Why would 15 healthy chicks just die?

[Iluveggers]

My boy Chicken Nugget is almost a year old now and is doing so good. He pulled a muscle by his hip a few months ago keeping the others safe from a hawk. Also because he is missing the tips of his toes on one foot he has this adorable weird sideways run. I love this boy so much and I’m glad he survived his ordeal.



Here is a picture of my handsome boy.View attachment 3112305

Yay Nugget!

 

[Bettyboop7499]

This is the first batch of incubated chicks I’ve hatched, and the room they are in is between 65-75 depending on weather outside. I have a heat plate, and at 1 week old I am shocked that they spend so much time out from under it, hopping around happily. One of them was actually sleeping on top of it for a little while during the day. When I checked the room temp it was only 72. They seem so healthy, no pasty butt, no issues at all!

The room itself doesn’t have to be 95 just an area they can move in and out of. I just kept a heat lamp on at all time and left plenty of room around it. I never adjusted the lamp 5* every week, when all their features were in I moved them to the coup…then they were basically free on a 20 acre farm.

 

[My Bagurks]

I’ll be honest, I didn’t go through all 18 pages. But what water did you use? Is it possible your local water treatment plant/reservoirs, what have you, may have upped the chlorine or some other chemical additive that would be “within safe levels” for us? We’ve gone through times where our local reservoir had work done to it and the water tastes funky for a week or two. But tolerable chlorine levels for us could very well kill a chick.

 

[Iluveggers]

The room itself doesn’t have to be 95 just an area they can move in and out of. I just kept a heat lamp on at all time and left plenty of room around it. I never adjusted the lamp 5* every week, when all their features were in I moved them to the coup…then they were basically free on a 20 acre farm.

I know the room doesn’t have to be, I’m just surprised they spend so much time hanging out in a 65 degree space!

 

[Halfpasthen]

I’ll be honest, I didn’t go through all 18 pages. But what water did you use? Is it possible your local water treatment plant/reservoirs, what have you, may have upped the chlorine or some other chemical additive that would be “within safe levels” for us? We’ve gone through times where our local reservoir had work done to it and the water tastes funky for a week or two. But tolerable chlorine levels for us could very well kill a chick.

I know this is resolved but this is a thing. I worked for years at a large pet store. Our city does yearly chlorine flushes. It's *technically* safe for us. Wouldn't catch me drinking it. For like a week the water from the tap will smell like pool water. Every time they do that we would get an influx of customers complaining of mass die offs in their aquariums. Even though they were using water conditioner...the recommended dosage was not enough. It even happened to several coworkers after a big water change.