redinator
Songster
I have a batch of 29 (now 27) chicks in a brooder pen in the run. I'm planning to integrate soon. The chicks are 3 and 4 week olds. So far the chicks have only had chick starter crumbles and the occasional water w electrolytes or probiotics added in as needed. Yesterday I noticed one chick seemed unwell. It would eat and drink a little bit, but wasn't very playful. I brought that chick inside for a bit and tried to get it to eat a bit of egg yolk, but it wouldn't take it willingly so I opened its beak and put a few drops in its mouth and it swallowed it. I decided to play it safe and put 3 waterers in the brood pen, one w plain water, one with electrolytes, and one with probiotics. I put the unwell chick back in the brooder pen since the brooder pen in the run is the only thing I have to safely contain chicks. (I move it in and out of the house as needed)
This morning when I fed and watered I noticed the unwell chick seemed to perk up and was fluttering around the pen. That's when I noticed a dead chick (stiff) on the ground and another one in the "chick" house (dog house, they sleep in attached to the brooder pen). These two chicks were perfectly fine yesterday evening when I changed the waters and feeder and dropped dead overnight.
The rest of the chicks, including the one that seemed unwell seem fine, but aside from bringing them back inside to keep an eye on things, I don't know what else to do.
I also wanted to add I don't think they were injured by the older birds since one chick was in the chick house and the other flat out in the center of the brood pen. I might consider this if either was against the sides of the pen and could've been pecked through the hardware cloth, but very unlikely.
This morning when I fed and watered I noticed the unwell chick seemed to perk up and was fluttering around the pen. That's when I noticed a dead chick (stiff) on the ground and another one in the "chick" house (dog house, they sleep in attached to the brooder pen). These two chicks were perfectly fine yesterday evening when I changed the waters and feeder and dropped dead overnight.
The rest of the chicks, including the one that seemed unwell seem fine, but aside from bringing them back inside to keep an eye on things, I don't know what else to do.
I also wanted to add I don't think they were injured by the older birds since one chick was in the chick house and the other flat out in the center of the brood pen. I might consider this if either was against the sides of the pen and could've been pecked through the hardware cloth, but very unlikely.
