10 Reasons Why Your Day-Old Chicks Are Dying + How To Stop It Today [Benin Poultry Guide]

 LABEL: Poultry Problems, Day-Old Chicks, Poultry Farming in Benin Delta and Nigeria as a whole. 

THE FULL POST:

Intro:

You bought 100 day-old chicks with your hard-earned money, and by morning 10 are dead? By day 3, 20 more gone? My brother, I feel your pain. Many farmers in Benin face this every batch.

The good news? 90% of chick mortality is not spiritual - it's MANAGEMENT. I lost 30 chicks in my first batch too before I learned these 10 mistakes.

Let's fix it today.

1. Cold / No Proper Brooding Temperature

Problem: Chicks huddle together, chirping loudly, then die. Benin night is cold.

Solution: Keep brooder at 32-35°C for first week. Use charcoal stove or 100W bulb, not open fire. Put thermometer inside.

2. Dirty Brooder / Infection from Old Litter

Problem: You use old sawdust or you didn't disinfect after last batch.

Solution: Wash floor with Izal + Sunlight. Sun-dry for 2 days. Use fresh dry wood shavings. Change when wet.

3. Dehydration - They Didn't Drink Water on Time

Problem: Chicks arrived tired from Hatchery in Ibadan/Lagos, stayed hours without water.

Solution: Give them glucose + vitamins in water FIRST before feed. Dip their beaks in water one by one when they arrive.

4. Bad Hatchery / Weak Chicks

Problem: You bought cheap chicks from roadside seller, not real hatchery.

Solution: Buy from trusted hatchery only - Chi, Zartech, Amo. Check: eyes bright, active, navel closed, not pasted butt.

5. Wrong Feed / Giving Layer Feed to Chicks

Problem: You give grower feed or your own mixture to day-old chicks.

Solution: Give Chick Starter (22-24% protein) for first 4 weeks. Top Feed, Chikun Feed are good.

6. Overcrowding

Problem: 100 chicks in one small carton.

Solution: 1 square meter for 20 chicks for first 2 weeks. If they can't move freely, they will stamp each other to death.

7. Pasting / Gumboro / White Poop Sticking to Butt

Problem: White diarrhea blocks their anus, they can't poop and die.

Solution: Clean butt with warm water + cotton wool. Give antibiotics + vitamins. Keep brooder warm.

8. Rats, Ants, Lizards Attack

Problem: You brood in open place.

Solution: Raise brooder off floor. Seal all holes. Put rat gum around.

9. No Vaccination at Right Time

Problem: You skip Marek, Gumboro vaccine.

Solution:  Day 1 - Marek (hatchery should do). Day 5-7 - Gumboro first dose. Follow vaccination chart I will drop in next post.

10. Stress from Transport from Lagos to Benin

Problem: 6 hours in bus boot with no air.

Solution: Tell driver to keep them where air enters. Travel at night. Open carton small for air. Give vitamins immediately on arrival.

Conclusion + Call to Action:

If you fix these 10, your mortality will drop from 30% to less than 5%. I did it, you can do it.

Have your chicks been dying? How many did you lose in your last batch? Drop it in the comment below, let's solve it together.

And if this helped you,  click FOLLOW on this blog - I will be posting vaccination timetable this week for my first follower who asked about 500k business