*Sick Chicks! More Sick Hens*VIDEOS/PICS*And Necropsy

Sorry about using the M-words lol. I thought maybe Mycoplasma was a culprit because of the similar symptoms with the turkeys and the swollen joints. And they are so prevalent in the environment. Though necropsy has not revealed any gross synovial fluid, it's hard for me to tell on chicks, and I didn't look at the hen's legs last week. We do have a lot of wild birds around here, and squirrels.. Lots and lots of squirrels. I am thinking I inadvertently brought in whatever it was when I got the turkeys, even though that was months ago. It may have been picked up by the bigger birds (who ranged next to the turkeys), but they carried it and only got sick when the weather cooled off? I was also thinking Mycoplasma since all the baby turkeys were affected but the adults seemed fine (if rude and just plain belligerent), since it can be passed to young through the eggs. If it was already here before the turkeys arrived, then the chicks we raised this year (such as Sumo, who was 4-5 weeks by then) would have been affected. At least that's one theory. Those turkeys apparently came from a NPIP flock too, that raises rare breeds and show birds, among other things. Maybe the previous owner had trouble raising birds and that's why she was getting rid of them. Parents looked fine, so I would not have known until hatching out the poults.
I don't think the new chicks we got last week had brought it in. They were all fine at first, and most still seem ok. I have been keeping them separated but I suppose I could have been a carrier myself between them and the big birds, though I have been sanitizing my hands and shoes, could have come in on my clothes. Then there was Wicket, our little bantam EE hen that died last week. She started acting sick a day before the chicks arrived, but I didn't notice until she was really bad. She was one that would stay clear of me. i managed to catch her at night when she didn't go into the coop. By the next morning she couldn't walk and was gasping for air. By that afternoon she was dead. The chicks didn't start showing signs of illness until a couple days later.
Are you familiar/comfortable with necropsies at all? I could share some pics but don't want to offend.
 
Sorry about using the M-words lol. I thought maybe Mycoplasma was a culprit because of the similar symptoms with the turkeys and the swollen joints. And they are so prevalent in the environment. Though necropsy has not revealed any gross synovial fluid, it's hard for me to tell on chicks, and I didn't look at the hen's legs last week. We do have a lot of wild birds around here, and squirrels.. Lots and lots of squirrels. I am thinking I inadvertently brought in whatever it was when I got the turkeys, even though that was months ago. It may have been picked up by the bigger birds (who ranged next to the turkeys), but they carried it and only got sick when the weather cooled off? I was also thinking Mycoplasma since all the baby turkeys were affected but the adults seemed fine (if rude and just plain belligerent), since it can be passed to young through the eggs. If it was already here before the turkeys arrived, then the chicks we raised this year (such as Sumo, who was 4-5 weeks by then) would have been affected. At least that's one theory. Those turkeys apparently came from a NPIP flock too, that raises rare breeds and show birds, among other things. Maybe the previous owner had trouble raising birds and that's why she was getting rid of them. Parents looked fine, so I would not have known until hatching out the poults.
I don't think the new chicks we got last week had brought it in. They were all fine at first, and most still seem ok. I have been keeping them separated but I suppose I could have been a carrier myself between them and the big birds, though I have been sanitizing my hands and shoes, could have come in on my clothes. Then there was Wicket, our little bantam EE hen that died last week. She started acting sick a day before the chicks arrived, but I didn't notice until she was really bad. She was one that would stay clear of me. i managed to catch her at night when she didn't go into the coop. By the next morning she couldn't walk and was gasping for air. By that afternoon she was dead. The chicks didn't start showing signs of illness until a couple days later.
Are you familiar/comfortable with necropsies at all? I could share some pics but don't want to offend.
That is exactly what mine did, what Wicket did. Well, mine could still walk, but she was gasping for breath then just dead the next day. The older hen was gasping for breath the night I found her, but I guess since she was older maybe her immune system was able to kick it a little better. But the tiny one that died was in with a bunch of day old chicks and none of them have come down with it nearly as bad. just two acting lethargic, but they have since perked up and everyone seems fine, so idk. We live out in the sticks, tons of squirrels, wild birds, etc. My flock had been free ranging in the woods scratching in all the deep leaves eating worms and such. I really wonder if they picked something up out there, then I spread it all over to everyone else since they were not really showing symptoms yet. The illness really didn't coincide with anything I could put my finger on. And some of the birds that I got from the backyard breeder guy have runny noses too, but they were the last ones to get it. They are not directly in with the other chickens, but they are in a pen next to them. I have learned a very valuable lesson about very strict quarantine, that would make this a little easier to pin down. (Never had a problem like this ever before, regardless of my crappy quarantining methods.) But the hen that is sick now, and the chick that died were not even in the same area. the chick was up by the house, the hen down in the chicken yard which is about 50 or so yards from the house when all this took place. They both got sick within a day of each other, the older hen first. I did have a cage set up in the chicken coop and those chicks were in it for a few days before I moved them up by the house, but that was weeks ago. I wonder if there are any viruses/bacteria that have an incubation period that long? I'm not very knowledgeable about that stuff. If it was MP, would the older chickens have been more resistant? And why are the older chicks getting sick but the smaller ones are not? I know the smaller ones came from Ideal hatchery, do they vaccinate? Couuld they just maybe still be incubating whatever nastiness is going around then they will all just drop dead one day? Not sure where the other chicks I got at atwoods came from.

As far as necropsy photos go.... bring it on.... I have a very morbid sense of curiosity, things like that do not bother me in the least! EDIT: Forgot to mention, not familiar with necropsies that much! But always willing to learn something new!
 
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Haha, I guess it is my morbid curiosity too that keeps me looking at dead chicken innards. Lol. I will post some necropsy pics later, I am on my phone. It sure is weird how we both seem to be dealing with similar issues. I too have been bad at quarantining new birds and with biosecurity. I keep them separate but the two oens aren't that far apart. Though the chicks I keep in our laundry room in the house.

I got some Tylan 50 and administered to the big birds. Unfortunately though I found a huge mass, about softball-sized, on the underside of my
Barred rock hen, RC. It is soft and very round so not sure, but could be a tumor or maybe she is laying internally. :( This has not been a good week for the birdies.
But the chicks are still doing ok. Well, they aren't any worse, that is. Still eating and drinking with gusto. Saw the silkie do the bobble-head thing again though, right after shaking its head. Broilers still having trouble, but I started a vitamin/mineral supplement. Maybe that will help. Ughhhhh
 
K so some necropsy images of the little broiler chick. I am no expert on chicken guts, I am really learning a lot myself. I hope it gets easier for me to recognize what is/is not normal the more I do this. But really it also sucks because chickens have to die first. Still, with my biology/microbiology background, I just can't seem to help myself- I HAVE to know what happened to that bird and if necropsy is the way to try to find out, I do that.

I don't know, but I feel as if the abdomen was distended and dark, and the skin was awfully thin. But it was only about a week old, so maybe this is normal? However, this little guy was in the fridge for two days..so...there's that. The hocks/joints looked swollen, especially on the right leg.

And this may be why: it was broken! I touched it and it moved the wrong way. Felt soft too. So I am hoping adding the vitamin/mineral supplement today helps with that.

I did not see any weird color or matter in the synovial fluid, which might have suggested M. synoviae. Still, those joints look pretty swollen. Could be a form of bacterial or viral arthritis, or just too much growth for those little legs? I am still thinking a bacterial problem, though which I don't know. Wish I could get a bunch of lab work done. But hopefully I won't lose anymore and it won't come to that.

Most all the organs on the inside looked fine, though the gizzard seemed pretty big for such a little chick. But then I have never done a necropsy on a chick before, so that could be normal. In this image I removed most the tendons and small muscles from the lower right leg to see the break a little better.

The lighting in the picture is awful. I had to use my camera phone as my regular camera decided to quit on me. Dark ceca and lower intestines, kind of purple, and very very nasty smelly. And gas in there too. This makes me think bacteria infection, maybe...

Lungs are at the top, the lighting again bad! They were not so dark. And they looked fine. The rib cage also looked fine so I don't think rickets is the problem. In this image is throat to anus, with a couple slices through the lower intestines to check out its smelly contents (yuck). Also opened the large gizzard, full of food. I have heart/liver pictures too, but none of the kidneys or other organs. Most of the organs, arteries, etc looked fine though. Maybe this poor chick got an infection from the broken leg? Or perhaps whatever the others have killed this one because its immune system was compromised with that leg. Maybe just a nutritional deficiency. Maybe a combination of all of the above. A vet might know, especially with some adequate lab testing. I intern in a lab, but not a poultry lab.
 
Haha, I guess it is my morbid curiosity too that keeps me looking at dead chicken innards. Lol. I will post some necropsy pics later, I am on my phone. It sure is weird how we both seem to be dealing with similar issues. I too have been bad at quarantining new birds and with biosecurity. I keep them separate but the two oens aren't that far apart. Though the chicks I keep in our laundry room in the house.

I got some Tylan 50 and administered to the big birds. Unfortunately though I found a huge mass, about softball-sized, on the underside of my
Barred rock hen, RC. It is soft and very round so not sure, but could be a tumor or maybe she is laying internally.
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This has not been a good week for the birdies.
But the chicks are still doing ok. Well, they aren't any worse, that is. Still eating and drinking with gusto. Saw the silkie do the bobble-head thing again though, right after shaking its head. Broilers still having trouble, but I started a vitamin/mineral supplement. Maybe that will help. Ughhhhh
Now a lump?! You can't seem to catch a break!! How old is your hen with the lump?! That is rather large sounding! My poor hen acts like she feels better, but still sounds like absolute crap. Still eating & drinking well though. I just wonder how long this is going to last. It seems like it is going on forever and ever. Next monday will mark 2 weeks my hen has been sick, I honestly thought she would be better by now.

Quarantining is hard for me because I only have the one chicken pen, with another small pen next to it. My dogs also make it hard, they can find a way into any pen it seems like. I have plenty of room to build more pens, have just lacked materials and funds. It's much easier to do a 30 day quarantine when you have day old chicks since they are small and easier to house, larger chicks, not so much.

The necropsy was quite interesting.... never seen a chicken undressed in such a manner! For some reason it reminded me of a barbie doll
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I certainly would not even know what to look for if I was doing one lol. I wish you could run tests for bacteria etc.That would be amazing. I'm really surprised that there is not a lot more info on this forum about vets & testing facilities in each state. As I become more knowledgeable maybe I can help contribute.

Your broilers broken leg... my first thought was back to when i was younger. The chicken farm my grandpa had... I LOVED those chicken houses. I loved the way they smelled, the way they sounded, all the cute little fluffy balls of chicks everywhere.... but there were always dead ones to be picked up. There were always crippled and malformed babies. Everyone always told me, every single time I asked "WHY?!" there were so many babies with problems, that they just grew too fast for their legs to handle. That is really my only experience with broilers though. Could that possibly be why? And like you said, a nutrition issue? I know those chicks in commercial set ups probably get tons of supplements to compensate for their genetic shortcomings. I really have no other experience with broilers than that, so I'm afraid I really can't offer much of an educated guess as far as all that goes.

I really wish I knew what the heck is making so many birds so sick though, because I know we are not the only ones. I feel like I caught it through the forums lol! I got to get to work before I get fired lol. If my boss knew I was in here typing about chickens, he would ring my neck!!
 
Wow this week is not my week! I have been having ankle pain and turns out i have a high ankle sprain! Bummer.. I have to wear a boot and be on crutches. How am I supposed to treat my birds now, and in the pouring rain no less! Not that I am complaining because we needs this rain, but gees...at least it's Friday..
Ugh.

I totally see what you mean about the barbie doll and the naked chick. I lol'd for real at that. Quarantining is difficult for me too as I have two pens, and one isn't quite predator proof. If I have more time and money I would probably build anpther pen and coop on the other side of the property. Wow it is really raining. Will update further when I get home.
 
Wow this week is not my week! I have been having ankle pain and turns out i have a high ankle sprain! Bummer.. I have to wear a boot and be on crutches. How am I supposed to treat my birds now, and in the pouring rain no less! Not that I am complaining because we needs this rain, but gees...at least it's Friday..
Ugh.

I totally see what you mean about the barbie doll and the naked chick. I lol'd for real at that. Quarantining is difficult for me too as I have two pens, and one isn't quite predator proof. If I have more time and money I would probably build anpther pen and coop on the other side of the property. Wow it is really raining. Will update further when I get home.
Girl I feel ya on the rain. Not sure how much yall have been getting down there, but this is our first rain in months. The only rain we have had this year aside from those several humid, muggy @$$ months it rained NON STOP at the beginning of the summer and flooded houston. i wanted to die it was so miserable.

Since this is the first time is has rained since I got the backyard all fixed up for the bunny and two gimpy hens, I hope they are not all wet and miserable when I get home. Their hutch/ food, water etc is all under the overhang of the roof over my porch, which is a good 4 feet or more. but not sure how much will splash up on them. I would really like to enclose that entire area and build a nice, permanent area for them, complete with netting over the top. One day when I have a money tree.....

That really sucks about your ankle, AS IF YOU NEEDED ANOTHER AILMENT TO WORRY ABOUT?!?!
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Guess you will have to get a trash bag to cover your beautiful boot. Who knows, you might start a fashion trend.
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Hope your babies are doing better when you get home, let us know how theyre doing!!
 

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