Sudden chick death

[patricium]

We had 7 bantam chicks we'd gotten from McMurray 5 days ago. They all seemed healthy and happily eating/drinking/running well, up until this afternoon. As I was watching them, one after another suddenly were unable to stand up, then fluttered and died over the course of about 5 minutes. As far as I can tell, nothing in their environment had changed. The food - Dumor chick starter was in a large feeder, so was the same they'd been eating. They had 2 waterers. I had just refilled one this morning (from a different sink than usual). They were in a brooder set up in our spare bedroom. The temperature was at 90 in the warm zone, and they could freely enter and exit to the cooler zone.

Since they all died within minutes of each other, it seems like it must have been some kind of toxin and not a virus. The only thing I can think of is maybe our bathroom sink has something wrong with the piping and had some contamination. I'm really grasping at straws with that though. I'd really like to have some confidence we determined what happened, because we don't want to get more chicks if the same thing might happen.

Anyone have thoughts on other possibilities? Do country vets do autopsies on baby chicks?

 

[cochinbantam-lover]

Can't answer your questions but I am so sorry that you had to go thru this, just terrible!!!

Did you lose all the babies?

 

[Judy]

Most vets won't even look at chickens. Best bet is probably a state lab or ag college. I would put one in the fridge (not the freezer) in a double bag and call a vet or the county extension agent, if you want an autopsy; at least that's where I would start.

A lot of folks on here do not like Dumor feeds, which is the TSC brand. There was a thread recently titled something like, no more TSC feed for me. Where was it stored? Can you see any sign of mold in it?

Are they on cedar bedding, by any chance? That could do it as well.

If you live in an old house, I suppose you could have some lead pipes, but that seems awfully fast for lead poisoning. You should be able to get your water tested somehow, though I don't know how to do that, either; again, I would start with the county extension agent.

Just trying to think of factors to solve the mystery.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Do you have well water? If so, has the well been shocked lately? This may have nothing to do with it, but it's a thought worth looking into

 

[patricium]

I have another theory that seems more likely. I had been baking at the time, and using a nonstick pan in a way that would cause it to get very hot. As I was taking it out if the oven, I suddenly made the connection - and found some online articles about nonstick cookware being very dangerous for pet birds. (several are listed here:
http://www.ewg.org/node/21780#websites)

They were in another room, but the door was open, so offgassed vapors could have gotten to them. The symptoms seem to fit, with the extremely sudden onset and having it affect all of them simultaneously. I'll still try to find someone who could autopsy one, because I really really don't want to go through this again.

Thanks for your responses and sympathy. Yes, we lost the whole batch. We'll probably get some more in a while after we get over the emotional trauma. We got pretty attached to the little fuzzybutts in the few days we knew them.

We have town water, so it wouldn't be a well issue. The feed was fresh and dry, but I'll look for that thread on Dumor. We just located another feed store in the neighborhood, so we could try a different kind. There was no cedar bedding. The brooder has a screen floor with a tray underneath that you can line with newspaper.

 

[jerseygirl1]

Teflon is toxic to birds, I think

 

[IggiMom]

I could be wrong, but I believe that teflon is stable to about 500 degrees.

So I would not think that would be it.

But gosh--what an awful thing to have happen. I am so sorry. Please post the answer if you are able to find out what it is.

Someone else suggested cedar bedding?

It just has to be some toxin in the environment.

Catherine

 

[Judy]

Cooking in Teflon at any temp will kill parrots. Hair dye is known to cause cancer. Preservatives, insecticides, herbicides, and food dyes are taken off the market all the time -- a partial list, of course.

No teflon in my house. It's already dangerous to eat, drink or breathe anything. Cancer is rampant, funds are solicited widely, and yet the connection between the toxins we use daily and cancer does not seem to be apparent to most. We cannot avoid them all, but we can avoid some.

 

[Judy]

Not sure I would assume that town water is necessarily safe, either. A test might be interesting if you can get one. I recently moved from a town where the wells were frequently contaminated with sewage. Few knew this; I just happened to be related to a city worker for a while. I have a good filter on the water I drink.

And I have read on here before of chicks dying from Teflon gas exposure. I suspect you have hit on the cause.

 

[werecatrising]

How sad. I am sorry for your loss.