Stella's Social Club

Got preliminary results from the disease lab tonight:

Gross Comments (July 1, 2013): The precise cause of death is not readily
apparent based solely on gross necropsy examination. The lack of feed material
in the crop and upper intestinal tract suggests that failure to eat likely contributed
to death in this case. There is evidence of retained yolk sacs; however, there is
no overt evidence of inflammation associated with the retained yolk sacs. It is
unclear if the lung discoloration is real or an artifact of decomposition. Liver
swabs have been submitted to bacteriology (chicks 6/29 and 7/1) to help rule-out
an acute bacterial septicemia. Representative tissues will be examined
microscopically following adequate formalin fixation.
Histopathology and bacteriology are pending.


The necropsy examination commenced at 1:17 PM on July 1, 2013.
Examined are 3 chicks that are presented in individual plastic bags identified as
6/28, 6/29, and 7/1. Each chick has a pink band of the lower left leg. The chick
in the bag identified as 6/28 is a gray male. The chick in the bag identified as
6/29 is a white female. The chick in the bag identified as 7/1 is a black male.
The crops of all 3 chicks are empty. The 3 chicks have small and firm, yet
retained, yolk sacs that vary from yellow to green-black. The coelomic cavities of
all 3 chicks lack overt evidence of inflammation. The lungs of the chick in the
bag identified as 6/29 are mottled red; the lungs of the chick in the bag identified
as 6/28 are diffusely reddened.
No gross lesions are identified in the oral cavity, external surface of the brains,
heart, liver, kidneys, joints, or skeletal muscle of any bird.

So no answers so far, but they aren't giving up yet! How sad that the splash was a girl.
sad.png
 
Someone on the Isbar thread mentioned that the problem may lie in breeding vaccinated stock to unvaccinated stock... Mary are any of your Isbars vaccinated for anything?
 
Someone on the Isbar thread mentioned that the problem may lie in breeding vaccinated stock to unvaccinated stock... Mary are any of your Isbars vaccinated for anything?
Mareks? Study results from Research reported last year said that they do not shed mareks and that vaccinated and not vaccinated chickens can be safely mixed.

So no Mareks vaccination would not cause this.

I really want to hear the final results. That should have your answer.
 
Well I don't know why the vaccination of the grandparents would matter because I hatched these eggs and did not vaccinate them as chicks or once they grew up. This person was just throwing out an idea.... many minds can sometimes find an answer! And I'm thinking forward- if they don't discover anything from the necropsies- what do I do next?
 
They have never lived long enough to go outside. They are kept in the garage in a plastic tote, with a lamp, waterer, feeder, and shavings. I stopped brooding them in my regular brooder with all the other breeds just in case whatever they have is infectious. They eat and drink fine until about 3 days before they die. I've tried both medicated and unmedicated feed. I've added vitamins to food, or vitamins to water, fed them scrambled eggs daily for some batches. The ONLY thing that helped was when I gave each chick a few drops drop of colloidal silver (a natural anti-infective) every day. I had 4 chicks that made it to about 6 weeks doing that and they went to their new home and as far as I know are doing fine. I think there were 8 chicks hatched in that set, so still only about 50% survival rate.
 
It's strange that all their crops are empty. Are your conditions moist in your run? Aspergillosis is a mold that could cause some if the symptoms you are seeing.
The Necropsy would have found the spores inside them. Ditto for mareks--no lesions from the initial infection.
They have never lived long enough to go outside. They are kept in the garage in a plastic tote, with a lamp, waterer, feeder, and shavings. I stopped brooding them in my regular brooder with all the other breeds just in case whatever they have is infectious. They eat and drink fine until about 3 days before they die. I've tried both medicated and unmedicated feed. I've added vitamins to food, or vitamins to water, fed them scrambled eggs daily for some batches. The ONLY thing that helped was when I gave each chick a few drops drop of colloidal silver (a natural anti-infective) every day. I had 4 chicks that made it to about 6 weeks doing that and they went to their new home and as far as I know are doing fine. I think there were 8 chicks hatched in that set, so still only about 50% survival rate.
Just a guess, but an intestinal bacteria or Botulisim.

If you do not see a cause in the next report, call them up and talk to them. I am fairly sure you will find a cause though.
 
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