Unusually high mortality rates in chicks for 2013

[starlingdaly]

I started a thread under feeding/watering because I suspected my mortality rates were linked to anemia from garlic extract in the water. Since then, I have heard from other people with similar experiences but they weren't using garlic extract.
My chicks symptoms before death:
Ruffled feathers, sleeping a lot, not eating/drinking (day of death), weak legs/limping, underbite beaks, random deaths with no symptoms.
One chick died after looking completely healthy and upon examination had a red/swollen belly which I have never seen before in a dead chick.
One of my chicks seems to be having occasional seizures but is in otherwise peak health.
Another chick has trouble getting up if it gets stuck on it's side or back.
Some of these symptoms may be unrelated to the big picture but I thought it was important to mention.

Anyone else experiencing similar issues with chicks this year? And anyone have any thoughts on the cause?
My initial thought was bad breeding stock but one chick that died was one I hatched from my flock and the one with seizures is also one of my own.

 

[starlingdaly]

Original forum thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/783143/garlic-toxicity-in-baby-chickens#post_11240631

 

[starlingdaly]

Thought it worth noting that I've not had any more deaths yet and I dare say some of the chicks are looking less ragged/ruffled since stopping the garlic in the water. I do have a previously healthy Speckled Sussex chick that developed a limp last night so bad she propels herself with mostly her wings. It is almost exactly the same situation that my Partridge Silkie went through earlier this month and after a week and a half of quarantined care returned to normal do I expect the same of this one.
One of my other Australorps has had ruffled feathers for days and been limping around a bit plus I just noticed her underbite is turning into a scissor beak issue so I've quarantined her with the Sussex in case she is having trouble competing for food and water.

I am hand watering both these chicks with honey water mixed with electrolytes/vitamins in case their disabilities cause them to be dehydrated.

I would really like to hear from anyone experiencing similar unexplained issues!
I hate seeing my babies in discomfort!

 

[ShellLea]

I don't have any experience with any problems with chickens, (yet, knock on wood), but I read up on it a lot and wanted to say thanks for the update. Hopefully someone with more experience can come up with something for you.

 

[starlingdaly]

Thanks ShellLea for the reply! I hope you never have any chicken problems! It seems the smaller the flock, the less problems you'll experience.

 

[casportpony]

Don't you think a necropsy would be a good idea?

They're only $15 for you.
http://www.ncagr.gov/vet/ncvdl/FeeBrochure.pdf

 

[starlingdaly]

Replied to you, casportpony on the old thread, oops.

 

[dclaning]

I just got 27 chicks (2 Polish & 25 black sex links) from Ideal Hatchery a week ago today. Two black sex links were dead on arrival. Figured it was a prob. with shipping (Ideal gave me credit for them), however, two more died 3 or 4 days later, than found a chick last nite that was having trouble standing, neck turned to the side, off balance. I took it out & am nursing it in the house with honey & water, terramycin & water, even baking soda & water, I figured something might work

. Its still alive today. The others seem healthy so far but who knows. I, too, have never had a problem with any dying. Either from McMurry's or Ideal Hatcheries.

 

[starlingdaly]

Oh no dclaning! So sorry to hear that! Best of luck with your little one. I have read that most often it is not illness that kills chicks but dehydration and malnourishment. Keep up the hand watering. Just be careful that the liquid doesn't go down the wrong way. I'm sadly fairly sure I asphyxiated a sick turkey poult last year.
Hopefully you don't lose anymore babies! So far I haven't since my buckeye died. My main concern is for the chicks with underbites (all three of my Australorp chicks have them ( one died, two remain but one has a developing scissor beak)
Here's hoping we can figure out why our chicks are dying!

 

[starlingdaly]

One of my two remaining Australorp chicks died. Not completely sure why but it was the one with the scissor beak that I had placed in quarantine.
I think if my last Australorp dies I will just buy hatching eggs from someone on here since I'm sure most of my issues with them is from bad breeding stock at the hatchery.