Does this wet eye look like mycoplasma?

[JoanieShrubs]

Hi, my one year old Wyandotte laying hen is sick with a respiratory infection. I’m trying to work out how to treat her as another flock member was put to sleep a couple weeks ago, assuming the same pathogen, and that hen didn’t really respond to the two classes of antibiotics we can get OTC here in Australia, sulfa and tetracycline. I can’t afford a vet at present.

Background: Tansy is on layer mash, recently wormed, the flock recently treated for a mite infestation which is now clear. The girls are in 4x prefab coops, 2 or 3 to a coop, with added ventilation panels, in a large net covered run. She wasn’t sharing with the sick bird. It’s the start of winter here in Aus and has just turned cold. Tansy has stopped laying, she’s lightly molting, while her RIR coopmate of the same age has just gone through through a heavy molt.

Tansy has been sneezing for a week but her nose isn’t visibly runny. Ears look clear. I’m confident it isn’t infectious coryza, there’s no telltale smell or bilateral facial swelling, so looking at possible mycoplasma and wondering about next steps?

She’s had one bubbly mucusy eye for three days with a lump beneath eye on the same side, and has slowed right down on eating and drinking, so she is indoors staying warm. Poops look normal. She’s got electrolytes and vitamins in her water but isn’t drinking much, and just pecking at her warm oats, yoghurt and wet mash. I haven’t weighed her yet as the scale is out of batteries until payday :/ She is doing an odd heaving wave motion with her chest. I’ve checked her crop and it’s soft and is empty in the morning.

What should I try next, in the absence of vet testing? Does this look like mycoplasma from your experience?

Thanks in advance! @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous your thoughts would be much appreciated

 

[azygous]

It's a fair guess it's Mycoplasma g. It should respond to most broad spectrum antibiotics, but Tylosin seems to be the best at beating the bacterial component.

The other component is the Mycoplasma itself embedding in the cells. It isn't fazed by an antibiotic, needing instead to run its course. I would guess, the other antibiotics you used did affect what bacteria was present, and now she may just need to hang in there until the Mycoplasma dies down.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try Tylosin or enrofloxacin. The latter is better for more bacteria, besides MG, but does require a long egg withdrawal time. The Tylosin does not.

 

[JoanieShrubs]

I would try Tylosin or enrofloxacin. The latter is better for more bacteria, besides MG, but does require a long egg withdrawal time. The Tylosin does not.

We can’t get tylosin in Australia unfortunately. Only tetracycline, sulfa, or we can get metronidazole or enroflaxine on prescription script from a vet (which i can’t do this week)…

 

[azygous]

Look for these alternatives - Kitasamycin or oleandomycin

 

[tjmb1414]

Hi, my one year old Wyandotte laying hen is sick with a respiratory infection. I’m trying to work out how to treat her as another flock member was put to sleep a couple weeks ago, assuming the same pathogen, and that hen didn’t really respond to the two classes of antibiotics we can get OTC here in Australia, sulfa and tetracycline. I can’t afford a vet at present.

Background: Tansy is on layer mash, recently wormed, the flock recently treated for a mite infestation which is now clear. The girls are in 4x prefab coops, 2 or 3 to a coop, with added ventilation panels, in a large net covered run. She wasn’t sharing with the sick bird. It’s the start of winter here in Aus and has just turned cold. Tansy has stopped laying, she’s lightly molting, while her RIR coopmate of the same age has just gone through through a heavy molt.

Tansy has been sneezing for a week but her nose isn’t visibly runny. Ears look clear. I’m confident it isn’t infectious coryza, there’s no telltale smell or bilateral facial swelling, so looking at possible mycoplasma and wondering about next steps?

She’s had one bubbly mucusy eye for three days with a lump beneath eye on the same side, and has slowed right down on eating and drinking, so she is indoors staying warm. Poops look normal. She’s got electrolytes and vitamins in her water but isn’t drinking much, and just pecking at her warm oats, yoghurt and wet mash. I haven’t weighed her yet as the scale is out of batteries until payday :/ She is doing an odd heaving wave motion with her chest. I’ve checked her crop and it’s soft and is empty in the morning.

What should I try next, in the absence of vet testing? Does this look like mycoplasma from your experience?

Thanks in advance! @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous your thoughts would be much appreciated

If it is MG that bird will always have it. Even when dormant- they can affect other birds. If that hen has chicks she passes to the, and then they will also be carriers.
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

Hi, my one year old Wyandotte laying hen is sick with a respiratory infection. I’m trying to work out how to treat her as another flock member was put to sleep a couple weeks ago, assuming the same pathogen, and that hen didn’t really respond to the two classes of antibiotics we can get OTC here in Australia, sulfa and tetracycline. I can’t afford a vet at present.

Background: Tansy is on layer mash, recently wormed, the flock recently treated for a mite infestation which is now clear. The girls are in 4x prefab coops, 2 or 3 to a coop, with added ventilation panels, in a large net covered run. She wasn’t sharing with the sick bird. It’s the start of winter here in Aus and has just turned cold. Tansy has stopped laying, she’s lightly molting, while her RIR coopmate of the same age has just gone through through a heavy molt.

Tansy has been sneezing for a week but her nose isn’t visibly runny. Ears look clear. I’m confident it isn’t infectious coryza, there’s no telltale smell or bilateral facial swelling, so looking at possible mycoplasma and wondering about next steps?

She’s had one bubbly mucusy eye for three days with a lump beneath eye on the same side, and has slowed right down on eating and drinking, so she is indoors staying warm. Poops look normal. She’s got electrolytes and vitamins in her water but isn’t drinking much, and just pecking at her warm oats, yoghurt and wet mash. I haven’t weighed her yet as the scale is out of batteries until payday :/ She is doing an odd heaving wave motion with her chest. I’ve checked her crop and it’s soft and is empty in the morning.

What should I try next, in the absence of vet testing? Does this look like mycoplasma from your experience?

Thanks in advance! @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous your thoughts would be much appreciated

 

[JoanieShrubs]

She has recovered beautifully <3 Strong, healthy, laying, and she didn’t pass it on. Thanks to this forum. I’m aware of the biosecurity considerations and will keep a closed flock until next spring when i’ll look at all the factors in deciding whether to add any new birds. We have no roo and aren’t planning on breeding our layers, and I don’t want to raise chicks for a long while. My kids are hoping to set up a separate run for belgian bantams in a few months so again i’ll weigh it up after the (southern hemisphere) winter.

I’m not such a purist that I’ll cull a strong bird for an illness that healed in a week - in fact I never even delivered the antibiotics I purchased for her because she responded so quickly to indoor heat and rest and nutrients, there was no argument for bombarding her immune system and gut - and part of learning husbandry i think is learning to make wise decisions that we can live with down the road.

We’ll always keep the likely covert presence of this pathogen in mind, and adapt our methods to avoid further illness, but for now Madame Tansy lives on to rule the roost and hog the nesting box and after all the sad losses my little girls and i have been through on our backyard poultry journey so far, we’re very happy about that