room didn't get as large a dose.

 

[I am Katsu]

That is really odd.

If there were older chicks in the same room, it probably was not anything in the air of the room.

If they showed symptoms and died without drinking any of the new water, that water should not be the problem.

If the problem was the former water, or the bedding, or anything else that had been in the brooder all night, I would have expected them to die before you found them in the morning, or to die more slowly than what you described.

Dying that fast, all at once, makes it seem like something new was present right then. But if it happened right when you checked on them, and you did not see it or notice it, then I cannot figure out what it might have been.

Unfortunately, I'm just as stumped as everyone else. I feel like your answers have ruled out all the possibilities I was considering, and now I have nothing left

Thank you for trying to help me but I'll just hope it doesn't happen again.