Bubbly Eyes, no swelling...mycoplasma? Help!!!

[BarredBabe]

I'm a first-time chicken owner with 8 little pullets that I love very much, and have grown way too attached to... My Buff Orpington (about 14 weeks old) has chronic bubbles in her eyes, which apparently is an indicator of mycoplasma resp. infection...however,she is not displaying any of the swelling and redness that other photos are indicating as part of the disease. She's fairly active (personality is subdued due to being low on the pecking order) but seems to be having trouble seeing her scratch to peck at it, and I'm worried that her vision is going.

None of my other hens are showing and signs of the illness, and I isolated her for a few days, and treated with two days worth of Vet-RX, which didn't seem to do much other than make her mad, and turn the previously clear mucus cloudy...I'm waiting on some injectable Tylan 50 to come in the mail but it's still 4 days away, and I can't keep her isolated from the rest of the flock, as I don't have the room or facilities inside...Is anyone familiar with the symptoms, and can tell me if these photos (sorry about the quality) look like mycoplasma or something else...any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

*UPDATE* When I left everyone out of the coop this morning, Buffy didn't come out...the bubbles seem to have progressed over the night, and now it's at the point where she just stands in place with her eyes completely shut, and can't find her food or water. I had to use a qtip and drop water on her beak for her to drink, and she refuses to eat...she'll only sleep, and wipe her eyes on her shoulder feathers, which are all dry and sticky at this point. I've brought her into the house, but I have no idea what else i can do for her at this point Please, please can anyone give me some advice? I'm afraid she's going to die, and she's my favorite...help!!

 

[cubalaya]

cull

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds as though she won't make it until the Tylan comes. Tylan should be started when you first notice the bubbles in the eyes or other signs of respiratory disease--swelling around eyes, face, nasal or eye drainage, and sneezing. Your other birds have already been exposed if this is chronic. The others may become symptomatic, so I would treat them when you have the medication.

 

[BarredBabe]

This sucks, she is such a sweet little bird...I've never culled anything in my life...how can I do it that will cause her the least amount of suffering?

 

[cubalaya]

do a search on culling on here. i prefer an ax. if you treat the rest of your flock, they will be carriers and you will have disease and death at your place if you plan to breed or hatch young from them. i would cull them all and start over, disinfecting the coops and runs. or you could treat them and just keep them at your place for the rest of their lives.

 

[BarredBabe]

Update for anyone who is still taking a look at the thread:

Since this was my very favorite pullet, I decided to try to save her, regardless of the carrier risks. I don't brood or breed, and the hens are pretty much egg-laying pets, so they're not at risk for going to another site. A friend was able to provide me with a round of the antibiotic Clavmox in pill form. After 2 weeks of the treatment, she was fine for about a week and a half but had a minor relapse. As such I decided to go with the Tylan 50 injectable (can be bought w/o prescription at Tractor Supply Co.). Buffy is still only about 2 lbs,and the meds are technically for swine and cattle, so I gave her a daily injection of about .5 (one-hlaf) of a cc/mg of the Tylan for 4 days, whicih completely cleared all symptoms. Three of my other birds came down with a much milder version of the same bubbles, so to be safe, they each got 2 days worth of half cc/mg doses. Overall, if you want to keep your flock for whatever reason, I can't recommend the Tylan enough! I'm not a fan of antibiotics, and was really hoping to avoid them, but nothing else works for mycoplasma, apparently...

 

[War Chicken]

Mycoplasma's been developing resistance to Tylan over the years but that hasn't been the case with tiamulin, which is probably the drug of choice for Mycoplasma right now.

 

[BarredBabe]

That's good to know for sure, I've never heard of it! Is that a med you need a prescription for? Livestock is rare in my area, and if I have to take a hen to the vet, it's seen as an "exotic" and they charge over $70.00 just for the visit

 

[FandangoRanch]

Another option for Mycoplasma is Oxytetracycline. Mycoplasma is gram negative and has no cell walls. Therefore, any antibiotic that attacks cell walls is ineffective. Oxytetracycline and Tiamulin attack the protein and is therefore effective. There is one other drug but I do not call at the moment. I have used Oxytetracycline on my pigs with Mycoplasma and they were extremely improved well within 24 hours.

 

[War Chicken]

That's good to know for sure, I've never heard of it! Is that a med you need a prescription for? Livestock is rare in my area, and if I have to take a hen to the vet, it's seen as an "exotic" and they charge over $70.00 just for the visit

Nope, no prescription needed. It's sold in the US as Denagard and imported as Chevimulin-T. Denagard is a liquid concentrate that's kind of expensive unless treating a big flock. Chevimulin-T is intended for pigeons and pet birds and is more affordable if you're just treating a few birds. It comes as a powder sealed in foil packets so the shelf life is probably way beyond the expiration date printed on them.

http://www.bioagrimix.com/haccp/html/tiamulin.htm

http://www.chevita.com/en/products/chevimulin-t.php

One drawback is that it's incompatible with anti-coccidia feeds containing ionophores.