Necropsies

[FutureChickenMan]

Settin'_Pretty :

I've been watching these discussions for the last few days now and find this pretty troubling.
I've had very good experiences with the hatchery that has been discussed here.
What I find troubling is that they were informed about this discussion and they have chosen not to respond against or in favor of or to offer any kind of support or suggestions.

Sadly their lack of response is calling in to question now the good feelings and relationship I've had with them in the past.
Their silence on this matter can only serve to make matters worse, I hope they will realize this before irreparable harm is done.

I think this question should be directed at them specifically. I don't know how big of an operation they have, but maybe the answer is to call them and ask to speak to a public relations person. They usually handle communication of issues like this.

I spoke to one of the ladies there this morning. (not about the sickness issue, it was about my order) She was very helpful, respectful and resolved my problem right away. (shipped wrong amount and some wrong breeds; I think my order was packed the last hour of the day. LOL!) She asked if I wanted the correct chicks shipped or a credit. I asked for the credit and I told her why (unresolved sickness issue). She told me to be sure and call back if any problems with the chicks arose. That statment right there tells me they're aware something is going on. I didn't dig any deeper as I don't have sick chicks (yet).

Again, folks, please remember that they didn't do this on purpose. I give them the benefit of doubt. I also give them some time to try and figure out what is going on before they start making phone calls, sending emails, etc. Remember they have thousands of shipments to track down by batch numbers, track the batches back to the respetive equipment, back to the breeder they got the eggs from, test all the equipment, etc. I'm in the business of finding things that are broken and isolating the root cause. The worst thing anybody can do is go running off with the wrong root cause and reccomend actions that could make things worse.

Give them some time, and if you have specific questions, instead of speculating/theorizing/almost-slandering here, give them a call and ask the horses mouth.

Remember to be POLITE!
Toll Free Phone: 800.456.3280​

 

[pips&peeps]

Their silence on this matter can only serve to make matters worse, I hope they will realize this before irreparable harm is done.

Maybe there are legal reasons which would prevent them from discussing this openly at this point in time....​

 

[silkhope]

Honestly, what more could they say at this point, other than - there seems to be an issue and we're working to find out the cause. Would that be a good enough response for all involved? Probably not. It's taking us (people with sick chicks) a while to get necropsies, results from labs, etc. It will take them time as well.

 

[ebonykawai]

That's what I was thinking. Right now, their only answer may be "We don't know".

 

[MNKris]

We may know. See Emergencies Post...

 

[mario2girls]

this is fun,,,i love chasing around looking for the answers,,,,

 

[maineiac]

AE? WHo would've guessed it?

 

[mario2girls]

is that caused by chilling do you know,,,i need to go look that up on google or something i guess

 

[MNKris]

From the Merck Vet Manual

Avian encephalomyelitis is a worldwide viral disease of Japanese quail, turkeys, chickens, and pheasants, characterized by ataxia and tremor of the head, neck, and limbs. Ducklings, pigeons, and guinea fowl are susceptible to experimental infection. The causative picornavirus can be grown in chicken embryos from nonimmune hens. It is transmitted for ~1 wk through a portion of eggs laid by infected hens, and then spreads laterally in the hatcher or brooder to susceptible hatchmates.
Clinical Findings:
Signs commonly appear at 7-10 days of age, although they may be present at hatching or delayed for several weeks. The main signs are unsteadiness, sitting on hocks, paresis, and even complete inability to move. Muscular tremors are best seen after exercising the bird; holding the bird on its back in the cupped hand helps in detection. Typically, about 5% of the flock is affected, although morbidity and mortality may be much higher. The disease in adult birds is inapparent except for a transient drop in egg production. The disease in turkeys is often milder than in chickens.
Lesions: No gross lesions of the nervous system are seen. Lymphocytic accumulations in the gizzard muscle may be visible as grayish areas. Lens opacities may develop weeks after infection. Microscopic lesions in the CNS consist of neuronal axon-type degeneration (“ghost” cells) in the brain, particularly in the brain stem and in the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. Gliosis and lymphocytic perivascular cuffing can also be seen. Visceral microscopic lesions consist of lymphoid follicles in the muscular tissue of the gizzard, proventriculus, and myocardium, while numerous lymphoid follicles can be found in the pancreas.

Diagnosis:
Avian encephalomyelitis must be differentiated from avian encephalomalacia (vitamin E deficiency), rickets, vitamin B1 or B2 deficiency, Newcastle disease, eastern encephalitis, Marek’s disease, and encephalitis caused by bacteria, fungi (eg, aspergillosis), or mycoplasmas. Diagnosis is based on history, signs, and histologic study of brain, spinal cord, proventriculus, gizzard, and pancreas. Virus isolation in eggs free of avian encephalomyelitis antibody is sometimes necessary for confirmation. Serologic testing of paired samples is helpful, using virus neutralization or ELISA tests. Microscopic lesions are sparse and may not be found in infected adults.

Prevention and Treatment:
Immunization of breeder pullets 10-15 wk old with a commercial live vaccine is advised to prevent vertical transmission of the virus to progeny and to provide them with maternal immunity against the disease. Vaccination of table-egg flocks is also advisable to prevent a temporary drop in egg production. Affected chicks and poults are ordinarily destroyed because few recover. A combination vaccine for fowlpox and avian encephalomyelitis for wing-web administration is widely used. The disease does not affect humans or other mammals.

 

[silkiechicken]

http://www.ruleworks.co.uk/poultry/Avian-Encephalomyelitis.htm

Is another link but I think it covers the same thing.

Now we still should wait for results from other tests as this one result is of one person. If we get multiple diagnosis of the same virus, then the breeder who supplied the hatchery may be out of business and we will have a possible answer for a majority of cases.