Chicken gurgling

[Prettypenny]

Then again, it really seems to have responded to the tetracycline so that would point to it being bacterial. I'm just glad everyone sounds so much better. Hope long would you all recommend I keep on with the tetracycline? And I can put all the birds back together, right? I eventually gave up with isolation cuz I didn't want to separate moms and babies, and both coops definitely had the sickness anyways. It's just that one coop doesn't have an outdoor run and those birds REALLY want out.

 

[casportpony]

Then again, it really seems to have responded to the tetracycline so that would point to it being bacterial. I'm just glad everyone sounds so much better. Hope long would you all recommend I keep on with the tetracycline? And I can put all the birds back together, right? I eventually gave up with isolation cuz I didn't want to separate moms and babies, and both coops definitely had the sickness anyways. It's just that one coop doesn't have an outdoor run and those birds REALLY want out.

A couple of vets have told me to treat 2-3 days past cessation of all symptoms.

-Kathy

 

[Eggcessive]

After reading most of the info on the links you posted, I agree it would be hard to make a diagnosis with help from a lab. As far as the symptoms however, they definitely had most the IB symptoms and only a few of the Mycoplasma symptoms. When you say to not add or hatch new birds for a year, would that include them hatching their own eggs??

Well if it was IB, that is only supposed to make them carriers for 5 months to a year. Any chicks hatched within that time would be exposed. With MG, they can be carriers for life, and it can be transmitted through hatching eggs. Thus, the good part about testing.

 

[Prettypenny]

I have no clue where to begin with testing. I know my local vet clinic would look at me like I was cuckoo. We don't really live in chicken country! How do you go about it?

Well if it was IB, that is only supposed to make them carriers for 5 months to a year. Any chicks hatched within that time would be exposed. With MG, they can be carriers for life, and it can be transmitted through hatching eggs. Thus, the good part about testing. 

 

[Eggcessive]

Most vets could do a nasal swab for bacteria or mycoplasma. Here is a link about testing and for the poultry dept, of Saskatchewan:
http://poultryhealthtoday.com/avian-mycoplasma-diagnostics/



Department of Animal and Poultry Science

College of Agriculture and Bioresources

University of Saskatchewan
Room 6D34, Agriculture Building

51 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8, Canada

Tel: (306)966-4128

Fax: 306-966-4151

Email: [email protected]

 

[Woobsie]

In Ontario the Ontario Vet College takes most samples from vets and can do a full bacterial culture or a simple mycoplasma culture and results take 5 business days. Typically they would recommend a duration of at least 10 days of tetracycline or doxycycline to avoid resistance of antibiotics and it always seemed to work for me. Ine thing to note is that they test for e coli which is oresent in all birds but can become rampant so a positive e coli bacterial result doesnt necessarily imply that your bird is sick from that...because it occurs naturally and at different levela in different birds

 

[casportpony]

In Ontario the Ontario Vet College takes most samples from vets and can do a full bacterial culture or a simple mycoplasma culture and results take 5 business days. Typically they would recommend a duration of at least 10 days of tetracycline or doxycycline to avoid resistance of antibiotics and it always seemed to work for me. Ine thing to note is that they test for e coli which is oresent in all birds but can become rampant so a positive e coli bacterial result doesnt necessarily imply that your bird is sick from that...because it occurs naturally and at different levela in different birds

A vet can also do a gram stain and should be able to see if there is an abundance of bad bacteria. To quote my vet when this was done "raging gram negative bacterial infection", which cultured out as E. coli.

-Kathy

 

[Prettypenny]

Okay I will talk to me vet tomorrow and see what they say!

 

[casportpony]

Okay I will talk to me vet tomorrow and see what they say!

Update?

-Kathy

 

[Prettypenny]

Update?

-Kathy

I'm embarrassed to admit it's been so crazy around here what with pigs farrowing and prenatal appointments for me and getting ready to leave, that I haven't even got around to talking to the vet! Is there a window of opportunity that I'm going to miss, or how does that work?