Hello everyone, good someone please tell me if there is anyway I can tell if the chicks inside my eggs are alive, I candles them at day 23 and the eggs were filled, only the air cell is what I could see. Do I need to just wait till it hits 28 before I disregard them as dead or is there another way to tell now?
It can be hard to tell once they have filled the shell at the end. You won't hurt anything by giving them more time. There is a float test described in the Hatching 101 article (should be updated) - link is at the beginning of this thread.
Quote: We have some freakish whether, very strong east winds no rain, and very low humidity, and this stinking arab terrorists lit on purpose tausenns of fire, a big property damage but thank God no human casualties.
I'm glad there has not been human casualties!
@casportpony @ChickenCanoe I found a still warm, but dead chicken when I was doing chores. Kristy was still warm. I would like your advice on what I need to do.
I saw her last night when I got home late and she was lathargic. I did not see anything obvious wrong, and I did not feel an egg, but I am not sure what I am/was doing. Tonight she was found with poop on her (yesterday I noticed a bit of poop on her bum, but it was just a little bit). I took a couple of pictures and then put her in the fridge until I could get a chance to ask what I should do. Should I attempt an autopsy even though I have no clue (is there information on how), do I need to send her somewhere, or should I just let it go? One other bird has just a bit on her feathers, but everyone else seems fine. She was a March chick a green egg layer (Ameraucana over RIR).
We have 2 labs in MO. The Mizzou vet school (which is where I take mine) and the MO Dept. of Ag lab near you in Springfield.
29
Missouri
Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory
University of Missouri
810 E. Campus Loop
Columbia, Missouri 65211-0001
Phone: 573-882-6811
IAV-A, CSF, ND, FMD, PRV, IAV-S*
30
Missouri
Missouri Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
701 North Miller Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802-6460
Phone: 417-895-6861
I usually drive mine to Columbia but it is about 6 hours round trip.
I found that if you call them, they'll e-mail a FedEx express mail shipping label. You can drop it off at a FedEx office or arrange a pickup. The store is only about 2 or 3 miles from my house.
You don't pay the shipping till they bill you for the necropsy. I think the shipping is at a reduced price but I don't know because I haven't been billed for the last one yet.
I do have a beef with FedEx though. I went by the office and asked what time I had to get a package in to get to Columbia by the next day and they told me 7PM. I got it there and the driver was just arriving to pick up. The package went to the distribution center and stayed there till Tuesday night and finally arrived in Columbia Wednesday morning. So a bird that died on Friday took 5 days to get where I could have driven it in 3 hours.
If you drive there, someone is on call 24/7 to meet you and accept the animal. But they don't pick up at FedEx on weekends.
I dropped one off at midnight on a Friday night once.
Thanks guys it happens to everyone with chickens. I just wonder why it always happens to the good ones. There are 18 hens in that coop, and she was one of only three that would actually come near me. Of course.
@daxigait
You can cut a bird open and often see abnormalities. I've done it a couple times. However, since raising Penedesencas, I find it essential to know exactly what killed a bird and any other health issues they may have had and that knowledge only comes with complete lab work.
If you choose to do so yourself, open it up from the vent to the neck by cutting through the ribs and then spreading it open to expose all organs so you can examine them one by one. Pay special attention to the liver, kidneys and heart. Look for excessive fat deposits.
With the kidney segments, look for them to be uniform.
Sometimes I think the more docile ones are those more prone to issues.
At least, I know that if I can pick up a bird, they're on their last legs.
thanks for the hot chocolate
