5th chick dying in my hands right now - help!

[familypendragon]

Adults known to have wet and dry fowl pox. No signs in chicks 4 have dropped dead in 2 days. Walked on 5th one laying down to die. Wrapped in a washcloth in my hand. Keeps having almost a seizure - extending legs and throwing head back over her own back. Gave her liquid b 12 and contents of fish oil capsule in hopes it may help. Leaving house in 1 hour for meeting I can't miss. Started coccidiosis treatment for flock with corid yesterday evening just in case. vaxing for fowl pox this afternoon. What else can I do? What do you think this is. They are fine till they drop dead. I see a couple things under wings that might be pox lesions and one side of her tongue has maybe a white patch.

 

[casportpony]

If you're doing this because you want to start over with stock from mycoplasma free sources, fine, I understand, but if you're doing it for your neighbor that doesn't have birds yet, how are you going to feel if they buy birds with mycoplasma and decide not to cull them?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Quote:
Testing by necropsy in CA is free, the blood test is less than $10 and tests for mycoplasma (MG, MS) and a few other things. As far as not saying anything about the store, I'm well past that and most people would be if they went there and saw the peafowl and turkeys with the nasty respiratory infections. Like the OP, they have been dealing with it for about a year... Birds get sick, they treat with Tylan, birds get better and then relapse. Respiratory diseases aren't the only problem they have... I've also seen several with Marek's.

-Kathy

Edited to add:
Now way I'm gonna buy anything from them and risk infecting my flock by bringing it on my property. It's bad enough that I have to buy feed there, lol, just not gonna bring any sick birds home!

 

[Shan30]

I just read this threat from start to finish, wow you have been through so much in the last year you must just be exhausted. I'm so sorry for all of your losses I know how hard it is to cull your entire flock for MG...I've done it.

The whole time I was reading your thread I was thinking "this sounds way too much like MG not to be". Luckily we found out a lot faster than you did and did not have to deal with so many deaths. I think only two went on their own.

We culled and sent in two adult birds for necropsy explaining that we suspected MG. The response was fast and detailed, blood work determined MG. We considered closing our flock and treated with antibiotics while we made up our minds. Eventually we came to the agreement to cull and start over. We took so many things into consideration but one of the huge ones was controlling the disease. The idea that our flock would continue to infect wild birds increasing the possibility of nearby farms being infected. The chance of transmiting the virus on our clothing, shoes, tires, etc, to other people's flocks, the feed store, etc. just seemed wrong. Add that to the desire to breed birds and the knowledge that we would probably lose most eventually anyways and culling really seemed like the best option.

From what I recall MG does not survive long on most surfaces. I believe the longest it survives outside a host is in an egg and that was 6 weeks but I could be mistaken. We cleaned the coop with virkon and left the coop and run empty for three very quiet months.

The day that we culled (35+ birds) was absolutely awful. In the long run I believe it was the right choice and I know that we saved those birds from suffering.

I believe you are doing the right thing and wish you a future flock that is healthy and worry free!

 

[dawg53]

If wet pox is in the trachea, it's impossible to treat or remove lesions. Birds will suffocate. Here's a link regarding fowl pox vaccinations and other info about fowl pox: Sorry for your losses.

http://www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/disease_links/images/poxvirus.pdf

 

[Yvonne37894]

I found that Dawg53 recommends 1 tsp per gallon and so does the manufacturer
Tylan powder is good for 3 days
however the Corid needs to be replaced daily.
So if you mix the 2 would would need to replace it every day.
JMO and I'm not an expert by any means

 

[Kelsie2290]

You are just not getting a break are you. If I have sick birds I try to segregate them as much as possible. So I would definitely try to get the sick brooder as far away as possible from ones that aren't sick with what he has.

 

[casportpony]

This is how I send a bird for a necropsy:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799747/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures

-Kathy

 

[realsis]

My heart just breaks for you! Having just lost my whole flock but one bird I know what your going through!!! Luckily my last bird was not exposed to the other birds as she is a sort of house chicken. Its so awful one after another and I know exactly how your feeling. in my case it was a respitory virus. the exact nature of the exact virus is unknown because I didn't do testing which I should have. It spread so rapidly through my flock. I was devastated and still am. I never really realized how quickly something could spread until I went through it myself. How many birds do you have left? I really hope you can get to the bottom of this so you can start over. That's what I'm doing now is starting over. Its heart breaking but we have to move foward after all is done. Monday I have some babies being shipped to me.pray for their safe and healthy arrival because I don't think I could bare any more tragedy! Its difficult to start over but I'm giving it a try. My birds brought so much joy to my life I was totally wrecked to loose them. Keep us posted on how things are going and if you ever need to just talk I'm here for you. I understand completely what your going through as having gone through something similar myself. If you need a friend im here. If I can help you with anything don't hesitate to ask. I pray things start to get better for your birds and for you. Again I'm very sorry you have to deal with such tragedy!!

 

[familypendragon]

Everybody still alive this morning