I did get the final report today, but haven't had a chance to talk with either the vet at the University or my vet.
Salmonella is the cause of death. But I'm very curious where it came from and how my girls ended up with it. I'll circle around with the University vet Monday to see if there's...
That may be it -- I had chicks from Meyer. Several died but I thought it was the normal losses. Cross contamination between the chicks and the ducks was possible.
Those chicks are now outside. Do I need to treat my entire flock?
I have way more questions than answers! I spoke with the state vet. The preliminary results are showing Salmonella. Salmonella?!?!
These girls were brooded in a bathtub, on puppy pads. The pads were changed twice a day and the tub scrubbed out. They've only eaten water (house water) and...
The 5 week olds were ordered through Meyer which contracts with Metzer. These were the first to show symptoms and pass. The 2 week olds were from a local store that ordered through Murray McMurray, I believe. So the source has to be something happening here, unless the second batch was also...
I dropped the girls off this morning (I ended up choosing the vet school and not the state vet). He thinks they'll have the slides back tomorrow and answers on Wednesday. The pattern of deaths is consistent with feed, but this would be two bags (one from a feed store, another straight from...
This isn't going well. Thinking for sure it was the food, feeling bad for the one left, and happening to see a few at a local feed store, I brought a few more home yesterday morning. Obviously that was a bad choice and short sighted of me. This morning, one had died. This afternoon 4 more...
Really great questions and great points. I hadn't considered the incubation period for viral hepatitis, thank you for reminding me.
I was just coming to update.
After a consult and post mortum, we're also thinking it's something they ate. Since they've only been on the waterfowl starter...
Found it, I think: https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/Sects/duck/health.cfm
Duck Virus hepatitis
Duck virus hepatitis is a highly fatal contagious disease of young ducklings, 1-28 days of age. Ducklings are most susceptible at the younger ages and gradually become more resistant as they grow older...
There isn't blood in the stool. Also, they've always been in my bath tub. Coming from the hatchery, it was the pointed out to me that they'd need to be exposed.
Really just pouring over they're last week:
I did start them on chick grit earlier this week, thinking about it. But it's the same...
I have a post on Meyer Hatchery on the chicken board. This is an extension of that but with ducks (shipped from Metzer that I've had good luck with). I only ended up with the 4 chicken losses and the one cross beak. The ducks were doing well up through 3.5 weeks, but they all died within the...
I just need to vent a second...
I'm not super active in the chicken part because I spend most of my time over in the duck and goose threads. That said, I'm not new to chickens and I'm certainly not new to brooding (geese, ducks, or chickens). I'm not new to mail order hatcheries either...
In the car, a plastic hard sided dog crate... I believe mine is a large, but it may be an xlarge.
I get the ones with the clips on the sides, not the screws... It'll need to be cleaned each time and the clips just make my life easier.
Here's some basics about the crest:
- a crested duck has a hole in the skull that's covered with fat
- the fat creates this crest
- don't cut or damage it, you can cause brain damage or death in the duck
I have a few, I make absolutely sure they are not bred as the drake can cause brain damage...
Thank you so much! This is exactly along the lines of what I was thinking, but hearing it from someone not in my head really helps.
Adding to the shipping idea; I was a bit frustrated with the hatchery. The shipment came in two boxes, one had a heat pack and all birds made it. The other was...
Hi All,
I may have an issue with my last batch of hatchery chicks.
- One died in shipping. One in the brooder (6% loss rate). No one else looks weak
- I saw some blood in fresh poop yesterday, not from the chick that died.
My first reaction is normal losses, but the blood makes me wonder...
Well, yes -- when they eat food goes into the crop... basically thing of it like a bag in their neck. That gets full and then it slowly goes down their throat. You don't want to squeeze the crop. When I pick them up, one hand goes under their feet, the other in a loose circle around their...