Beware of Botulism

[want2know]

"Botulism is one of the most common causes of death in poultry in the TopEnd. Chickens,ducks,geese,guinea fowl and many other birds are susceptible.It can affect free-range and caged birds."
https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/233569/botulism-in-chickens-ducks-and-others.pdf

 

[MysteryChicken]

"Botulism is one of the most common causes of death in poultry in the TopEnd. Chickens,ducks,geese,guinea fowl and many other birds are susceptible.It can affect free-range and caged birds."
https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/233569/botulism-in-chickens-ducks-and-others.pdf

Yep, lost two meat bird cockerels due to it. Found spoiled food in the feeder, cleaned it out, & had no more issues.

I wasn't happy those two days.

Have you dealt with it before?

 

[want2know]

Yep, lost two meat bird cockerels due to it. Found spoiled food in the feeder, cleaned it out, & had no more issues.

I wasn't happy those two days.

Have you dealt with it before?

No, never until a few days ago. How did you determine it was Botulism that killed your birds?

 

[MysteryChicken]

No, never.

Was curious.
Hopefully you don't end up dealing with botulism in your flock.
First bird of mine died of it, second one I had to put down.

 

[want2know]

Was curious.
Hopefully you don't end up dealing with botulism in your flock.
First bird of mine died of it, second one I had to put down.

No, never until a few days ago. How did you determine it was Botulism that killed your birds?

 

[MysteryChicken]

No, never until a few days ago. How did you determine it was Botulism that killed your birds?

Paralysis of the legs, still had feeling in the legs, head was kind of droopy. They still had an appetite, & would drink. They progressed to not wanting food, or water, & eventually withered away.
I was afraid it was merek's Disease, but then I found the spoiled feed in the feeder, & made the connection.

 

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Paralysis of the legs, still had feeling in the legs, head was kind of droopy. They still had an appetite, & would drink. They progressed to not wanting food, or water, & eventually withered away.
I was afraid it was merek's Disease, but then I found the spoiled feed in the feeder, & made the connection.

I’m sorry to hear about your chickens. We just lost our two precious Muscovies to botulism. We’d been previously unaware of this disease and are now on a mission to learn as much as possible about it. We live in a hot climate that had just had a period of heavy rains and were told this is a common illness in our duck population because of these conditions but we may never know how they actually contracted it. How did you know or determine that your chicken’s feed was spoiled?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I’m sorry to hear about your chickens. We just lost our two precious Muscovies to botulism. We’d been previously unaware of this disease and are now on a mission to learn as much as possible about it. We live in a hot climate that had just had a period of heavy rains and were told this is a common illness in our duck population because of these conditions but we may never know how they actually contracted it. How did you know or determine that your chicken’s feed was spoiled?

There was chunked up moist food at the bottom of the feeder that was also discolored. It also looked have a little mold starting to form.

The hot, humid weather effected the feed.

 

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

There was chunked up moist food at the bottom of the feeder that was also discolored. It also looked have a little mold starting to form.

The hot, humid weather effected the feed.

Thank you. Do you know how long it had been there?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you. Do you know how long it had been there?

You're welcome.
No, I didn't know how long the spoiled food had been there for. Maybe a few weeks, or more.
I'm just surprised only 2 meat birds got sick from it.