What did you do with your flock today?

[TropicalBabies]

Just switched to Kalmbach. Love it, birds do too. I switched over because of people talking about Purina and TSC feed causing them not to get eggs. I don't what to believe about that. There are do many opinions from Government conspiracy to inflation causing cheap fillers to be added. All I know is I am very impressed with kalmbach and choose it over Purina, Dumor and Producers Pride. I know yhst sll the feed O got from TSC was full of dust. There was very little dust in Kalmbach feed and vit was shipped to me.

It smells amazing. I am feeding their omega crumbles yo hens, yheir duck pellets to geesexand ducks. I like that the pellets are smaller.

Also using their scratch grain.

Oh thank you for the feed back! I have read very similar and just terrific reviews about this feed ♡♡♡ Sadly.... it would cost me $53 to get a #40 bag here via Amazon. Good news is they were out or would not send lol.

I believe the dust is from grain mites and handling and yep. A frustrating waste of feed. We get a lot of that here especially this late in the growing season.
Not buying into the conspiracies either, don't live on the mainland or have a TSC (whew!). I did have a few fellow chicken pals ask me why their chickens were not giving eggs- girls were well over 2yo, molting, was winter and we had just had a decent storm the week b4. Same question from my neighbor w/2yo BR's- I think it is a great time to worm the flock and then put them on vitamins and let them happily bounce back IMO ♡

I have been using a delicious Nutrina Naturewise layer pellet for a few months now. Think I will gladly have to stay happy with that. Small pellet (love that!) and smells great ♡

 

[kurby22]

You said all the affected birds came from the same coop? What were the symptoms for each of them? I'm looking for possible common denominators. For example, is the soil contaminated with lead, zinc or some other heavy metal? If the drainage is poor, are we looking at proliferative bacteria in the soil e.g. staph, strep or e.coli or a virus which is causing disease?

I think we need to go right back to the beginning with Nohope.
How old is he?
When did he start showing signs of illness?
What were his original symptoms? What are they now? How have they changed and when did they change?
Are his symptoms the same as any of the other birds you've lost?
What medications have you treated him with and did any of his symptoms improve after treatment?
Has he had any vaccinations?

Sorry for all the questions but the more information the better. Of course, you don't need to tell me if you think I'm being too nosey or overstepping.
It's heart breaking not knowing what's wrong. You must be feeling so sad, frustrated and angry.

I came upon this paper on cutaneous Mareks affecting domestic flocks in the Rostov region of Russia:

https://knepublishing.com/index.php/KnE-Life/article/view/8996/15296

Does this sound a little bit like Ms Pretty's 'fowl pox?

"On the skin, in 30% of cases, epithelial hyperplasia was found on the feather follicles in the form of whitish nodules (Figure 5 a). Feather follicles often fused together, taking the form of brown scabs. Scabby, dense, irregularly shaped skin growths occurred in 23.3% of chickens"

I found the paper was interesting in that it highlighted just how differently Mareks disease can manifest in the same flock.

That is a really great article! Especially since they included pictures. Not nosy at all! I appreciate your thoughts! Ms. Pretty didn’t have the little white bumps…it was more like random tumors. I looked all over her skin and it was only around her head like swollen bites or something like that. She was legit ill, fluffed up, no appetite, and I found her half dead in the run with her face half pecked off by the others it was my first chicken issue and I was very traumatized by it all so I didn’t really pay close attention to the end.

All of the birds presenting with paralysis of some sort have come from the same coop and they’ve all been Polish chickens or lavender colored chickens. They all had ravenous appetites but lost weight, and none of them seemed sick or fluffed up, just all the sudden couldn’t stand.

Nohope is probably the most confusing of the deaths, because he shows no outward signs of illness anymore. He is 10 months old, and vaxxed for Mycoplasma gallispticum, but nothing else. If I go back to November when he first showed signs of issues, he had a wet, mucousy mouth, runny nose, yellow crap in his beak I was anble to remove, and pox on his comb. This all came after big rain storms that left things wet and muddy. He was given Amoxicillin first for 10 days, then Veta-all in 1, which has Doxycycline, Ronidazole, Enrofloxacin, and Diclaziril. He also got Myconazole in case it was yeast, anlong with a yeast essential oils drop, colloidal silver, poultry cell, forsythia extract and activated charcoal, B-Complex and Vitamin E. He had normal to greenish poo, and seemed to be walking precariously. From the time he was very young, I would see him eat sitting on the ground. He also walked a bit funny/stiffly in comparison to other chickens. Nothing extreme, just my eye picking up a slight difference.

Anyway, after 2 weeks of meds, the mucousy mouth went away, the runny nose, the pox…he was eating and drinking completely normal but his walking was getting progressively worse. He went from standing to sitting more, then getting around using his legs and wings, then moving only when he reallllly wanted to, then eventually falling forward when trying to walk and get around. He has always had full strength and range of both legs, juts cannot stand on them. He can launch himself off the coach with his legs and he’s sooo strong I can barely hold him when he gets out of the sink bath. He has always had a healthy appetite, still to today eats and drinks…he has no more outward signs he’s sick except the no walking and his comb is getting progressively bluer and floppy and now his head sits off to the side of his body. His poops are greenish but normal but he has occasional black tar like poops that stink something AWFUL. Baths to clean him up massively stress him out and it takes hours for him to recover. He has never been sick until November, but he has always walked a bit funny. All of the male Polish went thru something similar except Spider, my only strong and healthy Polish to survive. Spider has been outside since day 2 and was raised in the Death Coop. The pullets went from fine to sick and dead within 48 hours. I would have assumed Mareks long ago based on the Polish pullets, except that I have had a bunch of chickens in that coop and only these chickens have shown ANY signs of issues and died. It has served as my grow out coop and broody Silkie coop, so I’ve had chicks born in it and raised by my broody silkies, teenagers, new birds, and old birds. All the baby chicks that weren’t Polish or lavender have grown up fine, symptom free, healthy and are now laying eggs. All the lavender birds and polish except one have gotten sick and died. Asha my Lav Orp pullet and two of the Polish boys that died had a black skin crust under their wings and down their leg that looked very much like gangrenous dermatitis and I treated it that way. This cleared up with fungicide and iodine baths. Asha was in that coop with a black Silkie and two other Orpington pullets two weeks younger—they are chocolate and mauve—and all vaxxed for MG—Asha and the Silkie for MG and Mareks. The Silkie and two Orps are healthy, laying eggs, and eating fine. They are now 6 months old. None of them have weird pupils or changing eye colors either. Wouldn’t a PCR test analyzing blood be pretty accurate for the viruses? And if they are all presenting the same way shouldn’t more of my birds show something? And being so contagious wouldn't my birds in other coops also be dying? Especially the ones sharing the same run? I have susceptible bantams that are only divided by a gate. They would most certainly be exposed to any virus in the big run? I just don’t know anymore!

 

[ducklady911]

Oh thank you for the feed back! I have read very similar and just terrific reviews about this feed ♡♡♡ Sadly.... it would cost me $53 to get a #40 bag here via Amazon. Good news is they were out or would not send lol.

I believe the dust is from grain mites and handling and yep. A frustrating waste of feed. We get a lot of that here especially this late in the growing season.
Not buying into the conspiracies either, don't live on the mainland or have a TSC (whew!). I did have a few fellow chicken pals ask me why their chickens were not giving eggs- girls were well over 2yo, molting, was winter and we had just had a decent storm the week b4. Same question from my neighbor w/2yo BR's- I think it is a great time to worm the flock and then put them on vitamins and let them happily bounce back IMO ♡

I have been using a delicious Nutrina Naturewise layer pellet for a few months now. Think I will gladly have to stay happy with that. Small pellet (love that!) and smells great ♡

You might try chewies for Kalmbach. I ordered there and caught it on sale. If you order a certain amount it's free shipping. Plus they often give gift certificates with purchase. I received a $30 gift card with my purchase. Was way cheaper than Amazon.

 

[ducklady911]

You might try chewies for Kalmbach. I ordered there and caught it on sale. If you order a certain amount it's free shipping. Plus they often give gift certificates with purchase. I received a $30 gift card with my purchase. Was way cheaper than Amazon.

So glad the naturewise is good. I'll check into that.

 

[TropicalBabies]

this one? Looks delicious
I buy a Piñata that looks at like this but this is set in a block they can pick @ ♡♡♡ smart.

Oh wait... just caught on. Chewys the site lol. Think I did, will look again.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

The new additions seem to be accepted. They don’t separate from each other, except my Palvoskaya’s. They tend to be around only each other. But they are found with the originals…just if one moves to the another area, the rest follow.

I added 2 dozen Call eggs for my friend to the incubator and only 3 of my own. Since I only have 2 girls it’s hard getting very many of my own. Lock is on the bedroom door and is for sure keeping my little guy out.

I also had ordered my brooder from Amazon and part of the plastic was broken. I had to rig part of it up for it to work but since I paid $155 for it, I expected to be sent something in better shape. Especially since the box it was deliverers in wasn’t damaged. I contacted them to let them know that the product was damaged and I had pictures to show them, in case I needed them. They wanted me to send it back but since I rigged it and REALLY need it. By the time I send this one back and receive another the chicks will long be here. So, instead they are sending me a new one and I won’t have to return the other. Which, is nice because sending anything back is a pain anyway with everything going on. So if this rig I have done doesn’t hold up, I will have a back up.

 

[ChicksnMore]

That is a really great article! Especially since they included pictures. Not nosy at all! I appreciate your thoughts! Ms. Pretty didn’t have the little white bumps…it was more like random tumors. I looked all over her skin and it was only around her head like swollen bites or something like that. She was legit ill, fluffed up, no appetite, and I found her half dead in the run with her face half pecked off by the others it was my first chicken issue and I was very traumatized by it all so I didn’t really pay close attention to the end.

All of the birds presenting with paralysis of some sort have come from the same coop and they’ve all been Polish chickens or lavender colored chickens. They all had ravenous appetites but lost weight, and none of them seemed sick or fluffed up, just all the sudden couldn’t stand.

Nohope is probably the most confusing of the deaths, because he shows no outward signs of illness anymore. He is 10 months old, and vaxxed for Mycoplasma gallispticum, but nothing else. If I go back to November when he first showed signs of issues, he had a wet, mucousy mouth, runny nose, yellow crap in his beak I was anble to remove, and pox on his comb. This all came after big rain storms that left things wet and muddy. He was given Amoxicillin first for 10 days, then Veta-all in 1, which has Doxycycline, Ronidazole, Enrofloxacin, and Diclaziril. He also got Myconazole in case it was yeast, anlong with a yeast essential oils drop, colloidal silver, poultry cell, forsythia extract and activated charcoal, B-Complex and Vitamin E. He had normal to greenish poo, and seemed to be walking precariously. From the time he was very young, I would see him eat sitting on the ground. He also walked a bit funny/stiffly in comparison to other chickens. Nothing extreme, just my eye picking up a slight difference.

Anyway, after 2 weeks of meds, the mucousy mouth went away, the runny nose, the pox…he was eating and drinking completely normal but his walking was getting progressively worse. He went from standing to sitting more, then getting around using his legs and wings, then moving only when he reallllly wanted to, then eventually falling forward when trying to walk and get around. He has always had full strength and range of both legs, juts cannot stand on them. He can launch himself off the coach with his legs and he’s sooo strong I can barely hold him when he gets out of the sink bath. He has always had a healthy appetite, still to today eats and drinks…he has no more outward signs he’s sick except the no walking and his comb is getting progressively bluer and floppy and now his head sits off to the side of his body. His poops are greenish but normal but he has occasional black tar like poops that stink something AWFUL. Baths to clean him up massively stress him out and it takes hours for him to recover. He has never been sick until November, but he has always walked a bit funny. All of the male Polish went thru something similar except Spider, my only strong and healthy Polish to survive. Spider has been outside since day 2 and was raised in the Death Coop. The pullets went from fine to sick and dead within 48 hours. I would have assumed Mareks long ago based on the Polish pullets, except that I have had a bunch of chickens in that coop and only these chickens have shown ANY signs of issues and died. It has served as my grow out coop and broody Silkie coop, so I’ve had chicks born in it and raised by my broody silkies, teenagers, new birds, and old birds. All the baby chicks that weren’t Polish or lavender have grown up fine, symptom free, healthy and are now laying eggs. All the lavender birds and polish except one have gotten sick and died. Asha my Lav Orp pullet and two of the Polish boys that died had a black skin crust under their wings and down their leg that looked very much like gangrenous dermatitis and I treated it that way. This cleared up with fungicide and iodine baths. Asha was in that coop with a black Silkie and two other Orpington pullets two weeks younger—they are chocolate and mauve—and all vaxxed for MG—Asha and the Silkie for MG and Mareks. The Silkie and two Orps are healthy, laying eggs, and eating fine. They are now 6 months old. None of them have weird pupils or changing eye colors either. Wouldn’t a PCR test analyzing blood be pretty accurate for the viruses? And if they are all presenting the same way shouldn’t more of my birds show something? And being so contagious wouldn't my birds in other coops also be dying? Especially the ones sharing the same run? I have susceptible bantams that are only divided by a gate. They would most certainly be exposed to any virus in the big run? I just don’t know anymore!

 

[TropicalBabies]

@FBMcrazy8 if I send you another bag or 2 plus $ will you send me some of your empty feed bags?? @ChicksnMore ?? Anyone?! Lol I need some new and exciting bags. I like the goat etc. Pigs if ya got or can get them ♡ thanks gang!

 

[ChicksnMore]

@TropicalBabies Happy to send bags! You're always so generous....no need to send anything . I'm happy to have a chance to send you something for a change! Most of my bags are Nutrena but I'll dig through and see if I have anything interesting.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

@TropicalBabies Happy to send bags! You're always so generous....no need to send anything . I'm happy to have a chance to send you something for a change! Most of my bags are Nutrena but I'll dig through and see if I have anything interesting.

@FBMcrazy8 if I send you another bag or 2 plus $ will you send me some of your empty feed bags?? @ChicksnMore ?? Anyone?! Lol I need some new and exciting bags. I like the goat etc. Pigs if ya got or can get them ♡ thanks gang!

Same! I have probably a goat bag and I can send some puppy dog food bags if you want. I have LOTS of those. I haven’t gone through many goat bags. I MAY have 2, I will have to check. Since there is only 4 of them a 50 lbs bag last a while.