Too many chicks keep dying

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

@yakitori I only use it in my deep litter in the coop and sometimes to make sure the nest boxes are dry. I wouldn't want to use it as straight bedding.

 

[yakitori]

@yakitori I only use it in my deep litter in the coop and sometimes to make sure the nest boxes are dry. I wouldn't want to use it as straight bedding.

i mix it in my coop bedding too. I usually compost the bedding, but after reading that thread, I might have to stop using it until i research more into it. I don’t want to add toxins to my soil

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I mix sweet pdz in my bedding too, but only in the "big girl" coops. I would be very surprised if its toxic to the soil, since zeolite is sold in garden stores as an "organic soil supplement." Still, it did catch my attention when op said they were using it as straight chick bedding. Chicks (same as human kids) put everything in their mouth, thats for sure. Will be interesting if pdz is found to be toxic to chicks (if consumed in large quantities). I would remove the pdz from the bedding entirely , & see if the losses cease.

 

[aart]

Hello!
I wouldn't call myself incredibly experienced, I raise chicks maybe 3 times a year and have had chickens for awhile, more seriously the past 7 years or so.
I've read some threads on here and I know without a necropsy it's hard to tell but I'm just wondering if anyone has advice they can offer or ideas.

I've been purchasing Ayam Cemanis, I have a wonderful breeder near me and also got some from another reputable breeder. I've gotten all of them under the age of one week and have had about 8. All of them except one have died over the course of the past few weeks. I don't know their exact ages, they're not fully feathered but nearly.

I work from home so I can check them often and do. They've all been found dead hours after they looked fine.
-My brooder set up is a 2 tier ferret cage. The top tier is set up for the chick brooder, the bottom is usually storage.
-I have a hanging feeder they can reach, and hanging water they can reach, both free of bedding.
-Bedding is sweet PDZ, it is changed every other day, if not daily. The plastic tray is rinsed and scrubbed.
-There is a chick plate, I check as they grow that they can touch the plate and keep warm. There has only been a max of 4 chicks in the brooder at a time so there is not overcrowding.
-They have probiotics mixed in their water and it is changed daily.
-The brooder is predator proof, it's in a locked horse stall and also closed up in a barn with my LGD stationed around the perimeter.
-They are also kept away from the rest of my flock.

The chicks have been found dead under the heat plate or just dead in the brooder. I've got them at varying times this spring/early summer and each batch, I just end up losing them and the percentage of loss is just too high. I've tried medicated feed with one group and there was no difference.
I don't know what on earth I could be goofing up and I'm at a loss.

That's quite a few chicks.

This is different from your previous brooder set up?
Pics of set up please?
How long did you have them before they died?

Will be interesting if pdz is found to be toxic to chicks (if consumed in large quantities).

Anything packing/clogging the crop could cause death.

 

[EldritchAcres]

Can you educate yourself on proper setup for chicks. There's posts and articles on here to guide you. Remember they are babies and they are learning. So you not guiding them in the brooder or monitoring them makes for high risk of death.

I can post pictures as soon as my phone charges. I sit with them for over an hour each day, I work from home so I spend a lot of time out there watching them I don't think its an issue in guiding them or monitoring them. They were fine an hour or so before.

I think they need electrolytes more than probiotics - I recently had to bring my dying chick to the vet (they saved her) and the vet said he's very conservative and feels that the kinds of probiotics chickens need aren't proven? That said, I still gave bene-bac to another chicken that was found to have low-no gut bacteria load, which was needed for her to absorb her vitamins.

For this batch of chicks I used nutri drench poultry for the first few days and then I also gave them rooster booster electrolytes. My first chicks, I used the save a chick electrolytes AND probiotics, but I gave them more of the electrolytes than the probiotics.

My chicks are currently on hemp bedding. I assume you are trying to keep things very clean, which is why they are on the PDZ - I'm not sure if you can get hemp bedding locally where you are, I had to order online, but it's very absorbent. The first time we had chicks we used the common aspen bedding but it was SO DUSTY. Everything in my office (where the brooder was) was covered in a good layer of wood dust by the end of it. You *could* use puppy pads, we have some under the hemp bedding, but I have heard of people's chicks scratching up and eating them by accident, so we are keeping a close eye on their behavior.

Thank you! I wrote probiotics but I meant electrolytes, sorry! My career is in nutrition and dietetics and sometimes my brain is fried after work and it all crosses over. I can try the hemp bedding for sure! I changed the PDZ out to chips, I didn't think it was a matter of them eating it because they've been on it for at few weeks now. But maybe inhaling it like @yakitori. I do deep litter with my adults, and cleaned less often with the chicks but I was trying to rule out ideas for why they were dying and started cleaning it more often.
The remaining ones seem to be doing better off the PDZ.

I've dipped their beaks in the new waterers when I changed it and when I hang out and watch them, they drink out of it. Feed is Nature's Best Organic Chick Feed.

Thank you guys for helping so so much and being so thorough! I'll post a pic soon