TSC chicks keep dying despite ideal conditions

[jher77]

The Tractor Supply here gets their chicks via USPS, I believe from Hoovers. I've been reading lately on here about people ordering chicks by mail and then getting delayed in shipping and alot are dying. My assumption then would be the chicks TSC are getting are in bad health as they arrive and are taking a few more days to keel off.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

From watching the threads here & elsewhere, one issue being repeated is that the new brooder cages weren't plugged in until the chicks arrived, and possibly they should have been plugged in the night before, to give them time to reach the proper temperature needed by the chicks. But is that really a thing? Can the chicks be too cold for a bit at the beginning, warm up & recover, only to die a little while later? Those brooder cages are also sold by TSC, perhaps someone who has bought one could clarify the heat issue?

Could be fumes that happen when they started it up for the first time that burned off after a few hours. At this point no one really has a clue. Though getting new brooders and suddenly having issues is suspicious. It could be the brooders or it could be a problem with the hatchery or even shipping containers.

 

[MamaBelle5]

We bought 4 EE chicks from TSC on 2/26 and they are thriving! They're getting so big and have such beautiful feathers coming in.

BUT - when I was in there, I was checking out all of the chicks they had. The Bantam ones looked sickly. They were all huddled together, standing with their eyes closed.

We went to another TSC last week (to pick up dog food) and I checked out the chicks again because I love doing it. The turkeys looked pitiful. They were shivering and kept falling over and couldn't get back up because of the meshing.

I suspect the new brooders are a bit of a learning curve, but they do seem cleaner. I will say that I've seen more that seem sickly in these than in the old ones.

 

[Sheepheart]

Following this because I’m curious to hear what hatchery they are coming from. The farm store I work at gets their chicks from Hoover’s to.
I havnt been in in almost two weeks now because I’ve been sick, so I don’t know if they have gotten their birds yet or not, and if they have if they are having these issues.

 

[BlueEggsnHam]

Sorry about your chicks, it’s always a kick in the gut to go from watching the antics of fluffy little happy guys, to pulling the deceased out of the brooder.

This may or may not apply here, but I’ll throw it out in case it helps someone... most of us know, the fumes from non stick cookware can kill birds indoors in enough concentration. Many of the floodlight and heat lamp style bulbs have a “anti-shatter” coating on them now, which if used in close proximity can kill birds, especially young stressed chicks in an environment meant to be free of drafts. I now use only brooder plate style heating. I buy off season so they aren’t so spendy.

Another thing I’ve found is if chicks have been started on medicated diet, it’s better to not switch out right away, and I’ve also learned to spend the money in “organic” chick starter for anything I’ve hatched at home because it’s more expensive, but I have zero issues with pasty butt. Could be any number of reasons, but on the scale I hatch, it simplifies my life to just pay a couple bucks more and not hassle with it.

I hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[Harmoni]

I wonder what hatchery they use out east. Its Hoover around here.

Pretty sure it is hoovers here as well. I know one of the other tsc in my area gets some from a local hatchery.

 

[CapricornFarm]

The problem is :1) slow shipping 2) new brooders. The brooder heaters like that need to nearly touch the chicks to keep them warm enough. I saw some silkie chicks screaming all huddled in under the heater. If they get too cold, they won't eat or drink. One TSC had the sense to put them back in the original set up until they get longer brackets for the heat plates.

 

[tigger19687]

I too am I interested to know. I have another thread about getting chicks, all 6 original ones are now dead from buying on Sunday. I took the 1st 2 back and had them replaced, still alive , but the other 4 died over night.

 

[Oncoming Storm]

Are the new brooders being discussed the tower brooders that layer on top of each other? If so, one TSC in my area has had this style brooder for a couple years now and I’ve had no issues with any of the chicks and ducks I’ve gotten there. I am curios to see where this goes. I’ve never had a serious health issue from any of my TSC birds, so this is news to me.

 

[eggcited2]

I agree, I was super impressed with the new brooder but maybe there was some paint fumes that didn’t burn off completely or a learning curve with the employee, I find it interesting that my ones who spent very little time in the brooder are doing well while the ones that spent over a day in the same brooder died so quickly. Just grasping at straws to explain what has happened.

I imagine that this is probably dumb question: is there any chance the new brooder heat source is coated with teflon or in the family of teflon? Seems like a lot of manufactures of heating things have a tendency to put that on the heaters to ''help them stay clean or clean easier". Bad thing is that when teflon gets hot, it kills birds. Many a pet bird owner (even pet stores) have found that out the hard way. It's not really something a lot of people know about. I only know about it because I used to go to an avian veterinarian, and learned from him. And learned from experts that would give talks at bird club meetings. (pet birds)

Also learned not to use cleaning products or things to "make the air smell better in your home", as they can kill pet birds (or any kind of bird). I know of a lady who lots thousands of dollars worth of birds when her new house cleaning person, used various cleaners that are generally used and are purchased in most stores. The birds were spread all through out her house, and the air conditioning system spread the fumes through out the whole house.