Isbar thread

[corvidae]

I have some questions for those who have Isbars. I won an auction for 12+ Isbar chicks off another site. Got the chicks last Wednesday, and there were 18 Isbars included, which was very nice. However, the Isbars appeared to be of different ages--some looking like day old, some looking like 2 weeks old, and a few looking in between. Within 2 days, 7 of the chicks died--they were up running around, eating and drinking, then an hour later one or two would be dead for no apparent reason. No pasty butt or anything. Initially, I though it was a failed waterer, since the chicken nipple on the waterer didn't seem like it was putting out enough water. Changes out the waterer, but the birds are still dying. We lost another one yesterday, one this morning, and two more this afternoon. All the ones who have died so far seem to be the youngest ones. There is no pasty butt or any other signs of illness I can find on them. They don't seem to be attacking each other and there are no marks on the chicks who have died. I have quite a few other chicks (BLRW's, Legbars, and Breda) in the same room (different brooders) eating the same food, with the same environmental conditions--none of them have died or shown any illness. Some of those were shipped and some of them I hatched.

So my question, of course, is what the heck is going on? The seller says there are no problems with the birds he has. Is there any kind of issue (like genetics or some kind of general delicacy about the birds) with Isbars that I don't know about? This is very frustrating and extremely upsetting to keep finding dead chicks for no apparent reason! And I am paranoid about letting these chicks get anywhere near my other ones now because I am worried they might have some kind of illness they might transmit. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it. We've tried giving vitamin drops, NOT giving vitamin drops, giving ACV in the water, and pretty much everything else we can think of--none of it seems to make any difference. The chicks literally look and act perfectly fine, right up until they are dead.

 

[anniesmom]

My first Isbar chicks have hatched! Looks like I got two blacks and two splashes.

 

[klf73]

I haven't noticed any fragility with my Isbars, but I have seen it with a couple of my other "rare" breeds

. I pm'd you...

 

[pampered_poultry]

Some of the 'new' breeds on the market will show some issues from time to time. I use 1cc of Vitamin B, 1cc of Vitamin E and 1cc of tylan 50 per 1 quart of water when I notice problems and it seems to clear things up. As a matter of fact - I have started doing this on a regular basis.



Thanks,
Richard

 

[corvidae]

Well, sadly, all the younger Isbars are now dead. The ones that were clearly older at time of shipping are alive and appear okay. Out of 18 original chicks, there are only 7 left.

Worse than that, these chicks were initially placed in a brooder with some BLRW's that I personally hatched and have never been anywhere outside of their brooder in my spare bedroom. Those BLRW's, who were previously very robust and healthy appearing, started dying yesterday afternoon. We've lost several of them, and another 6 are dropping their wings becoming inactive. I am dreading going home in the morning. My kids are calling it the chicken plague and calling that spare bedroom "The Room of Death."

Pampered--where can I get some Tylan in a hurry? Would they carry it at a normal feed store? We've already tried vitamin supplements to no effect, though my son started them on the BLRW's this afternoon when we realized how bad it was looking. The seller of these Isbars says there is no problem on his end. I hope he is correct, since he has another auction up for Isbars. From my end, however, it is sure looking like a contagious disease.

 

[The Sheriff]

Corvidae, I am so sorry about your chicks. How sad. Chicks can only safely be shipped as day-olds or several weeks old. The auction you won and the current one does not even state how old the chicks will be. There is very little information at all on the listing. Keep pressure on the seller to refund your money. I feel bad for your children too.

Mary

 

[pampered_poultry]

Hate to hear! You can get Tylan 50 at most feed stores - here I get it from Tractor Supply.

The disease could be a possibility - but also look at the surrounding and try to take out any variable that exist. For example - correct bedding (no cedar), proper heat (95%) - with the ability for the chicks to move away from heat, pure water - there could be calcium or chlorine (if you are in the city) in the water ....... once you do that - then focus on the health of the chick. I do not like the poult packs because in my opinion they do not have what I would think is the proper percent of vitamins ingredients.

One more thing - you could add some apple cider vinegar to the water to entice them to want to drink more.

Thanks,
Richard

Well, sadly, all the younger Isbars are now dead. The ones that were clearly older at time of shipping are alive and appear okay. Out of 18 original chicks, there are only 7 left.

Worse than that, these chicks were initially placed in a brooder with some BLRW's that I personally hatched and have never been anywhere outside of their brooder in my spare bedroom. Those BLRW's, who were previously very robust and healthy appearing, started dying yesterday afternoon. We've lost several of them, and another 6 are dropping their wings becoming inactive. I am dreading going home in the morning. My kids are calling it the chicken plague and calling that spare bedroom "The Room of Death."

Pampered--where can I get some Tylan in a hurry? Would they carry it at a normal feed store? We've already tried vitamin supplements to no effect, though my son started them on the BLRW's this afternoon when we realized how bad it was looking. The seller of these Isbars says there is no problem on his end. I hope he is correct, since he has another auction up for Isbars. From my end, however, it is sure looking like a contagious disease.

 

[pampered_poultry]

I would say that Chicks / Chickens can be shipped safely as long as you provide proper heat, food, footing and box. I am not sure of whom the seller is - but if by chance there is a health issue with the bird............ this is just one more reason to look for a breeder that is NPIP and preferably one that is tested quarterly with includes more than the standard Pullorum test - but test for Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma Synoviae (MS). These are bacteria that often can remain silent in birds however can be as acute as loss in egg production or as major as increase in mortality rate.

I may have to pay out more money to NPIP and have to put my birds through bleeding on a more frequent basis - but to me the piece of mind knowing you have clean birds makes it worth it!

Thanks,
Richard

Corvidae, I am so sorry about your chicks. How sad. Chicks can only safely be shipped as day-olds or several weeks old. The auction you won and the current one does not even state how old the chicks will be. There is very little information at all on the listing. Keep pressure on the seller to refund your money. I feel bad for your children too.

Mary

 

[corvidae]

Richard--

Thanks for the advice--I will hit the feed stores in the morning and scream up some Tylan. I give ACV in the water as a matter of course to all chicks, though I had stopped it on the Isbars 2 days in, worried that it might somehow be contributing to the problem. Like the vitamin supplements (which we were hand feeding by dropper), it didn't seem to make a difference either way. No cedar in the bedding, and we changed it for fresh bedding several times. The brooder had been thoroughly cleaned before use. All the chicks (healthy and otherwise) get the same organic feed and filtered water from the same source. Heat lamp is placed with appropriate temperature on the opposite side of the feed and water. I'll go through everything again when I get home in the morning to see if I can find any other variables. As a nurse, this whole thing is driving me nuts. What I wouldn't give to be able to start an IV and run antibiotics and fluids while drawing blood cultures and other labs! Or even just a set of vital signs! I've posted in the illness section of the board as well to see if anyone has any further ideas.

 

[pampered_poultry]

Cool - sounds like you have your basis covered. Being a nurse I know you can appreciate taking away all variables one by one...who knows ... in the end it could just be some freak thing that is out of wack??

Here is a suggestion to help....if you are NPIP - then submit them to the lab - my inspector does test for free. If not - find someone that is NPIP that can call the inspector and submit for you........ at last - you can submit yourself - but it may cost. This way you KNOW you have healthy chicks.

Let me know what you find out - I am curious.

Richard

Richard--

Thanks for the advice--I will hit the feed stores in the morning and scream up some Tylan. I give ACV in the water as a matter of course to all chicks, though I had stopped it on the Isbars 2 days in, worried that it might somehow be contributing to the problem. Like the vitamin supplements (which we were hand feeding by dropper), it didn't seem to make a difference either way. No cedar in the bedding, and we changed it for fresh bedding several times. The brooder had been thoroughly cleaned before use. All the chicks (healthy and otherwise) get the same organic feed and filtered water from the same source. Heat lamp is placed with appropriate temperature on the opposite side of the feed and water. I'll go through everything again when I get home in the morning to see if I can find any other variables. As a nurse, this whole thing is driving me nuts. What I wouldn't give to be able to start an IV and run antibiotics and fluids while drawing blood cultures and other labs! Or even just a set of vital signs! I've posted in the illness section of the board as well to see if anyone has any further ideas.