Anyone familiar with swab testing chickens?

[StinkyAcres]

Specifically tracheal swabs. I am looking into having my chickens tested for MG etc. via a respiratory PCR panel, and am required to send in 3 tracheal swab samples. Problem is I don't know exactly how to get the samples and the testing company won't tell me how (they told me to have a vet do it - which will cost me $150+ extra [I asked my vet]).

Questions:
Do I need to moisten the swab at all or can it be dry?
How far down the trachea does the swab need to go?
How long does the swab need to be inside the trachea?


Thanks for any help!

 

[Kiki]

See if this helps:

 

[Eggcessive]

The swab should not be be moistened. Take care to have someone hold the chicken, maybe wrapped in a towel,) while opening the beak for you. Don’t touch anything but the inside of the throat on the way in or until it goes into the swab holder. Just swab the back of the throat to collect some cells or mucus, no need to keep on and on choking the poor thing. I would say 2-3 seconds at most. Is there more than one sick chicken with symptoms?

 

[StinkyAcres]

See if this helps:

The swab should not be be moistened. Take care to have someone hold the chicken, maybe wrapped in a towel,) while opening the beak for you. Don’t touch anything but the inside of the throat on the way in or until it goes into the swab holder. Just swab the back of the throat to collect some cells or mucus, no need to keep on and on choking the poor thing. I would say 2-3 seconds at most. Is there more than one sick chicken with symptoms?

Thanks! Yes, several chickens are showing symptoms (mainly just sneezing) but I want to test the one hen who has it the worst (sneezing, open mouth breathing, head shaking, head scratching, facial swelling, slight clear nasal discharge). All are otherwise acting normal and very active.

 

[Eggcessive]

I hope that you get some answers. Are you sending them to RAL or Zoologix? One of those does a panel for 8 different respiratory diseases. Symptoms may fit infectious bronchitis virus.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I hope that you get some answers. Are you sending them to RAL or Zoologix? One of those does a panel for 8 different respiratory diseases. Symptoms may fit infectious bronchitis virus.

I was looking at the Zoologix panel. It tests for 6 diseases. Is there a better one?
https://www.zoologix.com/avian/Datasheets/PoultryRespiratoryPanel.htm

 

[StinkyAcres]

Symptoms may fit infectious bronchitis virus.

The symptoms do fit, but it's been going on for several months (maybe even a year, I don't remember..) which made me think it's something else. Can infectious bronchitis last that long?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, that is the one, but I had thought they used to test for 8 diseases. It is for only 6. My flock had infectious bronchitis, and each one was showing symptoms for about 3 weeks, then others would get it. It ran through my whole flock, and I saw some wrinkled egg shells. Once each bird got over it, they did not get it again. The virus can be spread by carriers from 5 months up to a year depending on the source I read. I stopped the spread by not adding any new birds or hatching for a year, and no birds ever became sick with it again.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Yes, that is the one, but I had thought they used to test for 8 diseases. It is for only 6. My flock had infectious bronchitis, and each one was showing symptoms for about 3 weeks, then others would get it. It ran through my whole flock, and I saw some wrinkled egg shells. Once each bird got over it, they did not get it again. The virus can be spread by carriers from 5 months up to a year depending on the source I read. I stopped the spread by not adding any new birds or hatching for a year, and no birds ever became sick with it again.

Thanks. Looking through my poultry diary, I see that this same hen back in March 2024 seemed congested and was making a clicking noise when she breathed. This was a few days after she couldn't get back into the coop one night and it was cold and rainy and she got soaked. We treated her with LA-200 then. Now she has worse respiratory symptoms and a few of my new chicks are sneezing a lot. We also noticed one of the neighborhood crows is sneezing frequently. I hope it's just another virus that will run its course, but Silvia's just not getting better so maybe she's got a secondary infection.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most respiratory diseases can have secondary infections. It can be common for testing to show infectious bronchitis and mycoplasma, or coryza. E.coli can also be a complication and may cause air sacculitis. A necropsy when one dies is probably the best testing. Heat inside the coop, dusty conditions, mold, poor air circulation all can increase the probability of respiratory issues. During molting is a common time to see illnesses.