Chicks dying off... *Update* options with Merricks?

[BlackDogPack]

I have raised tons of chicks with a very good success rate. Seems I've hit my bad time. I have 75 chicks currently. They are a week old. The first few days they were fine, then I started loosing about one a day. Several (6 or so) have pasty butts that I keep clean and I just read about the ACV so I added it. Today I took everything out of the brooder, bleached, scrubbed and cleaned. I had them in a movable chick brooder on the ground for a bit. I lost 2 more in just a few hours. They seem fine, then will suddenly start getting droopy - then within an hour or so seem paralyzed and die, within a few minutes. I have only seen the two today through the whole process, and one more going through it now. I do not have pediylite on me but will be picking some up tomorrow and making a quarantine pen. They don't seem to be starving or dehydrated, I saw one of the two today (just know one for sure, the other could have) eating and drinking right before whatever it is hit.

I bought them from a feed store that carries Mt. Healthy Hatchery birds (ironic!). I usually order bitties from McMurray but figured why not. I could not find the policy on vaccinating just browsing the site quick, but can chicks so young even get Merricks?

To be sure it wasn't the shavings/water/food/etc I scrubbed and changed everything today. I did do one thing different this time. I did not feed medicated feed, but medicated their water and just used regular starter grower. Purina. I bought a bag of medicated today and just use the ACV in the water.

My grown chickens have contact with the bitty shaving that fall through the brooder and no one is sick. No other signs / no respiratory signs, no messed up eyes, nothing else. Just dying off. I will be trying to find a way to quarantine the bitties tomorrow just in case it is contagious.

UPDATE: I am pretty sure it is Merricks. 2 more dead and this time they look like a dead Merrick bird, twisted around and all. I have them in the freezer and will be taking them and however many die to a NCVDL lab on Monday... I think, I have to call and make sure frozen birds are ok? I've never used them before.

So if it is Merricks what do I do? I obviously can't sell the bitties like I had planned to - do they carry it for life if some live? Can I vaccinate them and the grown birds now? Will my flock just always have Merricks and any new birds that come in will get it and either live or die?

I have to say, it irks me that the name of the hatchery is a lie. I have some other vaccinated chicks in there with them that I got the same day from a local guy, and they are all alive. Just the Ameracaunas are dying off.

I did get them from a feed store though, but I was literally there when the shipment came in to pick them up.

I am looking it up more now but starting places would me nice.

 

[BlackDogPack]

So I just read that the tumors for merricks take 4-6 weeks to kill the bird? So according to that it's not even possible it's merricks.

*sighs* Any suggestions?

 

[BlackDogPack]

A couple more are 'droopy' and I am sure they will be dead in the AM. I'm scared to see what the damage will be in the morning. I also wanted to say that I watched one die, and it does twist around and one of them looked much like a chicken that died from merricks - twisted and all. The others have just been dead / normal dead looking, sorry I don't know how to word it. When the second started dying / thrashing we killed it. I didn't want to see it suffer.

They did gasp for air in the last moments, and would twist around in an odd way.

 

[AZBootsie]

I am so sorry. That sounds awful. I wish I could offer some insight, but no clue here. It sounds like you are doing everything you can at this point.

 

[chickiepooh]

I have been going through the same thing. I bought 18 chicks at the farm store I have gotten chicks from for years never experiencing a single death. Since I picked them up Friday the 15th all of them have died one and two at a time. The last one died today. They start breathing hard and coughing, loss of muscle control, watery green stool, twisting necks and flopping on their backs. Loud chirping as if in distress. Then death. They all were eating and drinking. I offered them medicated feed after noticing the first few deaths. Then antibiotics in the water. No change, they all died. I was going to get some chicks from Tractor Supply who gets their chicks from Mt Healthy Hatchery. Now I don't know what to do since you got your chicks there! I contacted the diagnostics lab at the U of M and they need to test a live or recently dead, refridgerated chick. I don't think frozen will work. I still have a few of mine in the freezer. I guess I will have to wait until Monday to contact the lab again. What the heck is going on with all the chicks?!

 

[Bravo]

So sorry you are going through this. I hope you can figure out what is going on.

 

[BlackDogPack]

Quote:
I will call tomorrow but it's looking like I will have some fresh dead and/or dying chicks to take up there anyway, I lost 4 last night and one is dying now night. The chicks that I got from the local breeder are all fine still, my Lt. Brahmas. The Ameracaunas are just dropping like flies.

What is going on?

 

[jerseygirl1]

I wonder if it is stress form shipping? Are you giving them vitamins/electrolytes in their water or any kind of added supplement? I just skimmed thru the first posts, so I apologixe if you did mention it.
Also, I have had vitamin deficieincies that look like Marek's.

 

[the_eagle69]

I would be interested to see what the vet has to say i have a some of the same problem but not on as large of a scale when my chicks were shiped the temp droped really quickly each time there was about 10 out of 150 chicks lost and the second order was about 5 out of 150 so there was not a huge loss concidering the temps and number of chicks but they did seam to go out the same way everyone else is talking about.

 

[BlackDogPack]

Quote:
I don't think I mentioned it but the day I got everyone I added the chick booster, for the life of me I can't remember the name, a little packet you pour in the water. Should I keep adding it? When I switched to the ACV mix water I didn't put more in. It was just an electrolyte mix, no vitamins.

Tomorrow I will pick up the vit/electrolyte mix from the feed store. Any one kind better than the other? I think I usually end up with duravet.