The deer was shot on November 18th
He died last Wednesday.
Why should we start a new thread?
Okay I'll take a look.
Yeah.
I thought starting a new thread would give you some fresh eyes and maybe more of them to help get it figured out with your lady while she is still alive. Instead of some who might have thought this thread has already taken it's finish.
What kind of floor does your barn have? Is it dirt? What are you using for bedding? You might want to throw some sand or pebbles in there for grit. Crop blockage could easily cause the symptoms you describe.
What made you think these boys needed to be rescued from the woods? Did you realize that your actions MIGHT be causing stress and therefor immuno suppression, then introducing to a completely new environment where they are being exposed to whatever bacteria is in your ground or that your birds carry that they might not have developed any resistance to?
As long as you are rescuing without proper quarantine, you may not be able to get this under control. The deer might have nothing to do with his passing and may be coincidence. Or it may be a clue in the puzzle.
My pleasure.

I use it every 1 or 2 weeks as a preventative on my chickens.
Some people may have better results than others. I used that on my dog that had mites (that cause mange but not the contagious type) and it didn't work. But neither did many other prescribed products. Took months to get rid of them off JUST the 1 dog rescue who had weakened immunity and got tape worms and blah blah. My other two dogs had zero issue. Vet said yes they have mites somewhere on them but the dogs natural immunity kept their population from exploding.
But still I question... Preventative??? What if you simply don't have them. Are they building a resistance to something that you use all the time now instead of it "working" for generations to come when you really need it?
And another thing I'm curious about... on people, onion or garlic can be absorbed through the skin. You can rub it on the bottom of your foot and have it make your breath smell (I've heard anyway).
IF that's true.. Will you end up with garlic flavored eggs, or even meat?
I guess if you aren't worried about losing your whole flock then rescuing is awesome. But how many times have you seen someone "rescue" a baby bison (national headlines were made) or other animal just for it to get a death sentence that it may or may not have had in the first place. I don't mean to sound ugly or discouraging... just to say that sometimes good intentions lead to VERY bad realities. I'm not trying to change you or your heart, just sharing information that may lead to a better or different understanding for you. Having volunteered at a wildlife rehab center gives a little different perspective. If I could I would rescue EVERY single dog at the shelters. But there comes a point when you have to consider the health and well being of ALL animals involved, not just the ones who seem to be neglected. But the ones who currently reside under your care.
I keep a stag pen myself, for breeding and eating. Even boys that seem to be fine for the longest time will have fights, sometimes leading to the alienation and depression of the loser. He may even be kept from the feeder. And other boys (even girls) will join in and kill or cannibalize someone who is failing. Nature, as beautiful as it is... sadly is also very brutal. I do find it funny that people are like save the roosters yet buy and eat chicken from the store which led a very sad and miserable life. If you really wanna save the roosters, vote with your dollars and quit buying store bought chicken. Find a local farmer who does it RIGHT, and enjoy the fruits of the earth as they were meant to be. All our boys live great every single day. Scratching in the dirt and mowing the grass but still having a fully formulated nutritionally balanced feed. They have a lot of really good days, then one bad moment that's over before they know it.
Even though you think you have plenty of room, and you might... the recommended amount for chickens is 4 square feet indoor and 10 square feet in the run. It would be more than that for rooster and ducks. They also need lots of visual barriers and some enrichment that helps them enjoy their daily lives. Like colorful things to peck at or hanging a head of broccoli or cabbage just out of reach so they have to jump to get it.
I agree with the most recent poster... even "natural or organic" doesn't mean safe. Poison is poison, think.. lead and arsenic are organic yet poisonous. Fire is natural but still deadly. And even things like calcium or potassium that are NECESSARY for us to stay alive, when out of balance can kill very quickly.
Do you plan to take fecal samples or the next bird that passes in for testing?
Best wishes getting this figured out!
Please consider developing a routine for quarantine if you are going to continue rescuing.
And I won't personally feed my roosters layer. Too much calcium fed long term to non layers can (doesn't mean will) cause kidney issues and even failure. For this reason aside from having many chicks, broody's, roosters and juveniles I use a flock raiser with 20% protein and offer oyster shell free choice on the side for layers. The other biggest reason I use the 20% protein feed is because 16% is the bare minimum for light bodied layers like leghorn. Dual purpose breeds like Rock, Marans, and Wyandotte will do better with more protein than that. And boys are heavier bodied than girls of the same breed. So I don't see how 16% is enough, especially if not free ranged with access to other bugs and such... Anyways, here is a link to my nutritional research and part of the reason I asked about your breeds. One misprint says 5-17% and should say 15-17%....
http://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/files/186894.pdf
It's awesome that you don't do too much treats, that means that your birds are getting pretty much what they should nutritionally. I don't use grit because I use washed river sand in my coop and it has many small size pebbles. Plus they free range and have lots of access to dirt for the amount of birds I have. I haven't yet had issues in 8 years. But if they were indoors where the dirt isn't being pushed up by gophers all the time or no other access, then I would consider adding something for them as it is their ONLY means of digestion.
What I feel like I can assure you with what little knowledge I do have... is that mites may have contributed (because things add up and take their toll) but is NOT your main cause of death. Especially if like you believe they weren't around before Nov 17th ish. NO WAY did mites cause death in two weeks with no other issues being the main contributing factor.

(sorry, I like the old guy thing but don't mean it as cockiness!)
Seems like you are the look out for stuff and having BYC peeps at your disposal to help, hopefully you will get it turned around. I really love raising birds. And I'm a rescuer at heart. It's been a hard choice to know I won't rescue chickens and risk my flock. But kudos to you having a big heart!
