I am searching for some real answers here. I have been reading several websites, threads on this and other forums and my head is spinning.
Quick replay of the situation: I have a small flock, various ages, all under 1 year. Despite advice to quarantine before adding new chickens, I naively added a few here and there, mostly due to lack of proper space, and loss from predators. Lesson learned. HOWEVER, I still need to know a few things before I get the test results back. No, the vet did not really answer any of these...
If positive for Mycoplasma (which is what the vet felt it probably was but could not confirm since the signs are mild):
A) Can their eggs be eaten?
B) Can infected chickens be eaten?
C) Can a vaccinated or treated hen pass MG to her chicks?
D) If newly hatched chicks are vaccinated at hatch, can they be lifelong carriers?
E) IF I do end up culling the flock and starting over, how long will MG stay active in the soil/coop/run, etc.?
I also have the same questions if it comes up that they have IB or Coryza. I am assuming all Pullorum positives would require mandatory cull.
There are many forum users here that advise to cull all chickens immediately if either MG or Coryza is found, but here is the thing, does everyone do that? In other words, how would you KNOW for absolutely sure the next batch of chicks or juveniles are not going to bring it in again? I hear some people (no offense, it seemed like a fun experiment to me too) who have hatched "eating" eggs they got from a local farm. I had someone tell me that when his chickens get sick they treat with black walnut - or apple cider vinegar. So I am assuming there are a large number of chicken keepers who have these pathogens and don't know it. Even if you quarantine your birds, there is no guarantee they are MG free unless they are tested - am I right?
I have two groups of chickens. The outside group are older, and contain 4 sick chickens out of 9. The inside group live in the garage in a large brooder (8). These young ones are 6-11 weeks old. They have had exposure to the older group, but not much, and none of them are sick at present. I took one of these younger ones for testing too to see if the younger group would be affected. I am hoping if I do have to cull the older group, I will at least have the younger ones?? I have read that MG is slower to spread than the other resp diseases, so perhaps they will be safe?
Anyone have experience?
Quick replay of the situation: I have a small flock, various ages, all under 1 year. Despite advice to quarantine before adding new chickens, I naively added a few here and there, mostly due to lack of proper space, and loss from predators. Lesson learned. HOWEVER, I still need to know a few things before I get the test results back. No, the vet did not really answer any of these...
If positive for Mycoplasma (which is what the vet felt it probably was but could not confirm since the signs are mild):
A) Can their eggs be eaten?
B) Can infected chickens be eaten?
C) Can a vaccinated or treated hen pass MG to her chicks?
D) If newly hatched chicks are vaccinated at hatch, can they be lifelong carriers?
E) IF I do end up culling the flock and starting over, how long will MG stay active in the soil/coop/run, etc.?
I also have the same questions if it comes up that they have IB or Coryza. I am assuming all Pullorum positives would require mandatory cull.
There are many forum users here that advise to cull all chickens immediately if either MG or Coryza is found, but here is the thing, does everyone do that? In other words, how would you KNOW for absolutely sure the next batch of chicks or juveniles are not going to bring it in again? I hear some people (no offense, it seemed like a fun experiment to me too) who have hatched "eating" eggs they got from a local farm. I had someone tell me that when his chickens get sick they treat with black walnut - or apple cider vinegar. So I am assuming there are a large number of chicken keepers who have these pathogens and don't know it. Even if you quarantine your birds, there is no guarantee they are MG free unless they are tested - am I right?
I have two groups of chickens. The outside group are older, and contain 4 sick chickens out of 9. The inside group live in the garage in a large brooder (8). These young ones are 6-11 weeks old. They have had exposure to the older group, but not much, and none of them are sick at present. I took one of these younger ones for testing too to see if the younger group would be affected. I am hoping if I do have to cull the older group, I will at least have the younger ones?? I have read that MG is slower to spread than the other resp diseases, so perhaps they will be safe?
Anyone have experience?
