OK, but WHICH Enteritis ?

[Pheasant Hollow Farm]

Ok,

I have done my own necropsys and I did sacrifice a healthy bird for comparison.  Some of the already dead birds do not have much intestine at all  its just mushy, some of the not so advance birds have intestine but they have these bloody ulcerations, of course the healthy bird was nice, pink, all large and small intestine intact the only other thing I noticed was that in the sick birds they had VERY full crops and stomachs.

We have been medicating with the ocytetracycline and started last night with the neomycin and only have tow dead birds tonight. Had I been a smart girl I would have lied and told them I needed to treat my hogs but...hindsight is twenty twenty...and next time I will lie, or I will send my husband saturday to get the BMD

Going to start the LS tonight.

Thanks for all your assistance...

I will let you know

Some additional information from my autopsy/necropsy...there was no difference in the crop or gizzards of the fatter sick bird to the skinny sick bird. The fatter of the two was starting to lose its feathers but had not lost as many as the very skinny bird. The heart and lungs looked normal, like the heathy bird.

In retrospect...the things we did this year different from anyother year was to spray under the cages with water, creating a wet, warm environment. I was trying to keep the dust to a minimum but I think I created the sickness. Colstridum and other mycoplasmas just love that type of environment, warm, wet and if the organism is a spore former it could have been there for a long time just waiting for the right conditions. So...

I have to deal with what I have, maybe I should go back to school to be a vet not advance my nursing degree,because finding someone who will talk to me about thet birds is hard enough let alone anyone someone who might know what I am talking about.

I am grateful for this forum

Lori

This last quote was taken from the topic Re: Tested birds

We are NPIP and I guess had the opportunity to test some of the birds for AI but there was a window of opportunity and we missed it buy ONE DAY...we could have sent as many sick and well birds as we could send for free to find out what was wrong with our BW as long as they could test for AI as well,  but by the time the Dept. of Ag vet got back in touch with us our "free period" was up. Figures...now losing birds by the dozens and don't have the cash to get the birds checked. HUMPH!!

Lori,

Although I don't have a solution or an answer to your problem, I would still call the Dept of Ag and ask to speak to their head vet. Tell them the problem and demand that an animal health inspector come down and take samples of recent dead birds and tell them that they are dying as you speak. Tell them that you may suspect AI.

The last thing the State AG wants is to find out that they didn't check for the possibility of AI. Tell them that you want cultures taken from the fecal matter and you want the results as to how to treat.

In the state of WV, there is a grant for testing AI. I am on that program and they come every 90 days. When I had a bad case of hens (pheasants) only dying, and no cocks, they sent an animal health inspector down that same day. He drove 200 miles to get to my farm. While he was here they took liver, blood, and fecal samples from the dead.

I had birds (hens) being tested and died in their hands. They called the state vet and asked if they should open the bird for more samples. They took fresh fecal from the large intestine and liver samples. They also found massive hemorrhage of the large intestines.

They then randomly tested the cock birds. Within 36 hrs, I got a phone call from the state vet stating, the birds had worms and to treat them with levamisole hydrochloride since the worms were Capillaria (capillary worms). 

Even though the cock birds had them, the hens were more susceptible to the worms due to the low immune system while they were egg laying. Depending on the stage of infection, most birds recovered after the worming.

So Lori, push the issue with your state AG and remind them who actually pays their salary.

Best of luck to you.

Steve
Pheasant Hollow Farm

[Fivehollers]

Actually I was suprised that the Dept of Ag vet that we called and who tests us each year to make sure we remember how to test for NPIP did not push the issue himself. With the prevalance of AI I figured they would jump at the chance to test the birds.

I have a call into him since doing my own limited research and am waiting for him to call me back, at that time I will push for someone to come out and test for everything. If it is something like what you are experiencing it seems like a no brainer.

In the meantime...we are down to the breeders only now, and the combination of medications seems to be working (fingers crossed here) we did not lose any birds last night...have no more birds to train the GSP with so it was an expensive lesson. We are gearing up for next year and I am looking into places I can get the antibiotics I need BEFORE I need them, so I don't run into this supply problem.

Thanks for all your assistance.

Lori

[Fivehollers]

Still no answer from the boss of the dept. of ag vet who takes care of this area.
Will turn into the squeaky wheel this week tho.

Good news is that we have only lost one bird since starting on the LS 50 and neomycin, and he was really sick, did not think he would make it anyway.

Lori

[Jake Levi]

Wilder and Lori what did you come up with ??

I am stocking up even before I get any more birds just to guard against the same or similar. 

[Reeves]

Jake - here is some more reading....three pages: http://www.gbwf.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4580

I see you are a member there, so you may have already read it ?

[Jake Levi]

Yes, but its good to share here, info seems to spread around fast over there.

BTW, got leads today on two Grouse sources here in the US. I'm going to call them this week.

This kind of a die-off is tragic if it can be prevented.