Necropsies

[fleenorfarmmom]

The three I have been nursing along aren't getting worse. I hate to think they are getting better and have them backslide like some of the other member's have. But for now I am still watering them with a straw to be sure they have water, and feeding them the yogurt/crumble mixture. They walk a little more normally now, not pitching onto their heads like they were. Still have fingers crossed for them. They are all speckled sussex and I want to see what they look like when they are grown up!

 

[PennySue]

KathyM4
Most of mine are getting better. I'm wondering if this is what I can expect also? I don't think these chicks are going to make very healthy chickens. They are only about 1/3 the size they should be and even some that look like they are only a week old.
No matter what the tests show, I will be putting these sick chicks down ( I mean my husband will ). I just want to know what's going on before I do anything.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Again really sorry your all facing this. From the reading I have done *if this is AE* these will not be healthy robust chickens if they do survive. IF your considering putting them down please consider submitting them for testing, the more that go in the better. Your state should be able to arrange the test and some have found it's not cost them anything. It seems to change by each location. The more chicks that go in for testing the better. Many tests are going to come back inconclusive for many reasons so we can't rely on just a few going in. Weak chicks pick up secondary infection often and those will ruin some test results.

 

[therealsilkiechick]

from my understanding and what i have read if they do make it they will basically be failure to thrive chicks. their growth will be stunted, they will not catch up, they will be weaker and consume way more feed and still need more things than what the avarage healthy chooks would require.
silkie

 

[MNKris]

Quote:
I am with you. I have a bunch to put down. Granted, I am working on a lot of chicks here, but after over 4 weeks of doctoring, I was able to save a couple Cuckoos, a few EE that aren't flourishing and a partridge cochin that is mentally challenged now. I am going to have husband destroy rest of cochins, buff rocks, EEs and maybe a Cuckoo. I think the Cuckoo is a pullet though and she seems to be getting better very slowly. I may give her a little more time. She is starting to grow again. Even in the new order, there are some chicks that are still eating and drinking that are no bigger than day olds. What an experience this has been...

 

[plfreitag]

I have been following this thread as well as one just like it on another group I belong to. It breaks my heart to hear of the babies dying like this. I know I had to cull one of mine that got sick early this winter and I cried for two days. Now I can butcher them for eating, but having to put down a sick bird, though I know it's for the best, just tears me up.

I am very glad that after careful consideration even before I knew about all this I chose a hatchery closer to home for this year's chicks. We go pick up our babes from Cackle on April 10th. If I happen to not get a broody hen at all from 15 Turkens and 10 Ameraucanas, I will be buying an incubator and getting dark-layer eggs from a breeder who has an excellent record and outstanding flock. I had hesitated because the initial investment is a bit more than I had wanted to put out, but it seems as time goes on that it may be the best idea. That way, the birds will be from my flock, of my flock, and won't be exposed to illnesses from other flocks.

I wish all of you who are suffering at this time peace. It's just not right to have to cull such precious little babies. I do hope the cause is discovered and that the customers who have put not only lots of money, but time and energy into their chicks, come to some sort of resolution that will enable the hatchery to continue operating without losing those who place the small orders - the homesteaders who look to places like that as safe facilities to get their birds from. For some of us, it is one of the few options we have. I'm disabled and there aren't any local breeders here so if I go the egg route it's $150+ for the incubator, and then $20 a dozen for the hatching eggs plus $15 shipping...and then the first few times who knows what my hatch rate will be?

Trisha in climate-changing MO

 

[innof8happinesses]

Dear Kathy and others with the question of recovery chicks:

We have had at least 4 appear to totally recover and go back with the rest of the chicks from the same order. None have reverted back (yet). We have one like you described who was our first to get sick around one week. She is a polish too. And she is about the size of a one week old chick (at 3-4 wks). She walks around and even jumps. She eats and drinks normal. I don't do any extra for them... Just keep the sick ones separate, give all the many supplements I listed earlier, and keep water and food very low and easily accessible for them to creep to if they cannot walk. This little polish is too little to go with the rest of the flock. But she seems pretty well comparatively. If she survives she may always be separate from the rest of the flock. Some of my chicks are huge now though, so maybe they had some immunity from the parents?

Blessings & good wishes for happy chicken raising.

 

[KathyM4]

My polish I asked about earlier died last night.

I was able to put 2 back in with the others though. They are well enough that they were trying to escape their brooder.

So now I have 4 more that seem to be getting better. One golden polish is the only one who seems like he isn't growing. The rest seem to be growing ok...so hopfully they will be ok if they all make it.

 

[mario2girls]

anyone know where people are posting their actually lab results,,,

never mind,,,,found it,,,

 

[Poultergeist]

I had 52 delivered on 3-3-08. 12 have become sick and I have 4 more that appear headed in that direction. When will it stop I wonder? I am certain it is AE due to the similarity of symptoms to those that have had their birds checked and tested. I've put down a few which is pretty difficult. I won't even go into the ridiculous method I devised which I thought would be the most humane way of dispatching a chick. It started with my pondering how I'd like to go if I were a sick chick. I know I wouldn't want my head snipped off with kitchen shears. That seems to be the preferred method around this joint.

As for the sick ones, they have become very special to me and I have grown close to them as I try to help them as best I can. They are a blessing in disguise, I think. Some advice I've read here on supplements is invaluable. Whoever that person is who said they were going to try to rehabilitate their paralyzed chick with a toy wagon or whatever should be knighted. I had to read it twice asking myself if the person was serious. I know they are and my hat is way off to you. If you read this, can I make you my health care proxy?

When I started this chicken venture, I decided I wanted to be a farmer who instantly culled sick or non-performers (poor egg layers) to make room for vibrant, productive birds. Now I'm spending valuable time trying to make these sick little chicks more comfortable and hopefully more healthy. Knowing others are out there fighting the same fight is nice, though I'd prefer to be alone in this battle. I don't have much hope for my sick chicks, but maybe they'll some luck .