Dealing with MG- Opinions PLEASE

[Sonya9]

A while back I bought a 3 month old EE pullet from a local breeder that later told me her birds had tested positive for MG. The pullet I got did have reoccurring respiratory symptoms and even the bubbly eye on occasion and I believe the bird was showing symptoms. Sadly she never thrived and eventually died.

My whole flock was exposed and I have never seen a hint of it in ANY of my other birds (bantams and layers of various ages, including 6 juvenile chicks born this spring/summer). Not sure if the other birds didn't pick up the infection or if they are just not susceptible to it. The breeder in question also raised a lot seemingly healthy birds too.

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

I started at my county extension office. They gave me the contact info for the state vet. lab. I talked to the vet at our state lab who said to bring the sickest bird I had. They did a live necropsy and used tissue from the trachea, which is what came back MG positive. It was $35 and I drove the bird to the lab 2 hours away myself.

I don't have any experience with non-MG IB.

Once they have MG, the whole flock has it and it will never go away. It will be passed to offspring thru the egg. MG is a weak-walled cell and doesn't survive long outside the body, but if you decide to cull, you will need to disenfect EVERYTHING- feeders, waters, shoes, etc. Basically everything that was in contact with things in contact with the chickens. It can spread from your shoes, to your porch, to your car, thru your house, onto other people's shoes, get transferred onto your furniture off of your clothes, etc. Scary stuff.

MG can lay dormant for a long time, or forever, never showing any symptoms at all. It can flare up in times of stress.

Only testing will confirm it in your flock.

I plan on making a call, I was on the phone with my mom before I read this and she suggested I call the county extension office too. I think I just need to get some testing done so we know what we are dealing with, but I don't have a money tree, so I need something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. If I decide to go the route of culling, What can I used to disinfect everything? Bleach? Lysol? Both? Can it lie dormant OUTSIDE the body, or will it eventually die off if say, I have zero chickens all winter? I have a group of babies in the house that I have tried really hard not to spread anything to, I don't deal with them until AFTER my shower or first thing in the morning. Hopefully they do not get it. If they have to live in the house until I can get everything disinfected, then so be it i guess. But now that I've had the sick ones in my sons bathroom I feel like its probably all over the house now. I do not mind having a closed flock, tho it makes me sad, I'd rather not cull if I can help it, then in a few years after they have all lead happy lives, maybe we can start over. I just hate not knowing what it is we have going around, the unknowns are stressing me out, and every phone call I have made has not given me any additional information. Other than the one that I made to A&M about testing, but long story there. I didnt have the money to send the bodies in time for them to be fresh.

 

[freestargirl]

Everything that I have read via different state university extension websites have listed several other products Itthat I am not familiar with for disenfection, or bleach or original Lysol concentrate (the gross scented one in the little brown bottle). I am going to use bleach because I already have that. I am not sure the ratio, though, because the websites don't mention it. The bottle has instructions for disenfecting non-porous surfaces. I am going to have my chemist husband hopefully do some digging around and find out for me about non-porous since it's wood.

The concern with it is that it reduces egg production and weakens their immune system, making them more vulnerable to other illness. You can keep a closed flock, but it's totally up to you. For me, it just seemed like more 'stuff' to have to deal with that I didn't have to. Plus, 9 of the 11 hens I had had not laid an egg since June, and weren't laying regular prior to that anyway, due to age.

I decided to cull because 1) I would still be feeding them the same or more, and getting less eggs. 2) you can treat when/if an issue comes up, but you have to discard your eggs during that time, and you have the added cost of meds. 3) it can flare up during stress and they can develop secondary illness that can be fatal.

I've read several sources that MG does not last long (about 3 days) outside the body because it the cell wall is very thin. The minimum I have read to leave your chicken space open is 2 weeks. I have read that freezing does not kill it. Hot & dry works better. I have also read to disenfect the chicken 'yard' but that is going to be impossible for me, so that is why I am leaving it over the winter.

I have read shipping the dead bird can be a pain, unfortunately. Hopefully you can find a local vet that would maybe ship the specimen to wherever it needs to go. Maybe you could save $ by putting a live bird down yourself, and taking whatever piece/s they want to test to the vet.

 

[casportpony]

Shipping a deceased bird is easy.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

This is how I send mine:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799747/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures

-Kathy

 

[chickengr]

So I am in the process of dealing with some stuff like this as well. Still trying to get some testing done, but waiting on another bird to die so that I can send off the body. Not sure if i can have a vet draw blood from a live one that is sick and send it off to be tested? No one I call seems to know anything and it is really disheartening. How long do you have to wait for all the crud to died on your property once you cull if its IB or MG? I'm just wondering if we should go ahead and cull our entire flock... about 10 hens and about 20 chicks, all of which have been showing symptoms of illness, and start over in the spring or just wait it out.

I have one group of 5 silkies I rescued from the feed store that had pasty butt really bad, that have been in strict quarantine in my living room. I dont think they have caught any of it yet. They all seem healthy. I am so conflicted on what to do, and have not really been able to find any answers. I am so depressed about all of this and I wish I knew where we got this from. All our hens have stopped laying, and they literally just started a month or two ago. It makes me sick to my stomach every time i think about it!

my vet tested blood from my live roo. when he saw a few of my chickens he said MG. but when tested, it showed IB. they got well, one was hatched and raised among them and has never been sick. I don't believe that birds can be carriers of viral disease. if so, vaccinated chickens would also be carriers.

if I cull my birds every time they sneeze I will remain without any. I live in a climate prone to viruses (both chicken and people). but my chickens are my pets therefore I can keep them even if they have problems.

 

[chickengr]

I plan on making a call, I was on the phone with my mom before I read this and she suggested I call the county extension office too. I think I just need to get some testing done so we know what we are dealing with, but I don't have a money tree, so I need something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. If I decide to go the route of culling, What can I used to disinfect everything? Bleach? Lysol? Both? Can it lie dormant OUTSIDE the body, or will it eventually die off if say, I have zero chickens all winter? I have a group of babies in the house that I have tried really hard not to spread anything to, I don't deal with them until AFTER my shower or first thing in the morning. Hopefully they do not get it. If they have to live in the house until I can get everything disinfected, then so be it i guess. But now that I've had the sick ones in my sons bathroom I feel like its probably all over the house now. I do not mind having a closed flock, tho it makes me sad, I'd rather not cull if I can help it, then in a few years after they have all lead happy lives, maybe we can start over. I just hate not knowing what it is we have going around, the unknowns are stressing me out, and every phone call I have made has not given me any additional information. Other than the one that I made to A&M about testing, but long story there. I didnt have the money to send the bodies in time for them to be fresh.

I use white vinegar and baking soda spray in the coop (just put some soda in vinegar). my coop is painted with limestone. if the coop is not made of wood you can make a fire, that was the old way of disinfection. if you have herbs like rosemary, sage, lavander, etc. put some in the coop.

 

[casportpony]

Many people use this:
http://www.revivalanimal.com/Tek-Trol.html

-Kathy

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

Thanks guys for the disinfectant info. I just don't know that I could go the route of culling them all, unless whatever this is has deformed their reproductive organs and will cause internal laying etc. I just don't want to see them suffer any more than they have to. I guess we will see what the following months to come offer. Not sure that I can spend a whole lot more money on them, so if I lose them I lose them I guess. If not I will make their last days as comfortable as possible and if need be, end their suffering. No one really seems to be in pain right now tho, just under the weather. I just wish I had a crystal ball and could tell what the future held. There are so many different breeds I want to get, and having a closed flock makes that impossible for now

 

[Woobsie]

I'm sorry to ressurect an old thread but I was interested in how you chickens have fared?
I have had amazing success with using a 1% Denegard solution in the chickens drinking water every 4 weeks, administered for only 2 days. I haven't had a single bird show symptoms since the summer.