Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[corewassen87]

Tha

...

Got a bird that is acting odd.  Earlier we let them out to dig around in the grass and the barred rock was slow to leave the run.  When she finally came out, she had one eye closed and kept it that way as she walked around a bit.  She did open it a time or two, but then shut it again and then wandered back into the run.  Just now I went out to give them scraps and she walked away to stand under the coop.  She stood there for a good 5 minutes not moving at all really, just breathing.  It looked like she fell asleep standing up... then one of the buffs bumped into her.  She opened her eyes, shifted her weight a bit and then sat down on the ground, curled her head around and went to sleep right there.  Wondering if we will be down a hen by morning.
[/quote that's how my olive egger acted. She died a couple hours later. I think she was Eggbound and died of exhaustion trying to lay

 

[GranolaGirl72]

Tha
Quote: Sorry to hear about your hen, this one is only 14 weeks though. Wouldn't think there is an egg to get bound?
Edit: Just went out to look at her again and she was still asleep. Woke up and moved toward the door when I opened it, but then just stood. I picked her up (usually that makes her run) and carried her out. Felt crop and it seems mostly empty. She only picked a little bit at the grass still walking around one eyed...

 

[corewassen87]

Okay yeah that's highly unlikely. Hope tomorrow brings better health to your birdy.

 

[Huntress78]

Hi all. Wondering if anyone has the info needed to send a bird in for a necropsy and the cost? We were given some birds which we were skeptical of but I now believe they may be ill(thankfully they've been quarantined) but I still worry about the possibility of them passing anything to our flock. Any and all advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated. We would like to get one necropsied to see if A) we need to worry about our flock and cull any that show signs and B) if it would be safe to hatch the eggs of the sick birds.

If it is something that could be passed through the eggs we won't risk it. Our flock is our main priority but these birds are stunning and tame, including the rooster and I hate to cull them all without good reason.

As this is our first experience with I'll birds we're kind of at a loss. I don't mind culling to protect my flock but I really would like to be able to hatch the eggs of the I'll ones assuming they're not carrying the illness.

Infected are 7 blue laced red wyandottes, 6 hens and a roo.

We picked then up and the roo had only a mild noise when breathing. After seeing the way the guy grabbed them we figured it was probably because the roo had aspirated from being grabbed wrong.

No eye or nose discharge; combs are bright and healthy looking. The hens continue to lay well. They seem to be eating and drinking normally. They now all occasionally shaketheir heads and make a little noise when breathing at night but otherwise they seem almost completely normal. Is it worth it trying to save them? Should we just cull them all and throw the eggs?

What are the chances that our free ranging flock could have been infected by the quarantined birds? How long until we know?
You better believe I've learned my lesson and I very very much hope this doesn't infect our whole flock as they have never been ill except the occasional cocci in chicks and one impacted crop before this.

I've sent a whole bird for necropsy by the state, prepped and sent by my local vet, cost was around $140...$35 vet, $105 state. The state did not do a full panel test and did not give me a satisfactory answer as to what was wrong. I then took another live bird to another vet (a personal friend of mine who is on the state list of avian vets). He took blood from the live bird and sent it to the state...I'll have to see if I can find the cost tomorrow might have been $65. He put the bird down and did a necropsy for me at no charge. I think he made recommendations to the state lab as to what to test for and they came back with a diagnosis of Mycoplasma Synoviae. The symptoms my birds had/have is chronic diarrhea which causes egg peritonitis and the hen dies or they are weakened, get impacted crops and die. I have put some down due to fly strike also caused by the diarrhea. The other main symptom they have is the head shake...mine seem to do it in response to noise like if the cocks crow or I talk to them.

I had the birds, that brought the disease here, quarantined for 8 weeks but did not do a good job of it I guess as my original flock became infected. I'm pretty sure it was from not changing my shoes between coops. I don't remember how long it took to infect the old flock....maybe 10-12 weeks?

Because you don't know what you're dealing with it's hard to say if you should save or cull. I culled 70 birds, cleaned the coops and let them sit idle for a couple months while I got some hatching eggs to start over. Hatched 7 last fall and bred them this spring...hatched 40 chicks. I'll be butchering everything off again this fall as they all have the head shake/diarrhea. I plan to clean/disinfect everything again this fall and let it all sit birdless over winter to see if the cold will kill the disease off....I'm guessing they may have been infected by the contaminated ground around the coop or maybe my compost pile.

Some just cull sick birds and bury the dead when it happens but I enjoy breeding a good bird and this summer the enjoyment is not there because some of them are sick again. I just had to cull one of breeder hens for egg peritonitis... did a home necropsy and she was just filled with infection. She was the best typed hen I've ever had and I'm quite disappointed at this setback. So depending on what might be going on with your flock you might just cull and/or breed for resistance, cull/clean and start over, or maybe vaccinate. There are many pros and cons to each choice...the decisions will need to be what's best for you.
Good luck!

 

[Huntress78]

BigZ if you get a chance check out the WI Trappers convention in Marshfield. You can pick up some good tips from the demos and the vendors will all be glad to help you choose the right equipment. If you have any questions let me know...I used to be an instructor so maybe can point you in the right direction.
http://www.wistrap.org/convention.html


Has anyone here been on the Lumberjack Steam Train in Laona? Fun or boring? This weekend is a 'train robbery' trip so was thinking of going.

 

[jvls1942]

good morning,
nothing major planned for today, kind of drizzely out there right now.

I have one chick and 4 pips that I can see. Jordan's chickens..

I did get a load of wood chips dumped here from Asplundh tree trimmers.. they are working on our road right now.. I hope to get some more while they are in the neighborhood.
I like to put a good thick layer in the chicken coop in the fall , then spread a layer of straw over it.. it really keeps the bedding dry all winter .. I occasionally add straw as the top layer gets soiled.. it makes good insulation for the concrete floor .

I also use it to fill in dips and voids around the yard.. easier to handle than dirt, and does just as good a job.
eventually sod forms on top of it.

good for mulching, too..
.

..........jiminwisc........

 

[bigzio]

Cool fish fry Friday to everyone. Thanks Huntress for the information...I have all the review pages printed, and the classwork is about to begin here at home.....prolly do it next week when it's gonna be to hot outside for sure.
Hope you can get things figured out for a successful restart! Gottabe frustrating as heck.

Chicken health can be really tuff to diagnose at times....so many things can have a lot of the same symptoms.....it's really hard to give advice without actually seeing and feeling the birds. Some just simply don't have longevity and die while still in the pullet or cockerel stage without affecting the rest of the flock....good luck, and keeping a close eye on things will help you figure things out.

bigz

 

[jvls1942]

good afternoon,

it is so nice and cool out that I just couldn't help myself. I got on the mower and mowed the rest of the grass and remowed some that I mowed a few days ago..

have 5 chicks hatched and more pips on the way..

Annie gave me a potato bug report. after dusting with DE, the population of bugs has dropped dramatically ..

I have to find a different way to do the dusting. that pump duster I got from Menard's is just a step above being a toy.
It does work, but the discharge tube is only 4 inches long so I have to bend way down to direct the flow.. and if you have a bad back,, like I do,, it is a killer ..
I am thinking of just using a flour sifter tied to a long handle.
I can tap it with a long stick to knock the powder loose
I won't be able to dust under the leaves, but at least I will get whatever is crawling on top . any newly hatched bugs will get theirs when they begin to crawl
that is my story and I'm going to stick to it.

I took a picture of the "lone puppy".
will send it on a different post.

........jiminwisc.......

.

 

[jvls1942]

THE LONE PUPPY





..I couldn't get her to look at the camera. maybe next time I will get a better picture.
she is just over 3 weeks old now. not much personality yet.
I hold her on my lap every night.
I don't know if she enjoys it, but I do ..

..........jiminwisc.........

 

[Firstchic]

So, the other day, I had a great big long post almost finished, had to go do something, forgot it and shut off the computer before I sent it. You guys read it??

Well, sorry....I do not remember what I said, but, it was good.

Picked a couple of cuke yesterday and a few peas and turnip greens. Wasn't a whole lot, but, I did fix up some fired green tomatoes and DS was surprised when he got home. He has been waiting for them since we put in the garden.

Saw a post from my neighbor that a couple of Wolves were spotted not too far from here. We have heard them way off in the distance but have never seen any around here. Only thing I have ever seen on the property is rabbits and wild turkey. One of them strutted across the yard the other day.