URGENT!! Broilers not thriving

[Eggcessive]

Sorry, but I had not seen your thread for several days. It sounds to me like these chicks were very stressed in transit to you. Did you get them in the mail? Chicks that are lost in the first week to 10 days, usually are weak to begin with. If you have given them heat, fresh water and food, treated for any pasty butt, I would think they suffered shipping stress or a poor hatch.

Make sure that your bedding is fresh, dry, and there are no spills that could cause mold. Good air circulation without direct drafts is best. Are you raising the chicks outside in a coop, and what has the nighttime temperatures been? Make sure that your heat lamp is for chickens, since some heat lamps have a Teflon coating, and can cause toxic fumes. I’m very sorry for your loss, and hope that the rest survive.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry for your loss.
I did not get your tag until someone else tagged for you.

If you can provide photos, etc. as suggested that may be helpful. What's the poop look like?

You may want to separate the poults from the chicks.
Clean up any wet spots in the brooder. If you can get some Corid and start the CX on that it wouldn't hurt.

What is the temperature in your brooder? The Turkeys are happy, but (don't quote me) I think Turkeys like higher heat than chicken chicks, so your CX may be overheating.

 

[blackandtan]

Whew lots of questions to answer!
To start at the beginning (theirs I guess) I don’t know the strain of cx chicks, I’ve got little choice of hatchery here in northern Ontario but the one I use is a big one in Manitoba with a good reputation. Chicks arrive on a charter flight within 24hrs of hatching, mine came in the same box as the turks and I kept them together in the brooder too, there’s no blackhead here and I believe that’s picked up later anyway, so I don’t see much opportunity to transfer diseases that haven’t already been shared in transit.
The first three days went well, all chicks behaved normally; I can’t say what my temp is because I don’t use a thermometer anymore, I gauge the temp by the chicks behaviour and they would scamper around when awake and when sleeping they’d make a ring not quite under the light, so I knew they were warm enough. The light is an old one (ok two years old but not brand new) that I always use.
Day four things went south with the cx chicks, it started with one gasping, I thought he ate too fast, you know how they eat! And within an hour more were gasping, before dying they’d flip over several times and I kept turning them and putting them under the light; I added a second one because they seemed uncoordinated and would gasp and roll themselves away from the heat.
Long story short, I have four little cx left that seem ok, turkeys are perfect and were normal THE WHOLE TIME!! That’s what gets me, if I’d done something wrong, or there was a disease, I’ve always read how much more sensitive poults are, but they were fine...?
I don’t get it.
The ONLY thing I did different this year - and I’ve done the same things for years now - is that I did NOT use tetracycline prophylactically in the water, because Canada has banned its sale without a prescription. I still use electrolytes in the water, and they are on chick starter with amprolin.
Thank you all for any help or anything you can give for advice!
I guess my next question is, should I order more chicks or will they just get sick?

 

[blackandtan]

Here is my setup:
The side near the door is plastic, so no drafts, the moose antler and mirror went in yesterday for enrichment, they and the feeder/waterer were washed in bleach solution, rinsed and dried first. The chopped straw was put in today, and I put the top on the feeder today.
My setup has been the same for several years, I’ve never lost a chick till now.
Oh and no one handles them - no one!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I like your setup.

I don't know, some of the symptoms you describe sounds neurological. Did they have tremors?
I'm trying to go over in my mind some things I've read about, but there's no way to know unless you can send bodies to your Ag Ministry for testing.

Interesting that you've always giving Tetracycline prophylactically - what have you been trying to "prevent" the last few years?

All I know to tell you would be to do as Eggcessive suggested, keep them drinking/eating, vitamins, etc. With young birds it's always a gamble, but it would be good to find out if it's something treatable.

 

[blackandtan]

I dont think I was neurological, I think they were simply struggling to breathe, they’d gasp for air and stretch their necks out, and thrash around like they were choking.
I know it’s common for large poultry producers to give antibiotics, or it was until recently, but that was for the life of the bird and it was found to increase productivity something like 20-30%, but many producers recommend giving it as a supplement for the first two weeks to help give chicks a good start, which always seemed to me like a good idea given that they have a pretty traumatic first day, and they’re messy little things that like to poop in their food.

 

[gtaus]

Have you contacted the hatchery and reported your situation? Since you have prior successful experience raising chicks, there might be something wrong on their end. Some hatcheries are better than others. If you find the hatchery unhelpful, I would not order from them again.

My initial thought was the birds might be too hot. But since you have experience raising chicks, I am thinking it might be something wrong with the chicks. I agree that separating the sick chicks from the healthy is a good idea and giving everything a good clean won't hurt either. Hope you can stop this loss. Best wishes.

 

[blackandtan]

So in my search to find answers I did a lot of reading and it seems likely that they had infectious bronchitis that they probably picked up at the hatchery because according to the Merck vet manual it has an incubation period of 3-5 days, and a mortality rate of 60% or more in chicks. It also said that there are many different strains which don’t affect all species, which would explain my healthy poults. Recommended treatment is increased heat, electrolytes, and antibiotics to control secondary infection, especially E. coli.

 

[gtaus]

Please keep the thread informed on the status of your interventions. Sounds like you have some idea of how to treat the birds. I hope you can save the remaining chicks.

 

[CindyinSD]

I’d call the hatchery. They may compensate you if you make them aware, but they’re not going to do anything if they don’t hear from you. I’ll bet you wouldn’t be the first customer to contact them on this issue.