02/26/2026
Early chick mortality, are you having some early deaths in new chicks (2-5 day mortality), it can be due to several reasons. Chicks rely on the yolk sac for nutrients and early survival when hatched. If the chicks don't start eating and drinking in your brooder, they will not thrive and can "starve out" because they just didn't want to eat and drink. If for some reason the yolk sac is infected (do a necropsy and you'll smell a very foul odor in the abdominal cavity), chicks will get very sick from peritonitis and will die. They can also pass on the infection thru their droppings to the other chicks they are with. If your chicks have yolk sac infection from poor hatchery sanitation, the only thing you can do is veterinary intervention with injectable antibiotic such as Naxcel. And it has to be caught quickly (within 3-4 days max). If you have sick chicks, separate quickly from the rest of the flock and get treatment.
