Lost 2 birds within 2 weeks

[Cockadoodledon't]

This is a bit of a long post, BUT, I believe there will be some great comments and lessons to be had from it, so please bear with me.

I have lost 2 birds in the past two weeks.
Symptoms started out as "droopy" birds, loose watery poop...combs drooped to the side..and birds not eating.
Birds would spend most all of their time sitting, sometimes with eyes closed. When they got up they seemed week. Birds roosted on the ground. from onset to death is about a week.

I feed scratch mix ....my last bag had molasses in it...(not used to seeing that in chicken feed). I also mix my scratch mix with laying pellets.
My Birds are 2 years old.

I put Sule Met in the water, used the chick saver electrolytes...but both followed the same pathway.

I keep my feed inside a building out of the elements with the tops covered 100% of the time.
The containers are metal garbage cans that were very clean, one never used for anything but chicken feed.

I spoke to a Dr. at the Dept of Agriculture in my state and she offered me some information that I wanted to post for comment from those in BYC Land.

First...she said that should not feed scratch....only the laying mash as the scratch diluted the nutritional value of the feed.

Second...Do not use metal cans as they can precipitate moisture which leads to mold.

Next...NO MOLASSES....she said that she didnt understand why molasses was in there to begin with and shouldnt be. she says it causes every other animal to have diarrhea...and probably did the same to the chickens.

Next... I have read here many times and other places that Garlic is a great de wormer for chickens. She was not familiar with this and states that should use a commercially availiable de wormer for the birds.

Plan is to have an agent come and swab the birds for avian flu and to collect stool specimens.
for 55 bucks I can have my feed tested, which, I am considering.

Now...any comments on what you may feel was going on with my birds......I welcome.
Any comments on the information from the Agriculture agent....I welcome.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Droopy wings, lethargic -- probably cocci. I would use corid first . Scratch is just a treat to be fed sparingly. Yes, commercial wormers are best II think. I don't think metal cans are an issue, I use metal or plastic. Cocci stays in the soil I think, so be on the look out in case more get it. Good luck.

 

[MonicasGarden]

I agree about cocci, it kills fast and is very contagious. You'll want to bleach the coop(s). Also, my chick starter has molasses and they've never had diarrea.

 

[PtldChick]

I keep my feed in plastic buckets - the kind from Home Depot. They have lids, are watertight/proof, lightweight, have handles for moving/lifting, don't rust, and are way cheaper than the metal cans I've seen at the feed stores.

I agree about scratch - if you read the label, protein content is usually only about 9-10%. Starter/grower is anywhere from 18-22% and layer is usuallly around 16%. I have all my young birds on a chick starter/grower that is 18%. I use non-medicated in the big run because the ducks eat it too. But the younger ones get medicated, and I also put medicated in the chicken hutches.

If you are using Sulmet, follow it through the entire course. Liquid is 2 TBSP/gallon for two days, then 1 TBSP/gallon for four days. If you catch it in time, it works well. Hard on their system, so once it's done, give them yogurt and put ACV in the water to help repopulate their good bacteria. I put ACV in the water at a rate of 1 TBSP/gallon all the time.

I never heard that about molasses. Wet cob is pretty common.

Good luck - it's so frustrating when you don't know what's wrong or what to do!