pheasant rearing problems

jimbrowning

hi lads,
i hatched out 28 ring necks this week. all was going fine until about day 4, when i found 1 dead. i thought it may have been smoutherd due to them bunching together for heat but the temp was right. next morning i found another dead and another looked sick. it sat under lamp when all the rest scattered when i came in. it quickly got worse and could hardly lift its head or walk. it was dead within an hour or so. lost more the next day and night, and yesterday i could see more sick chicks and 5 more dead this morning. thats 10 so far and more sick.
all advice welcome.

poulo6.5

jimbrowning wrote: »

hi lads,
i hatched out 28 ring necks this week. all was going fine until about day 4, when i found 1 dead. i thought it may have been smoutherd due to them bunching together for heat but the temp was right. next morning i found another dead and another looked sick. it sat under lamp when all the rest scattered when i came in. it quickly got worse and could hardly lift its head or walk. it was dead within an hour or so. lost more the next day and night, and yesterday i could see more sick chicks and 5 more dead this morning. thats 10 so far and more sick.
all advice welcome.

thats rough i bin hatching chickens over the past couple of weeks, none lost yet thank god. i leave them to them selves just leave food and water for them. i dont have lamps etc i just leave them with their mother.
do they have some infection or something
sorry i cant help but i will keep an ear out for you.

mallards

Are they feeding and drinking well Jim? What bedding are they on? Are they eating that as well? Here's a site that might help you rule out a few diseases.

Mallards

EPointer=Birdss

I had the same problem with clutches & over the years I've attibuted most of it to their diet.
If their place is clean then disease shouldn't be a factor & worms like gape only come into it when their on grass from what I have seen.
I've mine on a game/turkey starter now & feed them cat food also. They go mad for the cat food. Little boost of protein. I've used boiled eggs broken up too which is good just more work.
My system of using bantam hens is working a treat now also as after a week with the hen in a box they go into the runs with grass with the hen confined in a box & that's when they really thrive.
They need bugs etc to do well.
For your issue foe chicks I'd clean out the whole place.
Adjust your heat lamp if necessary & look at what you feeding them.

lofty95

when you say cat food is it the dry stuff you are talking about or the tinned

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

I had the same problem with clutches & over the years I've attibuted most of it to their diet.
If their place is clean then disease shouldn't be a factor & worms like gape only come into it when their on grass from what I have seen.
I've mine on a game/turkey starter now & feed them cat food also. They go mad for the cat food. Little boost of protein. I've used boiled eggs broken up too which is good just more work.
My system of using bantam hens is working a treat now also as after a week with the hen in a box they go into the runs with grass with the hen confined in a box & that's when they really thrive.
They need bugs etc to do well.
For your issue foe chicks I'd clean out the whole place.
Adjust your heat lamp if necessary & look at what you feeding them.

Half-cocked

If their making a coughing noise its gapes, it can lie dormant in the ground from a previous year and this hot humid weather will bring it out. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

Eddie B

Half-cocked wrote: »

If their making a coughing noise its gapes, it can lie dormant in the ground from a previous year and this hot humid weather will bring it out. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

As far as i know its wet weather that brings on gape!
Birds contract gape from eating earthworms which are a host!

You won't find too many worms near the surface in this weather!
Also chicks of this size are two young to be routing around looking for worms!

landkeeper

have you changed the water frequently , where are you getting it from ,if its not changed at least daily you can get a bacterial build up in it as its sitting in a warm enviroment it sounds like an infection to me is the bedding clean and dry, have you reared chicks in the setup b4 , gapes will only appear when they are older and on grass, what are you feeding them

EPointer=Birdss

lofty95 wrote: »

when you say cat food is it the dry stuff you are talking about or the tinned

Tinned stuff. Like a little protein shake to boost the growth.;)
Works a treat.
There like velociraptors when you put em on the grass! Savage to watch em going through the long grass catching flies & such!
They do way better on grass with a hen than under a red light.
This weather is great for rearing chicks.

lofty95

my fellas need something alright very slow to get going i will have to up the protein i think cheers

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

Tinned stuff. Like a little protein shake to boost the growth.;)
Works a treat.
There like velociraptors when you put em on the grass! Savage to watch em going through the long grass catching flies & such!
They do way better on grass with a hen than under a red light.
This weather is great for rearing chicks.

jimbrowning

water is changed daly. also feeding them turky and game starter crumb. i had ducklings in same place about 6 weeks ago. is was cleaned but maybe not enough. ihave since moved the brooder, cleaned feeders, and didnt give them any wood shavings this time. still found 1 dead 10 mins ago. maybe it was sick before i moved it???
not to many left now. any 1 kno how to stop it????

landkeeper

well ducks are dirty little gits we were taught not to rear anything where they have been, can you get a vet to help you with a general antibiotic to add to the water it may help ,

chickenfarmer

Hi Jim, Are the dead chicks very smelly ? How many have you lost in total now and over what time period ?

Dusty87

Same happened to me last year, floppy heads etc. Cant help you but the last one that was left, i gave a drop of whiskey to. He survived. I cant stand by the whiskey cure, (ould granda cure), but it saved cousins hamster and that pheasant.
A lad up the road pheasants got salmonella, he got medicine **** for them. Il drive up to him tomorrow and see what his symtoms were.

jimbrowning

chickenfarmer wrote: »

Hi Jim, Are the dead chicks very smelly ? How many have you lost in total now and over what time period ?

they dont smell to good but its not real bad. have lost i think 11 now over 3 or 4 days. i dont understand if they are passing it on to eachother, why dont they all die around the same time??? the 1st thing i notice is maybe 1 or 2 wil not scatter when i look in. few hours later they have the floppy head and cant lift it or walk to well. next thing there dead.???

Dusty87

jimbrowning wrote: »

they dont smell to good but its not real bad. have lost i think 11 now over 3 or 4 days. i dont understand if they are passing it on to eachother, why dont they all die around the same time??? the 1st thing i notice is maybe 1 or 2 wil not scatter when i look in. few hours later they have the floppy head and cant lift it or walk to well. next thing there dead.???

Yep the very same what mine had. Il ask herself if she remembers anything worth reporting to ya. She looked after them mostly at the time as i was working

chickenfarmer

since it only started since day 4 it sounds like a bacterial infection. Yoke sac is a possibility. how you can tell is to open one of them. Peel the skin back from across the belly. If you see white puss like blobs then its yoke sac. They aren't passing it on to each. they brought it from the egg. The main cause is dirty eggs (or washed eggs). The only cure is a course of anti-biotics. Ammoxillin is the cheapest. The anti-biotics need to be then followed up with a course of Vitamins

Donalmit

Hi Jim,

Just saw this post now. All the other eggs from that batch finished hatching this morning. It finished up about 85% so the norm so far. They all look fine to date but will keep a close eye on them and let you know how they do over the next few days. The eggs I gave you were not washed just the loose dust rubbed off them. Washing eggs only removes the protective layer and they can get infections through the shell wall. Regarding your bedding I dont use wood shavings for chicks as their natural instinct is to peck at everything and if the shavings/saw dust is too fine it will compact in their crop and they will starve. For chick numbers up to 200 I use a piece of cloth/towel until they are 7-10 days old when they know the difference between food and s*it. It is hard to tell without lab tests what they died from. Sorry to hear you are having problems with them. Call in if you are passing and I will sort you out with a few more.

Cheers,

Mitch.

greylag

contact your local vet and he will give you antibiotic for them. i rear a large number a year and give them antibiotic for first 3 days followed by dose of vitamins. what protein is the food?, how are you giving them water? not good to use the same place for duck and pheasants, pm me and i will help all i can. are they under a red lamp, do they bunch under it or scatter to the corners?

jimbrowning

greylag wrote: »

contact your local vet and he will give you antibiotic for them. i rear a large number a year and give them antibiotic for first 3 days followed by dose of vitamins. what protein is the food?, how are you giving them water? not good to use the same place for duck and pheasants, pm me and i will help all i can. are they under a red lamp, do they bunch under it or scatter to the corners?

protein is 30%. use a normal poultry drinker. red lamp. they bunch together, then scatter when i go near. all except the sick ones. they stay under the lamp.