California - Northern

[casportpony]

I've recently had some mysterious unexplained deaths in the broody house and it's all when the lab is closed of course! The chicks are all fluffy and look happy until they die. No pasty butt or gasping.

Since I had a case of yolk sack infection a while back I'm wondering if this is the same thing. I had a broody sitting on eggs and I put them in the incubator because she hatched some and left the others. They hatched 10 days earlier than the incubator eggs. I cleaned out the shells but the chicks would have crawled all over the other eggs. I'm wondering if this allowed a bacteria to grow that would cause infection. I don't know when I quit being so GREEN and making dumb mistakes. Whenever that happens, I will be very grateful! It would have been far less costly to toss the 3 mutt eggs from under the broody than to lose 9 chicks from specific breeding.

Starting Thursday I've lost 2 a day and I'm not very happy at all! I can't pin point the problem because it doesn't look like anything.

Before that it was just one here and there so I didn't really alarm. Losing one or two out of 50 chicks doesn't shake me up - usually they are runts and you know they were going to die anyway. When I start losing one or more a day then I know there is something wrong.

I've two chicks, one of the first and the one from tonight, set aside for UC DAVIS to get Tues.
(Yes, wrapped in napkins, hiding in the fridge in sandwich bags, tucked away so no one opens them.

Don't know what else to do).

Is there anything you would do in the meanwhile? If it is yolk sack infection - is this treatable with something I can hunt down and buy on Monday? I'd like to preempt any more losses as 3 of the dead chicks are some of my new Basque flock. They were so happy and chunky. I hate to lose any more!

I've also had some issues with yolk sack infections/E. coli and that best drugs for it are usually Baytril, Clavamox, Cipro, Augmentin and some strains might respond to amoxicillin. All, except Clavamox, can be ordered online without a prescription. If you know any pigeon breeders, try calling them as they often use Baytril and Cipro.

Your last necropsy report should have had this:

Antibiotic Reading Interpretation for Escherichia coli

Ceftiofur 28mm sensitive
Erythromycin 8mm resistant
Gentamicin 24mm sensitive
Neomycin 21mm sensitive
Penicillin 6mm resistant
Spectinomycin 21mm sensitive
Tetracycline 22mm sensitive
Sulfonamides 22mm sensitive
Enrofloxacin 35mm sensitive
TMP/Sulfa 29mm sensitive

Antibiotic Reading Interpretation for Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Ceftiofur 13mm resistant
Erythromycin 6mm resistant
Gentamicin 19mm sensitive
Neomycin 16mm intermediate
Penicillin 6mm resistant
Spectinomycin 12mm intermediate
Tetracycline 12mm resistant
Sulfonamides 6mm resistant
Enrofloxacin 21mm sensitive
TMP/Sulfa 6mm resistant
Selection of
Ceftiofur 13mm resistant
Erythromycin 6mm resistant
Gentamicin 19mm sensitive
Neomycin 16mm intermediate
Penicillin 6mm resistant
Spectinomycin 12mm intermediate
Tetracycline 12mm resistant
Sulfonamides 6mm resistant
Enrofloxacin 21mm sensitive
TMP/Sulfa 6mm resistant


Take a look at *your* report and see if any of the drugs with sensitive are available at the feedstore. If there was more than one bacteria in your report you have to pick a drug that will treat both. Make sense?

-Kathy

 

[CackleJoy]

oxine is supposed to kill E-coli so I hear. I just got my gallon so I am going to spray my coops out today

That makes me feel better. We use Oxine in the incubators and brooder for sanitizing. So the only way the ecoli could have gotten started is via un-washed eggs in the incubator.

I've dipped eggs in Oxine before incubating and had great results. I was afraid to do that with shipped eggs so chose not to on the last batch. I'm sure the 3 eggs from under the broody would have been the culprit. In the future if I'm adding eggs from under a broody, I shall wash them in Oxine before putting them in the bator. In fact - ALL eggs may end up getting the Oxine wash. This cannot keep happening! Another dead chick this morning. I hatched 24 out of that batch and I'm afraid they are all going to die!

This chicks are all going on a little vacation into a new rubbermaid and their space is getting sanitized again today! Hopefully TSC or somewhere is open for a few hours so I can buy the right antibiotic.

 

[CackleJoy]

I've also had some issues with yolk sack infections/E. coli and that best drugs for it are usually Baytril, Clavamox, Cipro, Augmentin and some strains might respond to amoxicillin. All, except Clavamox, can be ordered online without a prescription. If you know any pigeon breeders, try calling them as they often use Baytril and Cipro.

Your last necropsy report should have had this:

Antibiotic Reading Interpretation for Escherichia coli

Ceftiofur 28mm sensitive
Erythromycin 8mm resistant
Gentamicin 24mm sensitive
Neomycin 21mm sensitive
Penicillin 6mm resistant
Spectinomycin 21mm sensitive
Tetracycline 22mm sensitive
Sulfonamides 22mm sensitive
Enrofloxacin 35mm sensitive
TMP/Sulfa 29mm sensitive

Antibiotic Reading Interpretation for Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Ceftiofur 13mm resistant
Erythromycin 6mm resistant
Gentamicin 19mm sensitive
Neomycin 16mm intermediate
Penicillin 6mm resistant
Spectinomycin 12mm intermediate
Tetracycline 12mm resistant
Sulfonamides 6mm resistant
Enrofloxacin 21mm sensitive
TMP/Sulfa 6mm resistant
Selection of
Ceftiofur 13mm resistant
Erythromycin 6mm resistant
Gentamicin 19mm sensitive
Neomycin 16mm intermediate
Penicillin 6mm resistant
Spectinomycin 12mm intermediate
Tetracycline 12mm resistant
Sulfonamides 6mm resistant
Enrofloxacin 21mm sensitive
TMP/Sulfa 6mm resistant


Take a look at *your* report and see if any of the drugs with sensitive are available at the feedstore. If there was more than one bacteria in your report you have to pick a drug that will treat both. Make sense?

-Kathy

That is wonderful! Makes perfect sense. Human lab reports have the same info when dealing with ecoli (the most common cause of cystitis).

Well I looked and they didn't follow through with an antibiotic test. SCOWL. Oh well, I shall do my best!

 

[CackleJoy]

It may not be e coli but it was with the Isbars recently. The anti biotic that works for it should work for whatever is causing the egg yolk peritonitis. The Necropsy will tell you for sure but it is something to try until the report comes back.

I hop you stop losing the chicks.

To give him a pill, pull up on the comb and he will open up his beak. push the pill down and he will swallow. It takes a bit of time, but it works.

Sounds like a 2 person job.
Thank you so much! I went ahead and put the girls in with him. It's been 4 wks already and I needed the pen. There was zero fussing. Amazing transition!

 

[CackleJoy]

I am sorry you have had these losses. How frustrating! I hope that you are able to get to the bottom of it and it is my understanding that even if it were e-coli, it is spread through the fecal/oral route meaning your kids would have been ingesting chicken poo in order to contract it.

Blech is right! The bad thing is that children NEVER wash like they should. They SAY they wash their hands but in truth they just got them wet and smeared soap around a little. It's a very loud mantra at my house (without me even seeing them) that sounds like this.
"Did you wash your hands?"
"Did you use soap?"
"You know you didn't do it long enough, go back and wash again."
"USE SOAP!"

I had a microbiology class where the first experiment we did was to use an orange substance that got in all the grains of the fingers and glowed under black light. We had to try to wash it off. It takes WAY longer than one thinks to get sufficiently clean! Several people had to go back and wash a 3rd time before there was no glowing under the black light. I found all the cracks in my fingers really held on to the stuff. A good reason to use lotion. Smooth hands clean better!

Realizing that they sanitize using Oxine makes me relax a little. The Oxine should have sanitized them too

 

[ronott1]

Sounds like a 2 person job.
Thank you so much! I went ahead and put the girls in with him. It's been 4 wks already and I needed the pen. There was zero fussing. Amazing transition!

I did it by myself. He did not like it and he did manage to get it out a couple of time.

It is a bit easier than getting a cat to take a pill. Definitely have help. He is a big boy now.

 

[Kaylish]

I don't know, my 3 year old adores the little blue jerks.

My 2 year old does also. But we had a group move in a month or so ago and chased every other bird off the property, even the big magpies. So I had my husband take a couple out when she was in her bath last week so she didn't see. Haven't seen the rest of the little buggers since. Hopefully the pretty, quieter songbirds will come back soon.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Sure is, lol, fowl don't have teeth!

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

That is wonderful! Makes perfect sense. Human lab reports have the same info when dealing with ecoli (the most common cause of cystitis).

Well I looked and they didn't follow through with an antibiotic test. SCOWL. Oh well, I shall do my best!

This has a table that lists the different drugs and what they'll treat.
http://www.octagon-services.co.uk/articles/poultry/gamebirds.pdf

-Kathy

 

[AmyPaperlady]

Quote: Sure is, lol, fowl don't have teeth!

-Kathy

Fewer claws, too