What am I doing wrong?

[Chickmamax3]

We had 22 chicks. 10 leghorns, 6 golden comets, 2 blue golden laced wyandottes, 2 sapphire gems, and 2 olive eggers.

We've had the assorteds for about a week & the leghorns for a day & half.

I've lost one olive egger to lethargy & one blue laced wyandotte.

Tonight I lost a leghorn.

This isn't our first time raising chicks. It seems we always lose at least one to lethargy and unexplained issues. Is this that common or am I just sucking at this? It breaks my heart every single time & I've tried giving them water, keeping them warm, yogurt, egg yolk & they never revive. We use nutrident in their water, is that causing it? After losing our first chick with our first batch I started using bc it was suggested on here somewhere & it seemed to help. This is the most chicks we've ever had so is it just bc we have so many that the chance of loss is greater? Or am I really screwing something up here? We have the remaining 19 split (10 &9)in two containers each with it's own heat lamp.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Some chicks just have a failure to thrive. I don't think you've done anything wrong, not every chick will live.
I've noticed my hatchery chicks nowadays live much shorter lives than when I first started out raising chickens...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Photos of brooders, chicks and poop?
If you are using a red light for heat, please turn it off for photos.

How warm is the brooder under the lamp and on the cool side.

 

[Chickmamax3]

Photos of brooders, chicks and poop?
If you are using a red light for heat, please turn it off for photos.

How warm is the brooder under the lamp and on the cool side.

The cage panel on top is because we have cats & my husband built these to keep them from harming the chicks. In the smaller brooder on the right the temp is 93-96 degrees. & On the cool side about 83-86 degrees. The brooder on the left the temp is about 86-90 degrees & the cool side is about 78-81. I think the temp difference has to do with the depth of the different brooders & one light is brand new. The older chicks are in the slightly cooler brooder. Also to note, we check each chick every morning & evening for pasty butt & gently clean them with warm water & a wash cloth if there's any buildup around the vent.

 

[Chickmamax3]

Some chicks just have a failure to thrive. I don't think you've done anything wrong, not every chick will live.
I've noticed my hatchery chicks nowadays live much shorter lives than when I first started out raising chickens...

That's kind of what I was thinking. I know they're temperamental as babies, I just wanted to make sure I'm not averaging much higher than usual for losing them. I get so bummed every time.

 

[raingarden]

Temperature sounds a tad low. But, if they are not huddling under the light then they are OK. An 86% success rate isn't so bad.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

In the smaller brooder on the right the temp is 93-96 degrees. & On the cool side about 83-86 degrees. The brooder on the left the temp is about 86-90 degrees & the cool side is about 78-81. I think the temp difference has to do with the depth of the different brooders & one light is brand new.

The new light, is it labeled for use for chicks? No teflon coating right?

Provide more space so they can get away from the heat source and the cooler side if more cool. You may need to raise the lights even more to avoid overheating. Totes and even the metal tub can hold a lot of the heat in.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

View attachment 3022084
The cage panel on top is because we have cats & my husband built these to keep them from harming the chicks. In the smaller brooder on the right the temp is 93-96 degrees. & On the cool side about 83-86 degrees. The brooder on the left the temp is about 86-90 degrees & the cool side is about 78-81. I think the temp difference has to do with the depth of the different brooders & one light is brand new. The older chicks are in the slightly cooler brooder. Also to note, we check each chick every morning & evening for pasty butt & gently clean them with warm water & a wash cloth if there's any buildup around the vent.
View attachment 3022076View attachment 3022085
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View attachment 3022094

The shavings look a lot like feed. If the chicks eat them they can get an impacted crop and die. You may want to put puppy pads on top of the shavings for a couple weeks and give them some small amounts of chick grit sprinkled on top of their feed.

 

[Gracellyn23]

I almost always have at least one chick die every time. As heartbreaking as it is, it's just how it goes. I don't think you're doing anything wrong.