Good news!

[wjallen05]

Some of you may know that I recently had to cull my entire adult flock (10 hens, 2 roos). We raised chicks last year, and just as they begun to lay, some Pit Bulls came onto our property and killed all but 2. We bought 10 more adults to replace them, and one of the roos I got ended up testing positive for MG.

That's my luck for ya.

Anyhow, we also have 2 Silkies and a banty hen who are kept seperate from the standards but are pretty close by. The poultry guy said that they'd more than likely would have MG as well since they were so close and it is so highly contageous. I had them tested on Thurs, and I got the results back today... Negative! Praise the lord! I LOVE my Silkie roo and my daughter is super attached to her little banty hen. I am devestated about having to lose my flock, but so thankful that everyone didn't catch it.

I have another shipment of baby chicks from Ideal coming on the 28th. I already have 24 two week old pigs, I mean, chicks. I am about to have 25 more!!

 

[brooster]

well, im glad your little girls hen is fine

and think on the bright side, you got more chickies comming!

 

[CovenantCreek]

I'm glad there was at least a small piece of good news through all this.

 

[birdbrain2]

i don't mean to high jack this thread but what is MG i did a search and didn't get any results. is it curable or do you have to cull?

 

[Mahonri]

Now that is some bad luck.

 

[wjallen05]

Mycoplasma gallisepticum


Synonyms: MG, chronic respiratory disease (CRD), infectious sinusitis, mycoplasmosis

Species affected: chickens, turkeys, pigeons, ducks, peafowl and passerine birds.

Clinical signs: Clinical symptoms vary slightly between species. Infected adult chickens may show no outward signs if infection is uncomplicated. However, sticky, serous exudate from nostrils, foamy exudate in eyes, and swollen sinuses can occur, especially in broilers. The air sacs may become infected. Infected birds can develop respiratory rales and sneeze. Affected birds are often stunted and unthrifty (see Table 1 ).

There are two forms of this disease in the turkey. With the "upper form" the birds have watery eyes and nostrils, the infraorbitals (just below the eye) become swollen, and the exudate becomes caseous and firm. The birds have respiratory rales and show unthriftiness.

With the "lower form", infected turkeys develop airsacculitis. As with chickens, birds can show no outward signs if the infection is uncomplicated. Thus, the condition may go unnoticed until the birds are slaughtered and the typical legions are seen. Birds with airsacculitis are condemned.

MG in chicken embryos can cause dwarfing, airsacculitis, and death.

Transmission: MG can be spread to offspring through the egg. Most commercial breeding flocks, however, are MG-free. Introduction of infected replacement birds can introduce the disease to MG-negative flocks. MG can also be spread by using MG-contaminated equipment.

Treatment : Outbreaks of MG can be controlled with the use of antibiotics. Erythromycin, tylosin, spectinomycin, and lincomycin all exhibit anti-mycoplasma activity and have given good results. Administration of most of these antibiotics can be by feed, water or injection. These are effective in reducing clinical disease. However, birds remain carriers for life.

Prevention: Eradication is the best control of mycoplasma disease. The National Poultry Improvement Plan monitors all participating chicken and turkey breeder flocks.

 

[wjallen05]

Now that is some bad luck.

yeah and it's worse than that. My dog (Border Collie!) killed my daughter's favorite chicken from the group of chicks we raised up. I think she just got too excited playing with her, and she ripped all of her feathers off, it was aweful. A few weeks later, she went after the rooster, who in turn went after her, and injured her eye in which she is now blind in. She hasn't messed with a chicken since then. Anyway, and then a couple went dissapearing, I think it was our resident hawk. We got 5 more, one ran away into the woods and we never did catch it, 2 died from heat, my cat got ahold of one, and the last one made it a couple of months before the dogs got ahold of her and our other 4 or so. So then I got 10 more, and one of them had MG and infected the rest of them.

I figure if something happens to these new chicks, I'm just not meant to have chickens.