Chickens sick, also maybe getting chicks- help!

[Caninewild]

Please don’t order any chicks or else they’ll be exposed to whatever your hens may have. This sounds like MG, so that being said..

In my experience and research, this looks like classic Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD), or most commonly known as Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG). MG is a bacterial infection of poultry, affecting all different species of birds. This disease is most commonly given from infected parents to the offspring, as the MG bacteria can be transmitted vertically into the eggs of developing embryos, making any chicks that hatch, always infected and sick with the bacteria. So please don’t ever breed from your sickly infected flock to sell or giveaway chicks/hens/roosters to anyone. You can freely choose to hatch for yourself, but you should not ever sell and or giveaway any extra roosters as you’ll just be giving someone else your flock’s disease, causing them a devastation. MG is a permanent lifelong chronic disease- meaning, that you can treat or have the symptoms go away, but whenever the bird gets stressed again, the symptoms will keep coming back or get worse. All birds (even recovered birds) remain lifetime long carriers of the MG bacteria, spreading and shedding it through their feces, feathers, dander, respiratory secretions and other bodily fluids. This is a serious permanent lifetime disease of poultry and is incurable, but treatable with antibiotics. Since MG is caused by a bacteria, antibiotics can help keep symptoms at bay until the symptoms resurface whenever birds become stressed again. Keep in mind that over-use and/or misuse of antibiotics also creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making the disease harder to treat than before. It’s critical in any livestock animal, especially poultry, to get any sick or symptomatic birds tested to find out which specific disease they have as soon as possible. That being said, most choose to cull all birds, disinfect and start over fresh. If you’d rather not, then the other option is to keep a closed flock- no new birds into your flock and no birds leave your sick flock. If you choose to start over, always quarantine any new birds that you decide to bring into your flock, 30 day quarantine isn’t always enough, therefore, it’s best to do a 60 day quarantine AWAY from your healthy birds, in another area.

Here's more information about MG:

https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/poultry/FS-1008 Recognizing and Preventing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/blog/protecting-your-flock-what-you-need-to-know-about-mg-ms/

https://afarmgirlinthemaking.com/respiratory-conditions-poultry-mycoplasma-in-chickens/

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/ahw/animal_health/documents/backyardpoultry/Mycoplasma Factsheet.pdf

https://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D9107.PDF

I hope this helps!

That was extremely helpful, thank you!

*Sigh* looks like its pretty likely my problem there- thankfully the symptoms seem to be fairly mild (one has a little nose wetness but no one has eye problems or mobility issues, just a bit of sneezing and a slight wheeze), and now that it's getting slowly warmer I expect that will help. Since these are largely pets and I'm not in desperate need for more eggs, I'll just keep them until they've died naturally I think. Alas, no chicks for me for a while!

I have one last question then- all the info sheets say how to disinfect equipment and such, but what about the yard itself, or even the garden where likely infected straw is being used as mulch? For how long is that a danger, assuming the birds never reinfect it? Id assume a certain length of time exposed to the elements would render it clean again, but I'm not sure. Certainly they've left poops all over their outside yard, and I can't see how I'd ever get it all! Do I need to go so far as to bleach the fence later? That would be... A lot

 

[Myrshine]

That was extremely helpful, thank you!

*Sigh* looks like its pretty likely my problem there- thankfully the symptoms seem to be fairly mild (one has a little nose wetness but no one has eye problems or mobility issues, just a bit of sneezing and a slight wheeze), and now that it's getting slowly warmer I expect that will help. Since these are largely pets and I'm not in desperate need for more eggs, I'll just keep them until they've died naturally I think. Alas, no chicks for me for a while!

I have one last question then- all the info sheets say how to disinfect equipment and such, but what about the yard itself, or even the garden where likely infected straw is being used as mulch? For how long is that a danger, assuming the birds never reinfect it? Id assume a certain length of time exposed to the elements would render it clean again, but I'm not sure. Certainly they've left poops all over their outside yard, and I can't see how I'd ever get it all! Do I need to go so far as to bleach the fence later? That would be... A lot

I’ve read that the bacteria can’t survive outside the e body long, especially in temperatures 72F and up. Day 3 days in 72F+ to die off. I’m not sure about the mulch though. I don’t really know how long it can survive in feces. I’d wait 3-4 weeks before adding anymore chickens onto the property.

 

[Caninewild]

I’ve read that the bacteria can’t survive outside the e body long, especially in temperatures 72F and up. Day 3 days in 72F+ to die off. I’m not sure about the mulch though. I don’t really know how long it can survive in feces. I’d wait 3-4 weeks before adding anymore chickens onto the property.

Yes, I haven't been able to find much confirmation for the less ideal outdoor conditions, like cool damp weather, wet mulch and feces siting outdoors.
I guess it's not something I have to worry about until my girls are gone, but as long as it's not a permanent contamination sort of thing, I guess it's ok! I had it in mind that it was maybe similar to dogs parvo virus or something that sticks around for years.

Thanks everyone, you're all amazing for helping me out, I really appreciate it