SwissHouse
Hatching
- May 24, 2023
- 4
- 4
- 4
Ok, long story, but TLDR is I purchased a new hen from someone, and she started presenting coughing and some rattling on the way home, have her quarantined ATM, but it is not any better after 2 days. Seller is very nice and we having been talking after the sale and she offered to let me bring her back to be looked at, swapped(or maybe refunded). I asked if the rest of the flock was ok, and she said the bird was fine until she gave a electrolyte dropper for the ride(that didn't go down well), which is what we intially thought it was. I think I will be at least swapping, but from my understanding, this sounds like a mild case of MG, that flared from the stress of the dropper and moving. Which if the case, likely means the rest of her flock are asymptomatic carriers.
But reading into it, it sounds like MG is both prevalent(with 60-89% of flocks having it) and a minor long term disease. I am just keeping chickens for eggs, and don't have any plan to sell birds. I already bought the rest of hens from CL or FB, and given how prevalent it is, for all I know, the flock could already have it asymptomatically.
So way I see it, I have 2-3 options:
1: just swap for another healthy, but maybe MG+ hen
2: See about getting a refund and just return this hen then go looking around for another on CL or FB(that could also have latent MG/MS.)
3: Return and pay out for an expensive one from a NPIP or otherwise High Quality breeder(which still doesn't guarantee MG free)
I don't really want to spend the money to have to test every new bird that comes in whether its this one or another, and plus my schedule in the next couple months means I won't be able to keep a bird quarantined for long after mid June until after July.
So that leads me to the conclusion that maybe I just embrace one from this seller, and if its MG, so be it, treat for MG if it comes up in my other 3 hens, move on and be done with it..
Am I crazy in making that conclusion? Does asymptomatic MG reduce egg production?
But reading into it, it sounds like MG is both prevalent(with 60-89% of flocks having it) and a minor long term disease. I am just keeping chickens for eggs, and don't have any plan to sell birds. I already bought the rest of hens from CL or FB, and given how prevalent it is, for all I know, the flock could already have it asymptomatically.
So way I see it, I have 2-3 options:
1: just swap for another healthy, but maybe MG+ hen
2: See about getting a refund and just return this hen then go looking around for another on CL or FB(that could also have latent MG/MS.)
3: Return and pay out for an expensive one from a NPIP or otherwise High Quality breeder(which still doesn't guarantee MG free)
I don't really want to spend the money to have to test every new bird that comes in whether its this one or another, and plus my schedule in the next couple months means I won't be able to keep a bird quarantined for long after mid June until after July.
So that leads me to the conclusion that maybe I just embrace one from this seller, and if its MG, so be it, treat for MG if it comes up in my other 3 hens, move on and be done with it..
Am I crazy in making that conclusion? Does asymptomatic MG reduce egg production?