We Have Lost Way Too Many Of our 3 month old birds

[trapper52]

I have lost 10 8 young pullets & 2 of my roosters they did perfect until thier 3rd month my brother lost 12 young pullets & a rooster Friends we know how to raise chickens & we are stumped as to whats causing the deaths we have put them on Antibotics & we have wormed them with the Piperzine & we spray pour hen houses out every couple of week with bleach I called Cackle & ask them what could be going on & here is the words they use & i quote { We warranty them to be living when they come to me in the mail & if they are dying now Mr. Sturgill it not our problem } end quote Cackle couldn't have cared any less about my trouble but they sure didn't mind snatching up my @347.99 back when we ordered Cackle could have been less gruffy all i done was tell them what was going on but they just don't care I will say this I WILL NEVER ORDER ANOTHER CHICK FROM CACKLE HATCHERY

 

[Jensownzoo]

Cackle is right, it is not their problem. And it is not fair to make it theirs.

What you need to do is send the affected birds to your state veterinary diagnostic lab for a necropsy to determine cause of death. You can give your birds wormer and antibiotics, splash bleach on everything to your heart's content and it wouldn't make a bit of difference if your bird's have a viral disease (such as Marek's) or a nutritional deficiency.

 

[chickens really]

No one needs to be harsh with you at all.....We all learned some how..
Most times it can either be nutritional or disease......Not sure of the care, feed, housing on your property? So without all information it is not fair to point fingers at you without all information.....

Start over and ask lots of questions...Just because someone says they know Chickens, does not mean the information is right....?

 

[trapper52]

I have built all brand new House & pen & as far as feeding i feed them a 20% Bartlett Laying pellets I have given them the best care as good as any one can do & in some cases i do better than some of the so called Pens were the most nasty & the stench made my sick to my Stomach & i tossed my cookies All of my chickens are well cared for BELIEVE Me my caring of the Chickens isn't the problem I promise you

 

[centralcal]

as far as feeding i feed them a 20% Bartlett Laying pellets

This may be your problem

 

[3riverschick]

I have built all brand new House & pen & as far as feeding i feed them a 20% Bartlett Laying pellets I have given them the best care as good as any one can do & in some cases i do better than some of the so called Pens were the most nasty & the stench made my sick to my Stomach & i tossed my cookies All of my chickens are well cared for BELIEVE Me my caring of the Chickens isn't the problem I promise you

Hum this is really distressing. A couple of things I am thinking. I know your feed is probably good, tho I am not familiar with Bartlett. But switch it anyway to Nutrena. Also, look online and check with Bartlett for recalls. I am wondering if there might be a problem with the grain in the feed. His is a problem the commercial chick industry is discussing right now. How t make sure the grain is good in the feed. Are the birds getting skinny before they die or is it sudden death? Are you seeing seizures or stumbling?
I know, no one wants to think it might be the feed. I once lost a collie stud dog to bad feed. It was right at the beginning of the naton wide recall. So early, the store manager of the store where I bought the feed threw me out of the store when I tried to warn her. The Next week the recall went nationwide. All varieties of that brand.
I remember you saying you are giving probiotics. That's great. esp. if they are getting the antibiotics. Another thing you can try is giving them some Bovidr Labs Poultry Nutri-Drench. It's an emergency nutritional supplement which doesn't need digesting. if their feed is corrupted( not your fault) and they are also getting antibiotics, their G.I. tract is challenged in uptaking enough nutrition. The Drench combats that by bypassing the G.I. tract and mainlining the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes directly into the blood stream. Jumpstarts the G.I. tract, gives energy and help restore the immune system. I have been using it for over a decade on my birds and dogs. Great stuff. I get mine at Tractor Supply. http://www.nutridrench.com
Best Success,
Karen

 

[Jensownzoo]

I was re-reading what I wrote and I was definitely more terse than I could have been and I apologize. It is awful to lose the birds that you have spent months caring for, particularly when you think you are doing it all correctly. Unfortunately, sometimes we can do all that we are supposed to do, even going above and beyond what everyone around us is doing, and still our birds get a disease, swallow a toxin, or generally find some way to die on us.

Until we know for certain what is killing your birds, we can only commiserate with you, not help you. The state lab is the quickest and most definitive way of finding that out. After you know the cause of death, then perhaps people can help you find ways of saving your remaining birds or preventing it from happening in the future. It really is money well-spent if you plan on continuing to raise poultry...some states even have programs where necropsies are free for backyard flocks.

 

[junebuggena]

I have built all brand new House & pen & as far as feeding i feed them a 20% Bartlett Laying pellets I have given them the best care as good as any one can do & in some cases i do better than some of the so called Pens were the most nasty & the stench made my sick to my Stomach & i tossed my cookies All of my chickens are well cared for BELIEVE Me my caring of the Chickens isn't the problem I promise you

I think I've solved your problem. You are feeding layer pellets to CHICKS! Not good. Really not good. The high levels of calcium in layer feed will kill young birds. Layer feed is for actively laying birds only.

 

[donrae]

I've asked a mod to move this to the Emergencies and Diseases section. I think you'll get a different audience there,folks more familiar with diseases and such.

While we're waiting for that, some questions for you....

What are the symptoms of the birds?

How long from onset to death?

Any changes in weather, etc?

What breeds are we talking about?

You say your birds and your brother's birds--are they housed together?


I sympathize, but I do agree with Cackle. If you bought chicks from me, then three months later came back upset because you were losing birds, I would not feel responsible unless for some reason I'd also lost a bunch of birds.

 

[tthekraut]

Cackle said it in a way that wasn't right. Money speaks so don't give them another dime and tell people so they won't either.

You went to them for advice and they showed how much they care after you get your money. It would only care a few mins to give advice.

I agree with everyone, try to change the food up and see how that works