BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

I don't believe it has come up as a topic as of yet, but I would definitely eliminate it from your flock. Respiratory illnesses in fowl are bad news especially when they are passed on as easily as MG. An infected/carrier hen passes it into her eggs, which when hatched have it, and so the cycle goes. Also if you sell any live poultry you run the risk of spreading it off your farm (it can also be carried on your shoes, etc.). In my opinion, there's no reason for a responsible breeder to keep a diseased flock.

It makes sense to do so, but easier said than done- I'm still trying to figure out a plan to actually make it work. I was hoping some breeders who have eliminated it would share how they did it.

 

[Kassaundra]

It makes sense to do so, but easier said than done- I'm still trying to figure out a plan to actually make it work. I was hoping some breeders who have eliminated it would share how they did it.

This is my personal opinion, mostly depends on what your intentions w/ your flock are. Do you plan on selling your chickens live? (or taking to shows) If so full disclosure on the possibility of carriers in your flock would be a must.

If your chickens are always going to be on your property, I would cull the sick and those who can't thrive under your growing conditions, keep the ones who do thrive and breed them, they are proving to either be able to grow and thrive as carriers or to have natural immunity, either way good genes to keep.

Before mass execution and starting over just be aware unless your flock is inside 100% and have hepa filtered air purification and science lab biosecurity and a completely closed flock, they can and likely will be exposed again.

 

[bnjrob]

It makes sense to do so, but easier said than done- I'm still trying to figure out a plan to actually make it work. I was hoping some breeders who have eliminated it would share how they did it.

Unless you are going to keep your birds in a sterile bubble, they will more than likely become exposed to it at some point. The question is whether or not their immune system will be able to fight it off and keep them from actually getting sick.

Ideally you would need to keep your birds away from sources where they might come into contact with mycoplasma. For someone keeping a farm flock, living inside a building with a closed ventilation system where everyone suits up in isolation gear to do chores is not a reasonable option.

You would also have to be testing periodically, whether or not your birds showed any symptoms. That would be very costly in the long run.

If a lab result came up positive for mycoplasma, you would need to be ready to slaughter and dispose of every bird on your property, disinfect everything and leave coops empty for a period of time, then buy all new birds later on.

For commercial poultry keepers, the only thing they lose is time and money because they practice the all in - all out method of disease control. For a small flock owner, having to kill every one of their birds because a test came up positive, means they could lose pets they love and/or years of breeding selection for specific traits. For people that raise rare breeds - having to slaughter all their birds could mean that breed moves one step closer to extinction.

If a flock is showing symptoms - that's a problem. But if a flock is not showing signs of an illness, IMO it isn't cost effective or realistic for someone to do routine, periodic testing for mycoplasma just so they can claim their birds are mycoplasma free.

 

[gjensen]

We have not established if we were talking about MG or MS. I am going to comment on MG.

I agree with the comments that maintaining a MG free flock is a tall task, though it is possible. If you start MG free, you could possibly maintain that status for long periods of time. I will let whoever decides they are interested in doing this, do their own research. Do understand that it would be a constant and every day concern. I see no joy in that.

I smiled at the comments that suggested full disclosure. That would mean that nearly every flock owner in America would be disclosing that their birds are carriers. It is that common. Just because our birds are not clinically ill does not mean that they are not a carrier for MG. If I had birds that were chronically ill (it is a chronic illness), I would not be sharing them with anyone. I would not keep them myself.

Many of us do not realize how common it is because our birds do not get sick. That does not mean that they are not producing antibodies against the mycoplasma organism.

Mycoplasma like bacteria and viruses vary by strain, one more virulent than another. Your own birds may be more resistant to one strain than they would another.

If carriers of a strain that they are more susceptible to, and are stressed, their immune systems could possibly be impaired enough for the bird to become clinically ill. It is not unusual for this same bird to have a moderate to heavy worm load, have lice or mites, and be hit by a sudden cold spell or heat wave etc. etc.

It is also possible for birds to be exposed to a strain they have less resistance to. Usually one or two or three might get sick. Commercial strains, in my opinion, often show less resistance. In twenty plus years of breeding some class of poultry or another, the only case I had of evident MG, was a commercial strain. Wild birds was the most likely route of transmission, and they were highly susceptible. I killed them all and started over. Who wants birds that we have to keep locked away to keep them healthy and productive?

If we are interested in maintaining a breeder flock, kill every bird that gets sick. That is a simple enough management protocol, and the one that I follow. I do not treat. I do not manage a hospital. I will not perpetuate weakness and I expect a reasonable tolerance (or resistance) to MG. MG is everywhere, it is common, and it is here to stay. I have not had a sick bird in a decade. That is not because Tractor Supply is my pharmacy.

If we start right, provide plenty of fresh air, allow them to enjoy warm sunshine, young and tender greens, a good ration, clean water, room to roam, worms managed, kept louse and mite free, avoiding the careless exchange between flocks, and practice good culling practices, we should enjoy breeding a flock that is mostly problem free. Barring any unfortunate events ... like a large flock of avian flu carrying geese showing up.

In a breeder flock there are more important infectious concerns than MG.

 

[Kassaundra]

Full disclosure of any illness you KNOW of in your flock is only common decency, but I guess just like common sense doesn't grow in everyone's garden.

 

[gjensen]

Full disclosure of any illness you KNOW of in your flock is only common decency, but I guess just like common sense doesn't grow in everyone's garden.

You misunderstood the point. That it is that common. That was the point. That is why the comment made me smile. You made it not realizing what you had said. You misunderstand the nature and prevalence of MG. It was not to offend you. I did not realize that you were that easy to offend.

 

[AnthNDacula]

Well I admire what you have done with your micro-niche business. If you can break even without trying imagine what you could do with a little intention. There would be lots of options to create a profit ranging from developing your own feeding program based on excess bread from a bakery to developing a larger black chicken. Two ways I can quickly think of to build a customer base would be to visit the parking lot of an Asian grocery store and sit on your tailgate holding a live chicken. Give out business cards and start collecting email addresses. I've also had good luck donating meat to Asian church events and sharing a stack of business cards with their pastor. It works with pigs, so I don't know why it wouldn't with specialty chickens. Even if you don't go any further with this idea I love it and maybe someone else can build a cottage business around it.

 

[Kassaundra]

You misunderstood the point. That it is that common. That was the point. That is why the comment made me smile. You made it not realizing what you had said. You misunderstand the nature and prevalence of MG. It was not to offend you. I did not realize that you were that easy to offend.

I am not easily offended and was not offended by your comment, and stand by my statement that you should always give full disclosure when selling or giving a live animal someone else is going to have in their care. I don't care how common, if you know your animal has an illness, or is a carrier of something, or their line has congenital issues known to you, you should disclose.

I thought my original comment was clear I knew how common it is since I said the flock would likely be re-exposed w/o complete isolation from all of outdoors.

 

[Kassaundra]

I thought this was interesting. I butchered 6 boys today, my head roo, and 5 cockrels. I was having fertility issues w/ the head roo and he had been acting off. It was a good thing I dispatched him, he was in bad shape internally, free yellow fluid, bad liver, enlarged heart, and his testes were very small. This guy was almost 2 years old. The other 5 birds were w/I a week or so of the same age, here is one teste from each of them. Can you tell who the loud mouth was???? lol lol Shakespear, the older head roo is the first teste.

 

[bnjrob]

I thought this was interesting. I butchered 6 boys today, my head roo, and 5 cockrels. I was having fertility issues w/ the head roo and he had been acting off. It was a good thing I dispatched him, he was in bad shape internally, free yellow fluid, bad liver, enlarged heart, and his testes were very small. This guy was almost 2 years old. The other 5 birds were w/I a week or so of the same age, here is one teste from each of them. Can you tell who the loud mouth was???? lol lol Shakespear, the older head roo is the first teste.

LOL - that's like the cockerels we butchered a few years ago because they were overly aggressive with the hens and with each other. Their testicles were enormous and we were looking at them thinking "no wonder they were such jerks". Always more interesting when you have comparisons like this to see.