HELP! I need answers!!!

[casportpony]

Another one of the Sebrights died yesterday. I found him in the coop when I went to let them out on the floor. He was still alive, but barely. Being Christmas, there was really nothing I could do since nowhere was open and I had lots of stuff going on. All I could do was make him comfortable.

Then he passed a few hours later.

I took this video of him as soon as I brought him back from the coop.

Sorry for your loss. As morbid as it is, it a good video for people to see as it shows the signs of eminent death. I've found a few like that and I've *never* been able to save them.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Time for a necropsy:

• http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/
• http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

This is how to ship one. Ignore the California specific details, it's a copy and paste from a post of mine.

How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy​

They need the whole bird, refrigerated, not frozen. If you live in CA, there are four labs that do necropsies on poultry (chickens, turkeys, waterfowl) for free. I know that they do out of state necropsies, but I think they charge for those. You could call them and ask what they charge for out of state "backyard poultry". The lab I use is the one in Tulare, CA. If you are in CA, call them and ask for their FedEx account number, it will save a bunch on shipping charges.

CAHFS
18830 Road 112
Tulare, CA 93274-9042
(559) 688-7543
(559) 686-4231 (FAX)
[email protected]


The other labs are listed here:
http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/services/lab_locations.cfm

If it's Friday, unless you want to overnight for Saturday delivery, I would suggest shipping on Monday for Tuesday delivery. What you need to do, if you haven't already done so, is put your bird in your refrigerator, NOT the freezer! Then you need to find a box, line it with styrofoam (I use the 4'x8'x1" stuff from Home Depot. You can also get smaller pieces at an art store like Michael's, but is way more expensive. Click here to see foam options. You'll also need at least one ice pack. Here are some pictures that I took of the last bird that I sent:

Box lined with foam on four sides and bottom. Seams of foam taped sealed.


Box, sides, bottom and and top.


Frozen ice pack in ziplock baggie.


Brown paper on top of ice pack.


Hen in ziplock baggie on top of brown paper.


Brown paper on top of hen.


Ice pack on top of brown paper.


Lid on top of brown paper.
​

Inside the box you should also include a submission form in a ziplock baggie. Do not tell anyone at FedEx that you're shipping a dead animal... that seems to really worry them. Just make sure that nothing will leak.

 

[lauranickerson]

How much does a necropsy usually cost? I know it varies, but what do you usually end up spending, roughly?

 

[casportpony]

How much does a necropsy usually cost? I know it varies, but what do you usually end up spending, roughly?

They're free in many California and other States, but I do have to pay for shipping which so far hasn't cost me more than $20 using the UC Davis FedEx account.

-Kathy

 

[lauranickerson]

Well MSU is the closest thing here, but if they cost a lot than I'd rather pay a little extra shipping to have it go somewhere where they won't usually charge. SO the place you sent it to on your original post you quoted is typically free?

Does it matter that my bird is from Michigan and I'd be sending out of state?

 

[casportpony]

Well MSU is the closest thing here, but if they cost a lot than I'd rather pay a little extra shipping to have it go somewhere where they won't usually charge. SO the place you sent it to on your original post you quoted is typically free?

Does it matter that my bird is from Michigan and I'd be sending out of state?

California would charge you. Free is for CA residents.

-Kathy

 

[lauranickerson]

Bummmer!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Here is a link to the University of Florida poultry science program. Use this link and see which set of symptoms most closely resemble your chickens' distress. I don't know for certain, but I am afraid that you are not going to like what you learn.

At the end of the link is a couple of tables that make it easier for a chicken new-be to wade through the confusing and mostly identical symptoms. While you read this link keep a pen and note book handy so that you can make notes on each disease and re-compare them over and over until you hopefully have your answer..

 

[11 IN THE NEST]

If you go to the Michigan Department of Community Health they have links to submit animals for testing. Most times they will send you the correct box for free. If not go to your local lab attached to a hospital and they could help you contact the state lab in Lansing. Sorry for the loss of your bird.

 

[hensintheHOUse]

He is much more lively now! Sorry that I haven't been on in a few days. He's been making a mess in the garage bathroom, but I think we are just going to bite the bullet and put a light in the coop. We have to mount the extension cord on the wall so that the hay isn't exposed to the electricity. Is it bad for them to have a light going all night? Will that mess with their internal systems and whatnot. I don't really have a problem giving my chickens the egg laying breaks that they naturally need. It's been about a constant 10-15 degrees though, and I want to give them some heat, I think. 

I am sorry for your loss, and thank you for sharing the video with us. I hope some experts tell you what that was.
I have no idea, but the temperature is making me concerned a lot.
We wouldn't never let our chickens outside that below 30 F. We used to bring them in the garage and kept them until early Spring.