Warning for E coli in tractor supply feed!

[Lenny loves chickens]

Like I said in a comment above other things were sent to the lab too. I know for sure Blood, Flesh, Crop contents, intestine, ETC. The intestine was just the first one I knew was headed to the lab until I asked more. They could've even sent the whole body I don't know. The vets didn't tell me everything they are busy and stressed out in that job.

I am not saying your wrong I was just curious on the whole testing deal. I honestly dont think we will ever know what it was if it was feed or something else but if people want to be extra cautious it doesnt hurt to say something if you think feed was contaminated

 

[The duck father_]

I'm not saying your ducks didn't die from e coli infections.

I'm saying you didn't have the two bags of feed tested so you can't make the claim it was the feed. That is wrong.

Just say your birds died from e coli. That sucks big time. I'm just pointing out that this:
Looks like an issue that could spread e coli like no body's business.
View attachment 3036626

That is a small space for 50 plus birds.

I'm pointing out that all birds have e coli in their tract.

I'm pointing out that e coli doesn't kill all birds so quickly...that there had to have been something else going on.


You also mention in your other thread that ONLY ducks died. No chickens.

Only ducks did die. That's a 40ft trailer and all the Muscovies sleep outside which is 25 of the ducks . It looks small but it's huge and very roomy.

 

[NatJ]

Only ducks did die.

Were the chickens and the geese eating food from the same bags as the ducks?
I wonder if some species are more susceptible than others?

That's a 40ft trailer

That might explain why it looks so narrow-- 40 feet long will make almost any width look skinny!

How wide is it? I'm thinking it's got quite a few square feet of space in there.

 

[The duck father_]

Were the chickens and the geese eating food from the same bags as the ducks?
I wonder if some species are more susceptible than others?


That migth explain why it looks so narrow-- 40 feet long will make almost any width look skinny!

How wide is it? I'm thinking it's got quite a few square feet of space in there.

It's around 5-6 ft wide! They all rather clump up in the front than spread out. The chickens rather forage and eat dog food than eat the normal feed. They wait until the night and early morning to when the dogs are eating and when I come home and give them veggies and spoil themselves with that.

 

[NatJ]

It's around 5-6 ft wide!

So if all 50 ducks & geese were inside, they would have at least 4 square feet of space each, which might be a bit tight.
But if 25 sleep outside, then only 25 are inside, so they've got at least 8 square feet each. I think that's in line with the common advice for space. So it doesn't sound too small to me.

They all rather clump up in the front than spread out.

Silly birds, having all that space and not spreading out to enjoy it!

The chickens rather forage and eat dog food than eat the normal feed. They wait until the night and early morning to when the dogs are eating and when I come home and give them veggies and spoil themselves with that.

Maybe that's why the chickens didn't have trouble--they are not actually eating the same food or sharing the same space as the ducks, so they were not exposed to the same things.

 

[Weeg]

Were the chickens and the geese eating food from the same bags as the ducks?
I wonder if some species are more susceptible than others?


That might explain why it looks so narrow-- 40 feet long will make almost any width look skinny!

How wide is it? I'm thinking it's got quite a few square feet of space in there.

Same. I use horse trailers a lot, so when I looked at it it looked like a good size to me. Photos can definitely be deciding.
From my point of view and experience with trailers, I think its a good size.

 

[raingarden]

Perhaps the lab concluded it was E.coli through a process of elimination. They will have a list of potential diagnoses (called the differential) that match the symptoms. They start doing cultures or PCR or another test for all the suspect pathogens on the differential. If the tests come back negative for all the usual suspects except E.coli (because E. coli is everywhere) then they can only conclude that E.coli was the causative agent.

So, having insufficient information about symptoms can lead to a flawed differential. Having any flaw in the testing process that produces a false negative or any pathogen that is not in their differential can shift the blame to E.coli.

To then blame the feed and, by association, the feed company sounds like risky business. Regulating feed mills is probably not in their purview. Besides, the feed company would just try to shift blame to the consumer and how the consumer stores and uses the feed.

Remember, the lab is obliged to conclude something. Saying they do not know is not acceptable to the patient/owner and makes the institution and process look bad. The ultimate goal of the lab is not to save chicken lives per se but, rather, to demonstrate it is providing a necessary public service and secure it's continued existance and reputation.

 

[dawg53]

Perhaps the lab concluded it was E.coli through a process of elimination. They will have a list of potential diagnoses (called the differential) that match the symptoms. They start doing cultures or PCR or another test for all the suspect pathogens on the differential. If the tests come back negative for all the usual suspects except E.coli (because E. coli is everywhere) then they can only conclude that E.coli was the causative agent.

So, having insufficient information about symptoms can lead to a flawed differential. Having any flaw in the testing process that produces a false negative or any pathogen that is not in their differential can shift the blame to E.coli.

To then blame the feed and, by association, the feed company sounds like risky business. Regulating feed mills is probably not in their purview. Besides, the feed company would just try to shift blame to the consumer and how the consumer stores and uses the feed.

Remember, the lab is obliged to conclude something. Saying they do not know is not acceptable to the patient/owner and makes the institution and process look bad. The ultimate goal of the lab is not to save chicken lives per se but, rather, to demonstrate it is providing a necessary public service and secure it's continued existance and reputation.

You are correct. Ecoli is everywhere.
It's entirely possible ecoli WAS in the feed. It happens in our food as well. Here's an example:
https://bgr.com/science/lettuce-recall-e-coli-romaine/
Another:
https://www.ibtimes.com/ground-beef... Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

 

[aart]

I'm not saying your ducks didn't die from e coli infections.

I'm saying you didn't have the two bags of feed tested so you can't make the claim it was the feed. That is wrong.

This is the main point.

 

[Brooks_]

Was the vet able to forward the report?