These chicks looked sad so I brought them home

[cluckmecoop7]

TSC don't take good care of their chicks at all.

 

[IttyBittyBirdy]

Yep, noticed those new "brooders".
Last few times I've been in they've either had 1. A majority of the chicks with pasty butt, or 2. All huddled together and a couple might have been dead.
Of course I mentioned it but I highly doubt anything was done.

 

[Mama_3Boys]

Last year I had one die within an hour of bringing it home from TSC. I called the store and asked if I could get a replacement or money back and I was able to get a new chick, but did unfortunately have to take the deceased one back.

 

[springvalley123]

Sorry if I missed it, but you should also check for pasty butt and gently clean it up if present. It can get so bad they get impacted and die. Someone else had that problem with rescued chicks from the new TSC brooders.

 

[Melontine]

Sorry if I missed it, but you should also check for pasty butt and gently clean it up if present. It can get so bad they get impacted and die. Someone else had that problem with rescued chicks from the new TSC brooders.

Yep, a few of them do show signs of pasty butt. (You didn't miss it, I didn't mention it before.)
I'm being gentle with them and trying not to mess with them too much as they are so tiny, I haven't worked with bantams much before. But I am watching to make sure their little vents are clear.

 

[NatJ]

You could put a bit of chick starter on a shallow dish (like a jar lid), and add water so it swells up and gets mushy. I've found that chicks seem to like that, and it gives them moisture and food at once.

You might even push it partway under your brooder plate, so they can eat while they stay in the warmth.

 

[Melontine]

Down to six chicks.
Five seem healthy enough, the last I fear won’t make it much longer.
Weak chick has some white colored watery stool.
Other chicks have a yellow-brown stool that’s semi-runny.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Won't the TSC stores also replace the dead chicks if you take them to the store? I had heard they had that guarantee.

They do replace dead chicks. I had two replaced last year when I first started out.

 

[tigger19687]

I lost all 6 of the ones I got. 1st 2 I brought back ( within 2 hours) and they replaced and I picked the ones I wanted. By the next morning the last 4 of the originals died
I called the # on the receipt and they gave me a Egift card for the full amount because I was not going to drive an hour there and an hour back to deliver dead chicks and get a refund.

 

[Jeanw]

So sad! Thank you for trying to save them. It seems to me that employees don’t know how to properly care for the chicks or they don’t care at all. From the look of that heat plate it’s way too high. They should be just high enough for the chicks to get underneath and then the plate gets adjusted up as they grow.