We lost our first chick today Update: more are dying :(

[HEChicken]

Quote:
I'm no expert but I always heard pasty butt is associated with low temps.

 

[Ladybird CA]

Here's a post on some causes of pasty butt: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1998058

You are right about the stress, that could be what caused it.

 

[Komaki]

I have to agree with HEChicken. I'm sure they are too cold. You can tell if the temp is right when they start spreading around exploring on thier own. But if you could bring them indoors until they are fully featherd out, you will save alot more if not all the rest. It's only a little more work, but well worth it. Good luck

 

[bock]

Quote:
That's the thing. Right now, some are asleep, some are eating, some are drinking, and they are not directly under the heat lamp. But when I went down there last, 3 chicks flipped over and could not get up. Once a chick even sat on the one that is flipped over. I had to help them up, and they seemed totally fine afterwards.

I am pretty sure that's what happened to the other ones, they just kick and squirm until they are buried in bedding and then the others come and squash them.

Why are they flipping over like this?

 

[AlienChick]

And if you absolutely cannot bring them into the house, at the very least put a portable heater out there for them.
Keep the rest alive!

Do you have a spare bathroom in your house where you can keep them?
An unused corner of the house where you can stick a cardboard box or rubbermaid tub brooder?
Just till the little guys get some feathers.

 

[pascopol]

Sorry, most of you answering to this post have no clue.

Most of brooded chickens die from overheating.

250W infrared bulb will FRY your chickens if hanged only 4 inches above them.

And the ones who are BEYOND the small area OVERHEATED by too low placed 250W powerhouse bulb will be cold in 50F ambient temperature.


That is WHY they die like flies.

 

[AlienChick]

Yes, good point.
I did read that earlier.

I'm thinking in a case such as this, having a thermometer in the brooder would have been a good idea.

I guess for me it's easier to keep the chicks inside the house where I can easily check the thermometer for temp fluctuations and adjust the heat accordingly.



.

 

[featherz]

250 is too hot for most chicks, I have found. I use a 100W bulb and have not lost a chick yet, my house is around 55F right now. Now I have an ecoglow, but no more 250 bulbs for me.

I also haven't had a single pasty butt since I went to a cooler light.

 

[red166]

With my new chicks ( 4 days old ) I placed a heat lamp with a 250w bulb inside, Important : tried to make sure their were no drafts. The bulb is about 12" away from the chicks. I place a thermometer in the bottom of the box (3X3) . For the next 12 hours I checked the temperature , it varied from 12M @ 92... 3

M @ 102.....6PM @ 73......9PM @ 64...... this was in a draft free area but outside, the next morning it was down to 51. Of course I had moved the chicks inside long before that. I guess my point is that with nothing changing the temp under one light can change a lot. When the temp got hot , the chicks just moved out of the light. If you don't have a thermometer, you should try and pick-up a cheap one. I leave mine in the box with them all the time so I know the temp.

 

[HHandbasket]

I have a 250 watt heat lamp that sits more than 2 feet above their heads, and it's all I can do to keep the temps from cooking the chicks! I lost 2 chicks the first day because I had the heat lamp too close, even though they were all gathering under it. The mercury thermometer said it was 78, then 80, and they were gathering under the heat lamp and laying out flat and spreading their wings. I changed the thermometer in the brooder for a digital one and discovered it was 104 DEGREES IN THE BROODER!! That's why my first two chicks died. I thought they were cold as the mercury thermometer we had in there said it was only 78 degrees, even though it felt warmer to me.

If they open up their wings and lay out flat, they are too hot... their natural instinct is to gather beneath the heat source and bundle up with their hatchmates, though.

I wanted to die when I put the digital thermo in the brooder and discovered I had cooked those 2 chicks at 104 degrees. Do you have a digital thermometer in the brooder? It should be about 90 to 95 in there for chicks under a week old.

Good luck and keep us posted!