Poultry Breeding & Showing Class in Sonoma County CA

[jeremy]

Will everyone who lost chicks/birds be sending them in for a necropsy? That should clear the air about whether or not anyone has compromised birds in their flock.

 

[jeremy]

Obviously Dawn is talking about the chicks that I brought to the class. I would never have brought chicks that were sick to the class, the little buff laced that Maureen got were fragile as they just hatched, I assumed.

That said, I did lose a few myself and some were not thriving & Maureen lost the 2 little ones she got. I've sent the 2 I lost to Davis, but assume it's nothing more than cocci or that with all the moving around they got a chill etc. That is the outcome I am hoping for.

I think you guys all know that I do my very best in hatching and raising these chicks, but sometimes things happen.

My reputation is everything and this is my passion.

Will you share the outcome of your necropsy results with the group?

 

[dldolan]

Great, Mendocinosunrise, thanks for letting me know. I'll PM you about a replacment chick or fertile eggs, since we are close by!

Cheryl, the count thus far is that four of us from class have had sick chicks die from those you gave us. You replied to me that you also had had sick chicks, and had contacted everyone (except me, i guess) about this. However, the feedback I am getting is that no one was contacted. Responsible breeding is making sure that this type of information gets diseminated in a professional manner. I am sending birds to Davis and will also post the results. None appear to have had cocci symptoms.

Thanks, all of you, for sharing the information on your sick chicks with me. Let's get the information we need to deal with this or cull. No one has had the chicks improve by treating for cocci, it seems, so that is good information. (Probably many of you have had yours on medicated feed, as I do, so this is less likely. MIne are lethargic, sleepy all the time, not growing, not lively and thriving like the other chicks, which is what most of you have described. No bloody stool.)

On to something more fun. Here are two of my Orps that hatched the day before the class. On the right is a Lemon Cuckoo. Any guesses as to the one on the left? I am clueless. It doesn't match any egg I thought I had gotten! Looks like an Orp, but color??? I had four lemon cuckoo eggs and they all hatched, and all look like the one on the right with little variation. The only other Orp eggs i thought i'd ordered were Lav/Isa/Porcelain...but this doesn't look right to me. Guesses?

Cheers,
Dawn

 

[MrsMoonCat]

It is heartbreaking for any of us to lose any of our little chicks. We all do what we can to ensure their survival, but things do happen. The truth is that there could be many different causes for this. The weather was pretty nasty that day, the chicks were handled a lot - by several different people, there were older birds at the class, etc. How many of us quarantine day-olds? I am afraid I never do. They all reside together in the brooder.

Anyway, I am sorry for the losses that have occurred, including mine. I hate to see anyone involved upset and blame being laid or accepted when we should be supporting one another. We are all chicken lovers and hopefully friends here. Cheryl, most of us know how much you care for your birds and that you would never knowingly put others at risk. You put a lot of time and effort into your program. It will be interesting to see what they have to say at Davis.

 

[jeremy]

On to something more fun. Here are two of my Orps that hatched the day before the class. On the right is a Lemon Cuckoo. Any guesses as to the one on the left? I am clueless. It doesn't match any egg I thought I had gotten! Looks like an Orp, but color??? I had four lemon cuckoo eggs and they all hatched, and all look like the one on the right with little variation. The only other Orp eggs i thought i'd ordered were Lav/Isa/Porcelain...but this doesn't look right to me. Guesses?

Cheers,
Dawn

That one is a puzzler Dawn, the chick doesn't seem to be feathering in Lavender, Porcelain or Isabel? It looks mostly Buff right now to me. Does it have any lacing or edging in the feathers that have grow in so far?

 

[cherylcohen]

It is heartbreaking for any of us to lose any of our little chicks. We all do what we can to ensure their survival, but things do happen. The truth is that there could be many different causes for this. The weather was pretty nasty that day, the chicks were handled a lot - by several different people, there were older birds at the class, etc. How many of us quarantine day-olds? I am afraid I never do. They all reside together in the brooder.
Anyway, I am sorry for the losses that have occurred, including mine. I hate to see anyone involved upset and blame being laid or accepted when we should be supporting one another. We are all chicken lovers and hopefully friends here. Cheryl, most of us know how much you care for your birds and that you would never knowingly put others at risk. You put a lot of time and effort into your program. It will be interesting to see what they have to say at Davis.

Thanks, I've gotten so many phone calls and emails about these posts, all being very surprised about the attitudes. Of course I will post the findings from Davis. As everyone knows my facilities are spotless and I only breed with the utmost of integrity. Things happen and based on the numbers of chicks, eggs chickens I sell and give away I can count on one hand the problems I've had in the past.

Jeremy I don't even know why in the world you are posting on this thread. You were not at the class and did not receive any of these birds.

Dawn I'm going to take the high road on this one. I do my very best and am surprised that you sent me emails saying I had not responded to you when I clearly did as they were at the bottom of your emails. I guarantee EVERYTHING I sell and I would appreciate a phone call if you have anything further to say. I've sent you my phone number earlier in the day.

edited by staff

 

[jeremy]

Jeremy I don't even know why in the world you are posting on this thread. You were not at the class and did not receive any of these birds.

I had planned to attend the class, due to work constraints I was unable to.

This is an open thread and I can give my opinion if I feel necessary, I am friends with many people who attended the class and I am speaking up to make sure people know that they can have their birds tested to find out the cause of death.

edited by staff

 

[jtaylormade]

I did NOT send mine for necropsy. So I wont have anything to share. I can say they didn't exhibit any signs of cocci. Just generally lethargic. I assumed, (maybe a bad thing on my part as my mom says) that it was failure to thrive. They just didn't have the perk or fight in them. Lots of loud peeping and lots more huddling and sleeping, not a lot of scratching and pecking. I lost one while brooding inside. The other was taken by a segregated broody mama. That mama has 3 other chicks from western that grew and outgrew, and are big and happy now. They never exhibited any signs of sickness, I don't believe whatever the other chicks has affected them.

I didn't send for necropsy because they were not exposed to my flock and in general have only sent an adult bird in that died suddenly without obvious signs of why. Well not obvious to me anyway. Turns out it had teeth marks or punctures that I didn't find, not that I looked that close it was my first loss, and a lesson for me. Any tests ran came back negative....

I generally prefer to start with chicks as I feel it minimizes the risk to my flock. When I do get adult or juvi birds I am very diligent about quarantining them for the full 30 days to keep an eye on and treat anything that pops up. One of the birds I brought home from Stockton, a coronation cockeral was sneezy and had a funny odor - I treated him with Erithromyacin as directed and waited another 30 days after it was finished and then introduced the birds that came home from Stockton to my flock without incident. The OEGB I bought from someone else at at the same time had mites that I didn't notice upon first inspection, same thing treated, retreated after 7 days then waited the 30 to introduce.

 

[jeremy]

I generally prefer to start with chicks as I feel it minimizes the risk to my flock. When I do get adult or juvi birds I am very diligent about quarantining them for the full 30 days to keep an eye on and treat anything that pops up. One of the birds I brought home from Stockton, a coronation cockeral was sneezy and had a funny odor - I treated him with Erithromyacin as directed and waited another 30 days after it was finished and then introduced the birds that came home from Stockton to my flock without incident. The OEGB I bought from someone else at at the same time had mites that I didn't notice upon first inspection, same thing treated, retreated after 7 days then waited the 30 to introduce.

Quarantining is crucial whenever bringing birds into your flock, it sounds like you have very safe practices Maureen. I feel a lot of the "newer" chicken people don't realize just how harmful throwing a new bird into your existing flock can be. The stress of a move and then being introduced into a new flock dynamic can certainly reveal hidden diseases that a bird may be carrying.

Remember everyone, quarantine, quarantine, quarantine!!!

 

[MrsMoonCat]

If the remark about newer people was intended for me, you will note that I said day-olds, not older birds, that I don't quarantine. If I have same age chicks already in the brooder, they reside together. Older chicks and birds are always kept on a seperate side of the property in individual cages for 30 days or more where they are treated for worms and external pests, while being observed. Which is similar to what your friend Maureen mentioned in her post, also just with the older birds. Just because a person is new to BYC doesn't make them new to poultry and safe husbandry practices.

Since the chicks I picked up from Cheryl and Dawn are still in a large brooder with some of my own chicks, there has been no compromise to my entire flock from whatever or wherever this malady came from.