😔 Anyone w/ mycoplasma gallisepticum experiences?

[tjmb1414]

Good morning,
We recently got new birds through the mail. They are roughly 12 to 18 weeks. They have been quarantined in a separate coupe since we got them on May 10. I went in yesterday and all the birds were sick. Literally overnight they were sick. Symptoms include- conjunctivitis, foamy eyes, sneezing, and severe respiratory distress and at least one bird. Total of five birds. Very concerned this is mycoplasma gallisepticum. I will be contacting that first thing Monday morning to get everything tested. I just wanted to see if anybody had experience with this and how they handled it i.e. closed flock or euthanasia.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, I would bet that these birds were from a flock of carriers of MG, and the stress of the shipping has caused an outbreak. Hard to believe that people still ship older chicks through the mail. That has to be stressful. If you have an existing flock, it would be hard to prevent the rest of them from getting exposed and becoming carriers for life.

Some people give antibiotics such as Tylosin powder for the water, or Tylan 50 orally to help treat symptoms. But even if they recover, the disease remains with them for life. MG can pass through the hatching eggs, so that is another way it is spread. For now clean their eyes with saline and wipe them dry. Apply either Terramycin eye ointment or Neosporin to the eyes twice a day. Sorry that you now have sick birds. If you lose one or cull, you can get a necropsy through your state vet to confirm MG or any other secondary infection they might have.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a good article about MG:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

 

[tjmb1414]

Yes, I would bet that these birds were from a flock of carriers of MG, and the stress of the shipping has caused an outbreak. Hard to believe that people still ship older chicks through the mail. That has to be stressful. If you have an existing flock, it would be hard to prevent the rest of them from getting exposed and becoming carriers for life.

Some people give antibiotics such as Tylosin powder for the water, or Tylan 50 orally to help treat symptoms. But even if they recover, the disease remains with them for life. MG can pass through the hatching eggs, so that is another way it is spread. For now clean their eyes with saline and wipe them dry. Apply either Terramycin eye ointment or Neosporin to the eyes twice a day. Sorry that you now have sick birds. If you lose one or cull, you can get a necropsy through your state vet to confirm MG or any other secondary infection they might have.

Thank you for the quick response and information. Thankfully I have had them quarantined in a separate coop so they have not had access to the other birds on the property. Breaks my heart though. I’ve already spoke with Cornell , re- necropsy. I agree that it was probably dormant MG. I will be doing all my breeding on farm no more shipped animals for me.

 

[tjmb1414]

Here is a good article about MG:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/publications/FS-1008 Recognizing and Preventing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

Thank you for all your help!