We received 20 pheasant chicks from Hoover Hatchery by mail last Thursday. One arrived dead and we've had three more die over the past couple days. There's a fourth who looks like he's not going to make it. I'm trying to figure out what's going on in case I need to do something for the other 15.
The chicks we received are of varying sizes. Some smaller, some bigger. All the ones that have died seem smaller. The ones that died did have some feather growth on their wings. The ones that have died refuse to eat or drink. They also seem to do this weird thing where they stand really tall/upright. Like excessively. I haven't noticed any gasping or anything though that would suggest there's a breathing problem. They are very lethargic/eyes closed.
The other 15 chicks all seem to be acting normally, chowing down, drinking, running around, generally being jerks to each other. I'm hoping that's a good sign and this will be the end of it, but I'm worried. The first day we had them I thought only one looked a little lethargic, but now there have been four.
We've been trying to get the lethargic ones to at least drink a little electrolyte water, but they won't eat at all.
Right now they're in a bin with shavings. The heat is about 96 under the lights. None of the others are huddled or anything. Is there anything else we should be doing? Is it possible that some of them caught a chill from going through the mail?
Edit: 4th chick IS open mouth breathing/panting and is quarantined away from the others. He is quite a bit smaller than the other chicks. I don't known if this is some kind of failure to thrive? It just seems weird that it's 4-5 chicks so far out of 20. Usually we get maybe one or two.
The chicks we received are of varying sizes. Some smaller, some bigger. All the ones that have died seem smaller. The ones that died did have some feather growth on their wings. The ones that have died refuse to eat or drink. They also seem to do this weird thing where they stand really tall/upright. Like excessively. I haven't noticed any gasping or anything though that would suggest there's a breathing problem. They are very lethargic/eyes closed.
The other 15 chicks all seem to be acting normally, chowing down, drinking, running around, generally being jerks to each other. I'm hoping that's a good sign and this will be the end of it, but I'm worried. The first day we had them I thought only one looked a little lethargic, but now there have been four.
We've been trying to get the lethargic ones to at least drink a little electrolyte water, but they won't eat at all.
Right now they're in a bin with shavings. The heat is about 96 under the lights. None of the others are huddled or anything. Is there anything else we should be doing? Is it possible that some of them caught a chill from going through the mail?
Edit: 4th chick IS open mouth breathing/panting and is quarantined away from the others. He is quite a bit smaller than the other chicks. I don't known if this is some kind of failure to thrive? It just seems weird that it's 4-5 chicks so far out of 20. Usually we get maybe one or two.
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