What are the six signs a chick shows before dying?
Expert Answer
The six signs a chick shows before dying mainly include shivering, eyes that won’t open, slow movement, stopped feeding, inability to stand and listlessness — all common warning signs of a dying chick. Chicks have weak resistance, and large temperature swings in their environment can also be fatal.
Sometimes fright alone can cause a chick to die suddenly, so during rearing keep the environment at a comfortable temperature and avoid startling them. Newly hatched chicks are especially sensitive to poor conditions and prone to illness and death.
To raise the survival rate, follow these chick-rearing tips:
Temperature: A newly hatched chick’s body temperature is about 3°C lower than an adult’s and only reaches normal after roughly 10 days. Their short down gives poor cold resistance, so artificial heating is needed until the feathers are fully grown at around 30 days.
Environment: A chick’s body temperature is 40–41.5°C and they grow fastest in summer. Chicks are timid — newly hatched ones startle easily and may crowd and trample each other to death, so keep them somewhere quiet. They also hate dampness; keep the coop dry and well-ventilated, since a wet coop lets droppings ferment and release toxic gas that makes chicks sick.
Warmth: For newly bought or hatched chicks, use a box lined with hay or cotton with a warming lamp at night; for large flocks use a heated house.
Feeding: Before the first feed give 0.01–0.02% potassium permanganate water (light pink) to clean the gut, then light sugar water to boost survival. Feed chick feed with frequent small drinks of water — never let them gulp, as overdrinking causes fatal diarrhea. Around 10 days old, free-range foraging becomes possible.
Development: Choose a sunny spot — sunlight warms them, boosts appetite and growth, but avoid harsh or overly long exposure and let them rest to prevent vent- and feather-pecking. At about 20 days they can eat other chicken feed.
Notes: Watch for chicks huddling, inactive and off food with weak long “cheep” cries (too cold); wings drooping, panting and splashing for water with short sharp cries (too hot); and an even, active, normally feeding flock with smooth shiny feathers and cylindrical droppings (just right).