Newly bought chicks are dying of a strange disease- seems neurological

[RedHead]

I think in situations like this, the fresher the better (not to be to crude/cruel sounding). But the latest one to die I think would be a good option. Not sure about freezing, I'm sure someone on here could chime in about that. But most certainly get in touch with the vet and ask what the best course would be. How are the lil' ones looking now, btw?

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
That sounds good. I found a vet nearby and sent him an email regarding necropsy and what to do. I am at work right now so I don't know how they are doing. The way this has been going is that they look fine one second and are dead the next. Like I said, hubby left at 9 this morning and all looked good and by noon 2 were dead again. That is how it was between the first and second one, they will be fine one hour and then be dead. It becomes frustrating.

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
By the way, you didn't sound cruel. You just made a very good point. If this is a virus that may be affecting their brain I would imagine that freezing may destroy the evidence but I will wait to hear back from the vet.

 

[Tracydr]

I think you may want to talk to a local USDA or Vet School. CDC probably won't help you with chicken disease. Contact your state or county extension agent. They can probably help steer you straight.

 

[EquestrianGal]

pretty sure the horse encephalitis is different, so you shouldn't be any any trouble there even if you hadn't take the precautions you had.

not sure what state you are in, but if there is a county extension office that would be a great place to start. ours has direct connections with Va Tech and they respond to all sorts of animal issues and diseases. If you don't get a response from your county, call the next county over (speaking from experience there--our guy NEVER called me back when I had concerns about something and the guy from the next county was incredibly helpful).

Again, I am sorry. It does sound like you have done everything you could do up to this point and that you are getting good advice for what to do now.

 

[Avalon1984]

Thank you all. I just checked all of "my" chickens and everybody is doing good. Out of the 20 sickos though, another one is going downhill as we speak. Very lethargic, starts with just standing, then losing balance, falling over, then gasping, twitching and dying. Something else that I noticed today which is kind of weird is their smell. I am having a hard time explaining it but they don't smell like my baby chickens. Their poop smells like it is a sweet, almost rotten smell, a little bit like decomposition. I cleaned them up thoroughly just now but the smell seems to also be stuck on them. I cannot wait to hear back from the avian vet close by. I will also look for the extension office tomorrow. This is rediculus (sorry about the bad spelling) and my hubby brought up a good point- if the guy gets personally insulting over 15 bucks something more is going on than what we know. For now, just to be extra save I am trying to handle the little ones as little as possible. I wash my hands all the time and do not even think about touching them until I am done with all chores. It is truly sad what people do to their animals. I sell chickens too but I would be ashamed of myself if something like that were to happen.

 

[drumstick diva]

do you think heat at all can be involved? I noticed a line in your first posting about making sure there was no place to "hide from the brooder light."

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
Hey drumstick diva, I apologize if that came out wrong. I was trying to explain that when setting the heat lamp I made sure that the chicks were not hiding from the light (too hot) or crowding under the light (too cold). They however have plenty of space to escape the heat if necessary. Thank you for asking about this.

 

[Avalon1984]

Lost another one. Down to 13 out of 20 in 3 days. A dear friend of mine suggested to keep the body in the fridge instead of the freezer to preserve the tissue so now I have the poor little guy in the fridge. I may clean them up again even though I cleaned them 3 hours ago. The smell of them is terrible and I cannot point to one source. It is starting to make my throat scratchy. I have never felt to powerless.

 

[peahen46]

90 to 95 degrees is a little hot for this time of year and for large fowl chicks. Try lowering the temp to around 85 then give them VIT B. If you have a Dept. of Agriculture they will do a free Necropsy for you it's worth a call to them to see what it may be. Then you don't have to worry about your others birds. It's very upsetting not knowing. Sanitize everything you touch after being with them. Feed and water all healthy birds first, work on them last. Vit E is also good for neurological signs in Silkies for chicks I would add it to there water. First state vet supply is a great site. Dr. Peter Brown is a good resource. www.firststatevetsupply.com. Hope that helps a little. Good luck and don't blame yourself.