What am I dealing with?? I've lost 5 birds in 2 months

[DSJMHenDen]

Could you just mix the 22% and 16% for 19% overall? Would actually be cheaper too. My local mill mixes their grower with another one of their feeds to make an 18%. It was mash and my ladies just made a mess of it, but maybe if your feeds are the same pellet/crumble/ect that they are used to it could work?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree, I'd get a necropsy if possible.

The rooster, are/were there any lesions inside the beak? Canker comes to mind or perhaps cancer. Hard to know without testing.

Call your lab, I think GA has 6-7labs, ask if you can send some photos if it's not possible to take/send a body in. If you lose another one, often the body can be shipped, the lab will send you a label (email) that you can print. Sometimes shipping is even cover by the lab, depending on state/services. Refrigerate, don't freeze the body (double wrapped in plastic). The link below shows lab locations. The other shows how to ship.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...8pk4ZnUd9ozqxlQgSIfYpsmYMuH7wqT63ljrKePSHsFLH

Thread 'How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy - Pictures'

Jul 1, 2013

How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy​

They need the whole bird, refrigerated, not frozen. If you live in CA, there are four labs that do necropsies on poultry (chickens, turkeys, waterfowl) for $20. I know that they do out of state necropsies, but I think they charge for those. You could call them and ask what they charge for out of state "backyard poultry". The lab I use is the one in Tulare, CA. If you are in CA, call them and ask for their FedEx account number, it will save a bunch on shipping charges.

CAHFS
18830 Road 112
Tulare, CA 93274-9042
(559) 688-7543...

• casportpony
• Replies: 41
• Forum: Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures

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[EMS83]

Final update. I did switch to 16%, though that did not seem to make a different. They're all molting, too.

I took two to the lab. The first died of hepatitis. The second died of lymphoma, and the report said I should consider my entire flock as exposed to Marek's ad to vaccinate all incoming birds. I lost another bird in that time, too. So I'm down from 33 to 24 in a couple of months.

Any suggestions on good year-round hatcheries that vaccinate? And the most hardy heritage breeds? No hybrids. Over the years, I've had Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, New Hampshire Reds, Americaunas, Black Australorps, and Golden Comets.

I think I liked the Barred Rocks, reds, and Orpingtons the best. Any other breed suggestions, though?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for the diagnosis of lymphoma. Lymphomas are tumors commonly seen in Mareks and lymphoid leukosis viruses. There are testing labs such as RAL (Vetdna) and Zoologix that can do blood testing pca tsts on a live bird if you have them send you the materials to collect a blood specimen from a cut toenail. Then you send that in and they will inform you if testing is positive or not. It is pretty inexpensive. Many use these labs for testing for respiratory disease as well. Here are the links for them:
https://www.vetdna.com/

https://www.zoologix.com/