Woke up with 2 dead chicks 5 days old

[Woodbooger86]

I see the tiny things now.

Are you seeing them drink and eat?

Oh yeah, they eat and drink a lot

 

[Kiki]

Oh yeah, they eat and drink a lot

You don't want them drinking cold water so please move that waterer closer to the heat.

 

[Woodbooger86]

No, not yet.
You need to make sure they're eating and drinking well.
A smaller space where they can't get lost is actually better for now.

Did you check for pasty butt? I lost one for sure and possibly two to pasty butt!! Just a thought?? Sorry for your loss

No pasty butt

 

[Woodbooger86]

Oh yeah, they eat and drink a lot

 

[NatJ]

63 degrees

If that is the cool end, then I would not worry about the heat lamp being "too hot." The chicks have plenty of space to move away into the cooler area.

Should I remove the barrier and open up the brooder to a 4ft by 4ft vs the 2ft by 4ft I currently have setup?

This is probably why the heat lamp looked low-- we were all assuming a much smaller space!

For when to open up the rest of the space, I would judge it by how the chicks are acting. Right at first, they wander around and do not know where to find the food and water and warmth. At some later point, they know what is where, and the idea of them getting lost is just silly.

Since you just had 2 die of unknown causes, I would wait at least a few more days before changing the amount of space, just to keep things as simple as possible.

 

[Kiki]

I didn't notice the chicks in the first picture you uploaded in this thread. I just went back and looked and your light was too low.

 

[Woodbooger86]

Just did another read of the ground temp and it's been 95 range. Lesson learned with ground temp overheating. Thanks for all the support

 

[Woodbooger86]

Ok, rotated the platform for the waterer is closer to the heat. Thanks for the feedback

 

[Kiki]

Ok, rotated the platform for the waterer is closer to the heat. Thanks for the feedback

Do you have hardware cloth or something similar to put over the top of your box?
In another week or so they're going to be flying out of there.

 

[NatJ]

Just did another read of the ground temp and it's been 95 range. Lesson learned with ground temp overheating. Thanks for all the support

I don't think the temperature was your problem, but that's not very helpful, because I do not know what WAS the problem.

My way of setting up a brooder: put the heat lamp in one corner, and let that area be too hot. Then make sure the other end is much cooler (like your 63 degrees.) I let the chicks move around to find where they are comfortable, somewhere between the extremes. Of course I watch the chicks enough to be sure they are actually finding a comfortable area, and that the comfortable space is large enough.

Based on my personal experience, I do not believe that access to 100 degrees will harm baby chicks, as long as they ALSO have plenty of cooler space, and are able to walk to it easily.

But different people have different views, and most of them raise chicks safely with one method or another, so my way is certainly not "best" for everyone.