The possible cause of deaths in incubation/brooder that got overlooked. (Need opinions)

[PhantomSlayer]

We've had terrible luck hatching goslings this year. And of the 4 we managed to hatch. One died after a rough assisted hatch. 3 died in brooder randomly. No odd symptoms noticed. At first we thought contaminated incubators because of the first gosling. One of the hatched goslings lived to a week after hatching before dying. The heat plate we use seemed to be working I mean I touched the underside and it felt warm enough to replicate a broody hen.

But today I realized theres one thing different from last year when we successfully hatched 6 and only lost 1 just after hatch due to another assisted hatch. My mother put a little scented packet thing in the bathroom where the setup is. I totally forgot about it being there until now. She used an AI called Gork or whatever and apparently 2 of the ingredients are bad for birds.

Unfortunately the place the packet is located is right next to the hatching incubator.

My plan was to hatch chicks from our chickens to expand our flock and sell off some. However with this new thought the idea of sanitizing the incubators and putting them back in the same room makes me pause.

Do I assume it was a contamination issue or could the scented packet really be the cause? If the packet can be the cause I think I'll still sanitize the stuff and find a new room to do chicken eggs in. Originally I was supposed to be moving down to the basement where we still have our original chick brooder made out of a dresser but the room I was promised still hasn't been started so I kept the setup and a carboard box brooder upstairs to do goslings cause we didn't plan to keep any longer than a week. But as they dying we didnt want to sell possible sick babies.

We did have an issue where 2 out of 4 of the babies a broody goose hatched (Another goose attacked them) stayed inside the room in the same brooder overnight until given back to the mother (After removing the aggressive goose) but they are both over a week old now and thriving with their parents So a night didn't seem to harm them. (Aggressive goose is still grounded to the chicken pen lol).

 

[Susan Skylark]

Your packaging isn’t helpful to the case (no ingredients) and if whatever is toxic to birds you also need dosage (how much is needed per pound of bird to be lethal) and type of exposure (only toxic if eaten or is it toxic when breathed)? Your brooder can sit next to a bag of rat poison and theoretically be fine as long as the chicks can’t eat it and the fumes aren’t toxic. Botulism toxin (Botox) is used in micro doses for various medical procedures but is highly lethal in small doses. A certain percentage of death loss (say under 10 percent) at each stage of development (early and late incubation, hatching and first week in the brooder) is a normal part of the process. Losing half at a certain stage is a problem. Toxin or infection usually affects a significant portion of birds within a short period, not one dies today another 5 days later and another a week after that, some are dead in shell and some die at three weeks post hatch. Birds that need assistance hatching have a high mortality rate, as there is a reason they can’t hatch and should be counted as a dead in shell or early brooder death in these cases. What is the timeline of your gosling deaths? If you found 3 dead on day 3 that is significant but staggered over a couple weeks makes trouble shooting difficult. The assisted hatch may just be a fluke or statistic, if your other 3 all died within a week of hatch then you may have a nasty bug (clostridium or e. Coli) in your incubator or brooder (clostridium are spore formers so can survive dry clean areas), these bugs release toxins that kill rapidly before any signs present. A thorough bleaching (let it sit 10 minutes on all surfaces) and drying of your equipment (discard any fabric or porous material) should help with future incidents. Also keep your young birds in an area with good ventilation, away from potpourri, incense, air fresheners, smoke and cooking fumes, aerosol spray, paint or gas fumes, and essential oils and cleaning products, just to play it safe. Sometimes disasters are just part of incubating, don’t give up, learn what you can, and try again!

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Your packaging isn’t helpful to the case (no ingredients) and if whatever is toxic to birds you also need dosage (how much is needed per pound of bird to be lethal) and type of exposure (only toxic if eaten or is it toxic when breathed)? Your brooder can sit next to a bag of rat poison and theoretically be fine as long as the chicks can’t eat it and the fumes aren’t toxic. Botulism toxin (Botox) is used in micro doses for various medical procedures but is highly lethal in small doses. A certain percentage of death loss (say under 10 percent) at each stage of development (early and late incubation, hatching and first week in the brooder) is a normal part of the process. Losing half at a certain stage is a problem. Toxin or infection usually affects a significant portion of birds within a short period, not one dies today another 5 days later and another a week after that, some are dead in shell and some die at three weeks post hatch. Birds that need assistance hatching have a high mortality rate, as there is a reason they can’t hatch and should be counted as a dead in shell or early brooder death in these cases. What is the timeline of your gosling deaths? If you found 3 dead on day 3 that is significant but staggered over a couple weeks makes trouble shooting difficult. The assisted hatch may just be a fluke or statistic, if your other 3 all died within a week of hatch then you may have a nasty bug (clostridium or e. Coli) in your incubator or brooder (clostridium are spore formers so can survive dry clean areas), these bugs release toxins that kill rapidly before any signs present. A thorough bleaching (let it sit 10 minutes on all surfaces) and drying of your equipment (discard any fabric or porous material) should help with future incidents. Also keep your young birds in an area with good ventilation, away from potpourri, incense, air fresheners, smoke and cooking fumes, aerosol spray, paint or gas fumes, and essential oils and cleaning products, just to play it safe. Sometimes disasters are just part of incubating, don’t give up, learn what you can, and try again!

Ingredients are on the bottom of the picture.

They were all singular hatches so they weren't together. However one died at day 7 I think one at day 5 and the other on like day 2 or 3. (Not in order day 2-3 first, day 7 then day 5)

The incubators were already started when she added the pouch. I just didn't really think about her adding them to the bathrooms at that point.

Sadly that room was the best for now. I'm considering doing it in my room or the basement. Theres cons to both though. While I usually don't spray stuff in my room I do have my window open alot because it gets hot. So temp wise my room is the least stable. Down in the basement my brothers cat can sneak down there sometimes and I have no control over what gets sprayed down there because thats where my brother lives. It's so hard.

All my plans for this year are falling apart lol