The unsolved mystery

[Miss M]

 

[Cottie]

2 more died today.

My last one - a little chin - is dying right now. Its mouth was full of chewed up hay, it was shaking/wobbly. Hasn't hit the full on seizing phase yet, but I guess we'll see if it does. Hubs reports it was fine an hour ago.

 

[jeannie]

I am so sorry...

Can you go down to the county clerk office and get the history on the land?
Or do you know a Realtor that can research the place?

 

[Easy Ears]

Boy....I know how hard it is to loose kits. So sorry for your loss!
I would definitely check for radiation though!!! Radon especially. It can take years of exposure to radon before you notice any problems. And in babies, it seems to have faster effects....have you had any problems with birth defects in any of your litters? Are the rabbits housed in a basement? Well water can often be contaminated with radon!

Keep us posted!

 

[Susie570]

ALL of your rabbits died or are dying?!?

The fact that they're all dying so close to each other makes me think it's definitely something environmental.

Sounds like mold poisoning.
From feed... pellets or hay?

So sorry this is happening!!

 

[jeannie]

If I read correctly, there has been multiple species dying. ... this is soooo disconcerting.
You are in our prayers.
I must admit, I am curious about the history of the land. And any future occupants after you ~ human and animal.

 

[Cottie]

I am so sorry...

Can you go down to the county clerk office and get the history on the land?
Or do you know a Realtor that can research the place?

Already done it. There's no history here, unless someone is lying to us. Besides, this is a little dairy town and hubs has lived here all his life - there's never been a word about something being wrong on "that" farm.

The rough story we've gotten is, the land was first built upon circa 1910, and operated as a dairy farm until the mid/late '80s. They stopped farming but kept living here. One family owned it ("old" local family). A gravel company came through in the mid '00s and the family told them they would hold up the gravel pit unless the gravel company purchased all the land. The family that owned this parcel, plus a few others, sold.

The gravel pit never went through. It was for the O'Hare Airport expansion and the contract didn't pan out. So all the land has continued to be farm land. This house has been rented since then. Last tenant was related to someone in the company, and lived here with his family. They split up and moved, then the house went up for rent again. <br /><br /> __________ Mon Apr 06, 2015 9:58 pm __________ <br /><br />

ALL of your rabbits died or are dying?!?

The fact that they're all dying so close to each other makes me think it's definitely something environmental.

Sounds like mold poisoning.
From feed... pellets or hay?

So sorry this is happening!!

They get hay, commercially purchased, and organic, gmo-free feed we mix ourselves with grain from Azure Standard.

We've switched feed soooo many times since this started in 2013. It's not the feed. They've been on bottled water, so it isn't the well water. They've been in different housing, in different buildings, so it isn't lead, the cage, etc.

It's a mystery.

The little chin passed. Same way as the others. Poor guy.

 

[Susie570]

So something happened in the last 24hrs to poison them... something that doesn't happen all the time. Could someone be coming onto the property and poisoning them?

 

[Cottie]

So something happened in the last 24hrs to poison them... something that doesn't happen all the time. Could someone be coming onto the property and poisoning them?

I've had animals die in the house. Not a third-party poisoning them.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I'm sure it seems rather obvious, but have you checked for Radon?

Wrong symptom set and no markers for it in the testing we've done. The options we're down to

• Me
• Air
• Radiation
• Haunting

-- I might think about option 4

 

[Susie570]

So something happened in the last 24hrs to poison them... something that doesn't happen all the time. Could someone be coming onto the property and poisoning them?

I've had animals die in the house. Not a third-party poisoning them.

Were they ALWAYS in the house?

 

[Cottie]

So something happened in the last 24hrs to poison them... something that doesn't happen all the time. Could someone be coming onto the property and poisoning them?

I've had animals die in the house. Not a third-party poisoning them.

Were they ALWAYS in the house?

Yes. I got them (ducklings) when they were 4 days old. From that point until the point they started dying, they were always in the house.

 

[Susie570]

Hmm was that the only animal you lost after being only in the house? Did they all die at the same time? It's not unusual to lose ducklings and chicks, so that might not be related?? :shrug:

 

[Cottie]

Hmm was that the only animal you lost after being only in the house? Did they all die at the same time? It's not unusual to lose ducklings and chicks, so that might not be related?? :shrug:

Yes, only ones that died in the house (with those symptoms). Lethargy, stargazing, seizing, death.

I lost all of those ducklings.
Lost all of the last batch (different source).
Lost every rabbit born here.
Lost 6 of 8 piglets.
All the same way.

 

[JenerationX]

I'm sorry this is happening to you.

 

[cmfarm]

Hmm was that the only animal you lost after being only in the house? Did they all die at the same time? It's not unusual to lose ducklings and chicks, so that might not be related?? :shrug:

Yes, only ones that died in the house (with those symptoms). Lethargy, stargazing, seizing, death.

I lost all of those ducklings.
Lost all of the last batch (different source).
Lost every rabbit born here.
Lost 6 of 8 piglets.
All the same way.

Just a random thought. The ducklings dieing may not be related to everything else. Ducklings can get too much water and die. I found this out last year when I went to water ducklings that where without water for a little bit. They will drink large amounts of water at one time and it can throw their electrolyte balance off. It happens very quickly. Then they start to look drunk and start stumbling around, and shortly after die. I now always make sure if there water has run dry to only let ducklings drink a little and then take the water away for a bit.

 

[DBA]

Have you had any radon testing done? Might want to have an xray done of your own lungs.

 

[Susie570]

Hmm was that the only animal you lost after being only in the house? Did they all die at the same time? It's not unusual to lose ducklings and chicks, so that might not be related?? :shrug:

Yes, only ones that died in the house (with those symptoms). Lethargy, stargazing, seizing, death.

I lost all of those ducklings.
Lost all of the last batch (different source).
Lost every rabbit born here.
Lost 6 of 8 piglets.
All the same way.

Just a random thought. The ducklings dieing may not be related to everything else. Ducklings can get too much water and die. I found this out last year when I went to water ducklings that where without water for a little bit. They will drink large amounts of water at one time and it can throw their electrolyte balance off. It happens very quickly. Then they start to look drunk and start stumbling around, and shortly after die. I now always make sure if there water has run dry to only let ducklings drink a little and then take the water away for a bit.

That was my thought too, cmfarm.
This feels like an episode of House (aside from the real-world horror story of beloved animals dying horrible deaths of course), but my point is that often, in the show House, they are led down the wrong path for a diagnosis because one of the 'symptoms' is actually totally unrelated to the actual problem. If things like, potential outdoor environmental issues (feed poisoning seems the most likely) are being crossed off the list because of the ducklings, I would reevaluate. I'm truly sorry this is happening to you, please don't think we're being callous at all, just really trying to help figure out what's happening.

 

[Cottie]

Nah. I don't think anyone is picking on me or being callous. =) I actually feel as if I'm coming across as argumentative.

This has been going on for a long time. We've had labs done on bodies; IL EPA, IL Dept of Ag, vets, analytical lab agents, and just really knowledgeable "old time" farmers out on the property. I've had chemists, biologists and other specialists looking over reports. There is nothing. It's not radon or lead (or any other toxin). There are no lesions, organ damage or toxicological markers. There was one poison that was a wild-a$$ possibility floated by someone, but that was very quickly discounted as the very presence of it to kill animals would have killed us (or the dogs) as well.

The deaths are related. The amount we've had, all with the same symptom set, can't be distinct. Ducklings die, yes, but not 2 dozen, the same way, at the same age, from different stock, eating different feed, brooding in different environments. Same with kits and piglets. We chalked 2013 up to a bad year, scaled back and tried again in 2014. Maybe we needed to stick to chicken/quail and large animals? We had neuro issues there, too. Birds hatching out with their brains exposed, spinal cords connected end to end, that kind of thing. My last straw was when I lost my pet mini goat to kidding. One of my first posts on this board was about a rabbit doe who had a freak pregnancy problem and had to be put down; that goat had the same issues.

Across the board, animals born here don't reach weight and never develop quite right. Heavy breed chickens got to bantam size and never laid. Quail did OK for a few generations, then started down the same path (despite bringing in new blood lines).

All that being said, we are moving as soon as we can. I just really want to have some idea of what we've been exposed to in the interim.

 

[jeannie]

Is the land at a lower elevation than the surrounding farms? Doesn't have to be by much.
The wind will carry toxins, like arsenic, and settle in lower areas for a time. The next wind will blow out the toxins, leaving no trace.
Glad you are moving!