Question on Blues-Splash and Blacks

[Coyote]

I am trying deperately to get some blues, splashes and blacks hatched for a customer. They are fertile and hatch OK but at 4 to 6 days they die??? There is no difference in the the conditions they are kept under and my white babies are quite healthy. The blues are a little smaller when hatched but are hardy and drink,eat and skitter around the brooder and then one morning they\'re dead. Any ideas out there in Ameraucana Land. All help will be appreciated!

[Guest]

By any chance are you putting any vit/min in the water? Also, you said theyre smaller...possibly the others are pecking them or are they getting pasty behinds?

Three things I was told: Air, water, food ,,,, in that order.

I would start there and maybe you\'ll see something. I\'m real sorry for your situation. Please let us know what/if you find anything out. Hopefully someone can jump on here that will know A LOT more than I do.

Good luck.
April

[bryngyld]

Last year I had young rats squeezing through the wire and killing all the babies in a single night.  They might kill the smaller ones only.  Not a mark was on the babies.

[Mike Gilbert]

Check for pasted over vents.   If they can\'t pass their waste they will die.    If this is the cause you may need to check them every other day for awhile, soak their butts in very warm soapy water, and then remove it with an old toothbrush.
Be careful not to rip the skin, wipe them dry, and put them back under a warm brooder lamp.    When they are a bit older you can usually just peel it off without hurting them.
If this is not the cause, then I am stumped too.

[John]

old toothbrush

Hey Mike...the description of the toothbrush brings a smile to my face.  I guess \"old\" is better than saying \"someone else\'s\"!

[Jean]

It sounds to me like you may have a mycoplasma problem.  I would recommend you send a bird in for necropsy.

Your white variety probably just has a better natural resistance.

[Mike Gilbert]

old toothbrush

Hey Mike...the description of the toothbrush brings a smile to my face.  I guess \"old\" is better than saying \"someone else\'s\"!

Around here with that description it could be anybody\'s.  
My lips are sealed.  Seriously, I should have added that the toothbrush  should not be too stiff bristled.   Medium is best.
I tend to agree with Jean though, as here it has been just one or two varieties of bantams, never large fowl, so it affects just those that are particularly susceptible.   One thing that helped was to stop offering them very cold water for their first drink when their beaks are dipped.   Tepid is better, and changed fairly often.

[Coyote]

They get vitamins and electrolytes in their water for the first week or two. There are occasional pasty butts (never used a toothbrush-no one I disliked that much-just soak and gently remove with my hand. They are in big rubbermaid containers that are covered so no rats-not pecked or mutilated just laying on their side dead-I do use cold water to dip their beaks-will switch to tepid-do I need an autopsy for mycoplasma or is there a test? Have to go to Iowa State at Ames for anything as there are no local vets who will mess with chickens. Only have 12 more eggs to hatch unless I decide to make up another breeding pen. I refuse to send my customer chicks that have been dying.

[Anne Foley]

If it were me, I would think about putting some general antibiotic in the chick water for the first few days.  One thing that can happen is that the exposed navels can be a conduit for drawing bacteria into the chick from the hatching surface.  I don\'t mean coccidiosis but rather a bacterial infection.  The chicks are fine at first until the bacterial numbers have grown and then the chick is dead.  If you don\'t already do it, disinfecting the hatcher well is also a good idea.  I think late hatchers often have this problem more than early hatchers but that may not be your experience.  Good Luck!

[Guest]

They get vitamins and electrolytes in their water for the first week or two. There are occasional pasty butts (never used a toothbrush-no one I disliked that much-just soak and gently remove with my hand. They are in big rubbermaid containers that are covered so no rats-not pecked or mutilated just laying on their side dead-I do use cold water to dip their beaks-will switch to tepid-do I need an autopsy for mycoplasma or is there a test? Have to go to Iowa State at Ames for anything as there are no local vets who will mess with chickens. Only have 12 more eggs to hatch unless I decide to make up another breeding pen. I refuse to send my customer chicks that have been dying.

You said they\'re in a tub covered? I was just wondering if possibly not enough air circulation for that length of time? I realize you don\'t mean that the lid is on tight. When I put my newly hatched chicks in the tub, while I\'m waiting for them all to hatch to take to the brooder house, it gets pretty dusty in there. I have to keep wiping it down because of all the fluff flying in the air. Possibly they are just a little more sensitive to the \"flying fluff\"? Try keeping them in something else to see if it still happens? Just an idea....

April

[John]

in a tub

That also was a concern of mine.  Please make sure there are enough vent holes near the bottom to allow for adequate air circulation.
Also check out some of the old \"brooder\" topics for ideas...
http://ameraucana.org/abcforum/index.php?a=topic&t=213

[Coyote]

The tubs were covered by 1/8 inch hardware cloth not a solid lid - with heat lamp resting on top. I use Oxine to sanitize all my equipment. I guess I will try antibiotics in the water. Can they be mixed with the vitamin/electrolytes?

[Anne Foley]

I have never mixed antibiotics with anything other than plain fresh water but I think using a vitamin/electrolyte solution should be fine.  Antibiotics may not work but then you know the cause is something else.  Perhaps the problem is genetic.

[Coyote]

Maybe it is genetic-My blues are from Mike and John but are several years inbred. I was having trouble with gold in the hackle of older birds-maybe I need new breeding stock?
but my blues have such nice color and lacing and egg color?

[Cloverleaf Farm]

I can\'t say that I agree with giving antibiotics without knowing why...  If they are showing some kind of symptoms before they die, then give it a shot, but if not...I\'d go with a necropsy before you start treating at random.