What's killing my chicks? Hurry please

[NatJ]

Also do you know that a regular old school light bulb can produce enough heat to warm a brooder in most cases?

Just to clarify: Kiki is talking about the incandescent light bulbs that get hot when they are running.

The new, energy efficient bulbs often stay too cool for brooding chicks. If it says LED or Fluorescent, it probably will not work.

The obvious test-- turn it on for a few minutes, then sit a thermometer underneath and/or hold your hand underneath. If you can get a temperature in the right range, you know that bulb produces enough heat.

 

[Kiki]

Regular light bulbs

Not LED bulbs.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

All the others survived through the night and are doing well! Maybe it was just something internally and just so happened to take them at the same time. Thank you for all the help!

 

[DuckDuckSook]

Can you use the heating pad and make it into a mama heating pad/cave? I've made one of those every time I've raised chicks and ducklings and it has worked great. They can go under it or on it depending on how much heat they need. Also, I'd check the dog kennel out too. As previous poster mentioned, maybe it has some kind of pathogen still in it or something. Keep us posted.

 

[Farmlife16]

They are in a newer dog kennel from Good Will actually. It was a good deal and I needed one. I cleaned it out and all of their feeders and wateres. Everything in there has been tested by other chicks already except for the kennel.

That sounds pretty safe

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Can you use the heating pad and make it into a mama heating pad/cave? I've made one of those every time I've raised chicks and ducklings and it has worked great. They can go under it or on it depending on how much heat they need. Also, I'd check the dog kennel out too. As previous poster mentioned, maybe it has some kind of pathogen still in it or something. Keep us posted.

Absolutely. I washed the kennel out really well before I used it and I just did again. They will be moved into one of my rabbit hutches while they grow out. It'll have lots of interesting things for them to do.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

I got a bunch more chicks today. I moved them outside and now they have a heat lamp on them. Hopefully all goes well and we don't loose any others.