Hey All,
I wanted to jump in with my experience with chicks this spring. I bought 4 from a nearby Wilco last Saturday, and then I bought 4 assorted bantums from a nearby TSC on Sunday. All of the Wilco babies died within the first 3 days; the TSC babies are doing great.
I know that on a local level this has been a big discussion (in Oregon), and it seems like there is a lot that is at fault with the brooder (which others have already posted about). An employee also shared with me the shipping issues that have been going on and how many DOA chicks they had with the shipment my new babies came from. I know that some hatching eggs I ordered recently (sent 3 day priority Via USPS) showed up after exactly a week and all of them were shattered, despite the quality packaging from the breeder. So, shipping is definitely a part of the equation.
I do think the coccidiosis aspect could play a part with some shipments, but I had tried mixing my birds and none of them have shown any signs of any illness...I have two home hatched chicks that were around the sickly bunch and both are still super healthy. It has been more than the 4 days for coccidiosis to develop and I have seen no signs to cause concern. However, it does make a lot of sense that it could also be playing a part in all of the 1000’s of chicks death across the country right now.