What am I doing wrong???

[Yocelinsaldana06]

I don’t hatch but I have been reading a little on breeding since I am getting a rooster soon so this sticks out to me: when you say you have been hatching from these pens for years now do you mean you have kept a closed flock? Or have you introduced new genetics from time to time?

Yes, I watch closely and make sure I don’t inbreed. for example, I bred my black silkie rooster with a white hen and once I got chicks from them, i added their daughters to the flock but removed the rooster and replaced him with a new one who isn’t related to any of them. I’m very strict on inbreeding and rarely ever do it

 

[Yocelinsaldana06]

Did you provide a heat source and shelter from wind when bringing them outside?
To us it might seem rather warm outside, but chicks as young as in your picture can lose body heat very quickly and would need somewhere to warm up when outside.

Another thought: When did you last deworm the parent birds?

I would not use newspaper as bedding for chicks. With the heat lamp there might develop some unhealthy fumes and when the papee gets wet they might even ingest it.

Check the feed for milling date. It could have been ok for your first batch but gone stale or rancid or moldy by now.

Where are all the brooders located?

What kind of bulbs did you buy for the multiple brooders?

I did provide a shelter for them when they were outside, and even though it was really warm outside, maybe it wasn’t as warm as they needed.
To be honest, I don’t deworm the parent birds, not with medicine anyway. I’ll usually do it naturally every once in a while but it has been a long time since.
As for the feed, this is a new bag that I just bought last week. I don’t keep leftover food for new chicks, I usually just feed it to the adult chickens. But I NEVER feed them moldy food, I made the mistake last week of accidentally leaving my old bag of feed outside and the rain got it and it grew mold so I stopped using it completely.
The brooders are located in an extra room in the house
I'm so worried, I don't know what could be wrong. I separated the sick babies. I read somewhere that maybe it could be a nutrient imbalance? The only sick ones right now are my 4 silkie chicks and a kikiriki. Maybe they’re not getting the nutrients they need since they’re bantams

 

[LaFleche]

, I don’t deworm the parent birds

It is important to deworm the parent stock at least 2-3 weeks prior to collecting hatching eggs as internal parasites will already leave the parent birds nutrient deficient so their eggs will not get the necessary amount of vitamins etc. for the healthy and strong development of the chicks.

I really hope that they will recover.



The chicks may still hatch but often are listless and weak and will die within two weeks of hatch.

accidentally leaving my old bag of feed outside and the rain got it and it grew mold so I stopped using it completely.

Did you still feed from this bag after the rain and only stopped when you started to notice the mold?

The brooders are located in an extra room in the house

How often per day do you open the windows to let fresh air in?
Daily air exchange (twice) is very important.

maybe it could be a nutrient imbalance?

Yes, that could be at the root of it, starting already in your parent stock.

only sick ones right now are my 4 silkie chicks and a kikiriki.

Some breeds as Silkies or Polish etc. are known to be prone to suffer from vitamin and electrolyte imbalances and will often need additional supplementation with vitamin B complex, vitamin E, selenium and D3 to help them along.
This is even more true with the bantam versions.

 

[Yocelinsaldana06]

It is important to deworm the parent stock at least 2-3 weeks prior to collecting hatching eggs as internal parasites will already leave the parent birds nutrient deficient so their eggs will not get the necessary amount of vitamins etc. for the healthy and strong development of the chicks.

I really hope that they will recover.



The chicks may still hatch but often are listless and weak and will die within two weeks of hatch.


Did you still feed from this bag after the rain and only stopped when you started to notice the mold?


How often per day do you open the windows to let fresh air in?
Daily air exchange (twice) is very important.


Yes, that could be at the root of it, starting already in your parent stock.

Some breeds as Silkies or Polish etc. are known to be prone to suffer from vitamin and electrolyte imbalances and will often need additional supplementation with vitamin B complex, vitamin E, selenium and D3 to help them along.
This is even more true with the bantam versions.

I hope so too. I lost two this morning and one more a few hours ago. I'm so stuck right now and hope the rest dont get sick. I separated the sick ones so if it's something contagious, it doesn't spread. I have 22 chicks hatching on Tuesday and Wednesday, I really don't want all my chicks getting affected and dying.
I went to my local feed store and bought a vitamin and electrolyte packet for the chicks just in case it's a vitamin deficiency.
As soon as I noticed the mold in the chick starter, I threw it away. Also my chicks I have now weren’t born yet when I had this bag. The chicks are only about 8-9 days old.
I hope they get better, I mean if it’s a vitamin deficiency, that’s much better than them having Coccidia.
As I said, I bought the durvet vitamin and electrolytes packets so I hope they recover. I’ll keep everyone updated

 

[Michelle_Mel]

I hope so too. I lost two this morning and one more a few hours ago. I'm so stuck right now and hope the rest dont get sick. I separated the sick ones so if it's something contagious, it doesn't spread. I have 22 chicks hatching on Tuesday and Wednesday, I really don't want all my chicks getting affected and dying.
I went to my local feed store and bought a vitamin and electrolyte packet for the chicks just in case it's a vitamin deficiency.
As soon as I noticed the mold in the chick starter, I threw it away. Also my chicks I have now weren’t born yet when I had this bag. The chicks are only about 8-9 days old.
I hope they get better, I mean if it’s a vitamin deficiency, that’s much better than them having Coccidia.
As I said, I bought the durvet vitamin and electrolytes packets so I hope they recover. I’ll keep everyone updated

Hi, I wondered how you chicks are doing now? I hope they fully recovered

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes, how about an pdate? Did you figure out what the problem was? Did you lose any more chicks? Reading the OP i did not think it was anything you were doing wrong, I felt th e chicks had hatched weak or faulty in some way, that there was a flaw in their genetics soewhere. You said you use new breeders frequently. Perhaps a breeder was too young or had somethng wrong with it? Anyway I was just curious how this turned out?

 

[Yocelinsaldana06]

Yes, how about an pdate? Did you figure out what the problem was? Did you lose any more chicks? Reading the OP i did not think it was anything you were doing wrong, I felt th e chicks had hatched weak or faulty in some way, that there was a flaw in their genetics soewhere. You said you use new breeders frequently. Perhaps a breeder was too young or had somethng wrong with it? Anyway I was just curious how this turned out?

Alright so it’s been a while later and I have an update because it’s happening again. So as I said in the original post, my chicks were dying and it can’t be genetics because I use different breeding pens but looking back at the post and the time when I had the chicks, the ones becoming weak and later dying were my silkies and kikirikis. My other breeds were dying too but that was during the time when we went on vacation and I took them with and they had to sleep outside in a box warming each other up. I’m pretty sure that’s why those chicks were dying during that time. As for the original post, my silkies and kikirikis were appearing weak and later dying. I would lose a few a day or one to two. I never figured out what the problem was because I narrowed it down to everything I was doing and they had it all right. The warmth, feed, water, a good brooder, so clearly it wasn’t me doing anything wrong. So I thought to myself, hmm it’s odd that it’s just the silkies and kikirikis dying, what if it’s a nutritional imbalance or something similar. I unfortunately lost all 7 chicks during that time but the rest of my other breeds of chicks from their batch thrived and are now bigger. After that, I took a short break from hatching but my silkies and kikirikis started laying again so I figured why not hatch again. My two favorite breeds. I didn’t think anything would go wrong this time since it was a smaller batch, just 9 chicks to a big brooder all to themselves. These babies just hatched 7 days ago. They are now doing the same thing the other silkies and kikirikis did. They start off well for the first 3-4 days and appear strong and healthy and after about day 4, they start standing under the heat lamp with their heads down and wings down and rarely ever lay down to sleep. They chirp like something is wrong and eventually die. I had 9 chicks, I have 5 left. They all started doing this and 4 died. 2 yesterday and 2 today. It’s just so strange to me that this only seems to happen to the silkies and kikirikis. These chicks are the siblings of the first silkies and kikirikis who died. I don’t think it’s anything wrong with the parents themselves because the first kikirikis who died on the original post came from a different hen than these new kikirikis who are now dying. And for the silkies, the first silkies who died came from a different rooster than these new guys. So I do not believe it is the parents, but maybe their breed? It’s just so weird to me because in February I hatched 7 silkies from the same hen I’ve always used and not a single one died or even struggled. Same with the kikiriki rooster, he has an older daughter who is 3 months now and she didn’t struggle either.
Now when I made the original post, I went out and bought corid and treated the chicks for 7 days but I don’t think it was coccidiosis because the chicks died anyway. I also bought durvet vitamins and electrolytes and put it in their water but like I said, chicks still died.
Now with this sick batch, I gave them durvet vitamins and electrolytes in their water since birth but regardless, they got sick. I ordered a poultry nutri drench that just got here today and put some in their mouths directly and in their water so I guess we will see what happens. I’ve also been giving them egg yolk directly or in their feed. With every silkie and kikiriki batch of mine, it’s always the same thing, standing looking depressed under the lamp and later on dying. I work so hard to get the chicks I have, especially the silkies, and yet, they die on me.

 

[Yocelinsaldana06]

Hi, I wondered how you chicks are doing now? I hope they fully recovered

So the rest of the chicks from that batch did not get sick, thank God. they are a bit older now and doing great. I’m thinking it’s a problem with two specific breeds of mine. Silkies and Kikirikis. these guys are the only ones being affected and dying. I lost all 7 of them. now last week, I hatched again from the silkies and kikirikis and my chicks are yet again, failing and declining. I find it odd because it’s only these two breeds. I have a regular breed with them who hatched with them and he’s doing great. The silkies and kikirikis though, are not. They do the same thing the others did, standing under the lamp with their heads down, chirping, and eventually dying

 

[NatJ]

Alright so it’s been a while later and I have an update because it’s happening again. So as I said in the original post, my chicks were dying and it can’t be genetics because I use different breeding pens but looking back at the post and the time when I had the chicks, the ones becoming weak and later dying were my silkies and kikirikis. My other breeds were dying too but that was during the time when we went on vacation and I took them with and they had to sleep outside in a box warming each other up. I’m pretty sure that’s why those chicks were dying during that time. As for the original post, my silkies and kikirikis were appearing weak and later dying. I would lose a few a day or one to two. I never figured out what the problem was because I narrowed it down to everything I was doing and they had it all right. The warmth, feed, water, a good brooder, so clearly it wasn’t me doing anything wrong. So I thought to myself, hmm it’s odd that it’s just the silkies and kikirikis dying, what if it’s a nutritional imbalance or something similar. I unfortunately lost all 7 chicks during that time but the rest of my other breeds of chicks from their batch thrived and are now bigger. After that, I took a short break from hatching but my silkies and kikirikis started laying again so I figured why not hatch again. My two favorite breeds. I didn’t think anything would go wrong this time since it was a smaller batch, just 9 chicks to a big brooder all to themselves. These babies just hatched 7 days ago. They are now doing the same thing the other silkies and kikirikis did. They start off well for the first 3-4 days and appear strong and healthy and after about day 4, they start standing under the heat lamp with their heads down and wings down and rarely ever lay down to sleep. They chirp like something is wrong and eventually die. I had 9 chicks, I have 5 left. They all started doing this and 4 died. 2 yesterday and 2 today. It’s just so strange to me that this only seems to happen to the silkies and kikirikis. These chicks are the siblings of the first silkies and kikirikis who died. I don’t think it’s anything wrong with the parents themselves because the first kikirikis who died on the original post came from a different hen than these new kikirikis who are now dying. And for the silkies, the first silkies who died came from a different rooster than these new guys. So I do not believe it is the parents, but maybe their breed? It’s just so weird to me because in February I hatched 7 silkies from the same hen I’ve always used and not a single one died or even struggled. Same with the kikiriki rooster, he has an older daughter who is 3 months now and she didn’t struggle either.
Now when I made the original post, I went out and bought corid and treated the chicks for 7 days but I don’t think it was coccidiosis because the chicks died anyway. I also bought durvet vitamins and electrolytes and put it in their water but like I said, chicks still died.
Now with this sick batch, I gave them durvet vitamins and electrolytes in their water since birth but regardless, they got sick. I ordered a poultry nutri drench that just got here today and put some in their mouths directly and in their water so I guess we will see what happens. I’ve also been giving them egg yolk directly or in their feed. With every silkie and kikiriki batch of mine, it’s always the same thing, standing looking depressed under the lamp and later on dying. I work so hard to get the chicks I have, especially the silkies, and yet, they die on me.

Thank you for updating, even though some of it is sad

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What about the brooder you are keeping them in? Is there anything different or significant about that? (Scratching my head!)