4 week old chickens dying with no warning

[LWeekly]

I have an assortment of chicks that are all 4 weeks old. For the past 4 days I've been losing one chick per day. They don't seem to be sick and aren't showing any signs of having problems until they suddenly die. They were all vaccinated for coccidosis and mareks. Is there anything I can do to get this to stop? This is our first time with chickens so we think we're doing everything right but maybe there's something we're missing?

 

[CrazyChickMom]

This is my first time too. Have you checked their vents?

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Hi, sorry your chicks are dying. Hope someone can help, but more info is needed.

Please try to answer these notes, so we can help you, and welcome to BYC! Wish it were under better circumstances.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3569

edited to add the link.

 

[LWeekly]

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
I don't know what type of birds they are. I ordered the assorted rainbow layer pack from McMurray Hatchery. They were born on 5/1/09 so they're 4 weeks old today. I don't know their weight but they're the size of nerf footballs and so far they've been growing quickly.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
The cluck and tweet and chirp and mosey around the cage we have them in. It's 5' x 5' and 3' high constructed of 2x4's and 1/4" hardware cloth. The floor is cement with about 4 - 6 inches of pine shavings on top of it. The feeder and water are hanging so they don't get too much crud in them. They have roost space if they want it. I have two red heat lamps shining down from the top in back but they mostly run around the space. At night we've been tarping the cage and insulating the sides so they won't get too cold. They all seem to be eatting, drink, pooping and otherwise being chickens until they die.

3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

There is no sign of any problems at all. Their eyes are clear, their noses are clear, they don't look like they have spots or scales or anything else on them. Their poop looks like it has always looked - not runny or funny colored or anything.

4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

We had them in 100 gallon stock tank but they were outgrowing their space so we moved them to the larger cage. They started dying after they were moved but other than give them more space, all the rest of their conditions were the same.

5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

I change the water daily and they're eatting out of the same bag of chick starter that they've been on since we got them.

6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

Their poop looks like it has always looked - not runny or funny colored or anything.

7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

We haven't treated because we'll go out to check on the birds and they're all running around fine and then the next time we go to check on them, one of them is dead.

8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

I'd like to figure out what might be causing this so I can keep them all from dying. Right now I don't have a clue.

9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

There don't appear to be any wounds or other problems. They're not pasted up, they don't have any scratches or mites or anything else that's visible.

10) Describe the housing/bedding in use

They're on a sheltered back porch in a cage - see description above.

Hopefully this additional information helps! We're not sure what to do.

 

[CAmountaingirl]

Perhaps they are eating the pine shavings. At that age they do not know the difference between shavings and food. I was told not to use shavings when they are real young because it could constipate them. Sorry about your babies dying, I lost one out of 7 and cried.

 

[LWeekly]

Quote:
I've been using pine shavings for about 3.5 weeks now and this is the first that I've had any problems. What should I be using instead? I have 25 sq ft of cage space to cover and it's bare concrete under the shavings.