Sydney Acres
Songster
I'm so sorry. You've had quite a time of it. Since you've had so many losses you might want to consider having a necropsy done by an experienced pathologist. Many states have necropsies available either free or at a very reduced cost. This might provide you with more information than doing one yourself, especially if you've never done one before.
In the meantime, I'd recommend that you put the remaining poults on a standard diet, get a gram scale (digital food scales that have both a pound/ounce and a gm/kg option are cheap and easy to find), and weigh the remaining 4 every day at the same time. Typically poults are given a high protein starter food for 8 weeks, then a medium protein grower food between 8-18 weeks, then a layer diet. Starting a layer food too early can cause numerous problems, including poor growth and death in a worse case scenario. A fully balanced national brand might be useful in your circumstance, since there's a possibility that this is a nutritional issue, either completely, or indirectly in that a nutritional imbalance made the birds more susceptible to an infectious disease. There are many diet options, and different brands are available in different regions of the country. An example of a very simple feeding plan that I sometimes use for heritage turkeys is Purina Game Bird Starter (30% protein) from 0-8 weeks, then Purina FlockRaiser (20% protein) from 9-18 weeks, then Purina Layena Layer pellets (16% protein) after 18 weeks. It can be made more complicated than that for specific circumstances or specific goals, but this is pretty simple. Three distinct growth stages, national brand of food, well-researched and well balanced with a good track record, available almost anywhere. It's not perfect. I'd love it if it were organic, non GMO, ideal ingredients, etc, and I'd be willing to pay more for it if it were. But it does provide birds with what they need to thrive, and I get good consistent results with steady weight gains and no nutritional deficiencies/excesses, and no losses.
Good luck with your remaining four poults. I hope they do well.
