Update to Sudden Death of My Flock

Sadness

In the Brooder
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I posted earlier on here and social media on what I can do. Well, I lost more than 25 chickens in 4-5 days. I have only 2 roosters and 1 hen, which hasn’t moved from her perch. Our neighbors found a bunch of dead Muscovy ducks in our area. Our neighbors’ chickens are also starting to die off. We contacted our states wildlife commission to advise them of the situation. We were hoping they would come out and test the deceased bird, but no. They told us we had to find a vet or lab to test. My husband drove over an hour away to a lab, and we were told we would receive the results within 30-45 days. We received the preliminary report today, which basically said the chickens died from illness and listed that they really suffered. Their respiratory, circulatory, immune systems were severely impacted. They had organ enlargement, bleeding vessels. Their lungs were damaged and filled with fluids. They clearly suffered.

Also, I looked up dead Muscovy ducks on google. And guess what? Less than a week ago, a ton of ducks started to die off in a pond less than an hour away from us. Some random lady reported it, but they’re reportedly blaming pesticide. However, the ducks didn’t die off all at once. 1-2 ducks died, then several, and then a ton more over the course of a few days. The wildlife commission took samples of the ducks a week ago, but there’s been no updates. Had I know this was happening, I would have kept my chickens in their coup for most of the time or killed off Muscovys to protect our babies.

If you’re living in central Florida, please be aware that there’s something killing off chickens, turkeys incredibly fast. You’ll think it’s from something else bc initially the first chickens didn’t have the symptons like the others now. My guess is that the disease killed the weaker ones first and didn’t have to damage all their systems to kill.
 
Are they testing for avian influenza? I would think they would, but I would call and ask and verify.
I'm disgusted with Fl. Wildlife. I called them several weeks ago regarding a really sick wild animal and got blown off. We had to dispatch it ourselves and dispose of it, not knowing at all what it had.
 
Are they testing for avian influenza? I would think they would, but I would call and ask and verify.
I'm disgusted with Fl. Wildlife. I called them several weeks ago regarding a really sick wild animal and got blown off. We had to dispatch it ourselves and dispose of it, not knowing at all what it had.
Yes, but we’re told results can take 30-45 days.
 
I read somewhere that bird flu isn’t fatal in ducks. They carry it but don’t show symptoms. Found this article quickly but I’m sure there’s something more exhaustive:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/ot...lu-what-to-know/ar-AA1Sxh9s?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Those ducks might not be resistant

It really does sound like bird flu though, you can wait until you get confirmation of this but you will very likely have to cull your remaining birds and wait 6 months before you get more. Bird flu is a very nasty disease, I'm sorry you're dealing with it
 

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