HELP! I think my girl has Mycoplasmosis gallisepticum and need some advice.

[Bird Me]

I think one of my hens has Mycoplasmosis Gallisepticum. I sent photos of her and a description of symptoms to a local chicken expert and this is the diagnosis I got back. (I would post the photos but for some reason I'm unable to attach them to this thread).

My hen got sick a couple of weeks ago. Symptoms: Runny, goopy eyes with a big swollen lump under the worse eye. On that same worse side, the nostril became extremely swollen with a black crust and oozing mucus. No odor that I have noticed. She became listless and couldn't really see so stopped eating and drinking. No coughing or wheezing. I isolated her and put her on antibiotics in her water and an eye antibiotic gel. She got better in a few days (I fed her the medicated water through a dropper until she could see to drink on her own) and I released her to be with the rest of the flock. Now she is sick again but this time it has been well over a week of her being isolated. I've doubled the dose of antibiotic and continued with the eye gel. She's better but it has been a slow recovery and she still only about 50% better. I was told to cull her for the safety of my other chickens but it sounds from all of the research I've done like they already would have the disease???

I have my chickens only for eggs and as pets. I don't breed. My question is, should I cull the outwardly sick one or if she gets better, keep her because they most all likely have it anyhow??? This has been devastating but I've come to terms with needing to cull her. I just want to make sure I'm making the right call.

Thanks.

 

[dawg53]

Unfortunately you shouldve culled her when you first noticed the symptoms. You then released her into your flock after treatment and possibly exposed your other birds. Antibiotics mask the symptoms, they dont cure the disease. MG will eventually build resistance to the antibiotic you're providing your sick bird. Then you'll have to purchase a more powerful antibiotic ...and so on.
I recommend you cull the bird and watch for symptoms with your other birds in your flock.
Even in commercial operations, depopulation is recommended when dealing with MG, here's a link.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps034

 

[Bird Me]

Thank you for your response. This is what I figured I needed to do but want to make sure before I actually do it :-(

One more question: If my other hens have MG but aren't showing symptoms, is it still OK to eat their eggs?

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, you can still eat the eggs from these chickens. Mycoplasmas are very difficult to treat.

 

[Bird Me]

Thanks.

I also forgot to ask about a time period to wait to consume eggs after I've given my hens an antibiotic in their water. I used L-S 50. Anyone know??

 

[TwoCrows]

LS-50 or Lincomycin/Spectinomycin 50, has an egg withdrawal of only 3 days. Wow, no need to wait ages to eat THESE eggs!

 

[BeckySue]

LS-50 or Lincomycin/Spectinomycin 50, has an egg withdrawal of only 3 days. Wow, no need to wait ages to eat THESE eggs!

This is the first time I have seen someone post an egg withdrawal period for these antibiotics. Might I ask where you got this information? My state vet tells me there is no established egg withdrawal for these antibiotics, but I find that SpecLinx-50 is the best antibiotic for general bacterial infections in my flock. I'm gauging the infection to be bacterial when the bird runs a fever of greater than three degrees fahrenheit for several days.

 

[dawg53]

Quote: Here you go:
http://www.cfo.on.ca/_pdfs/PoultryWithdrawalTimeChart-Mar30-07.pdf

 

[BeckySue]

Here you go:
http://www.cfo.on.ca/_pdfs/PoultryWithdrawalTimeChart-Mar30-07.pdf

Unfortunately, the withdrawal times listed on this chart are for meat only. It is not recommended to use SpecLinx in laying hens, but I'll tell you, this antibiotic combination has saved the lives of two of my girls. The State Vet suggests a 30 day withdrawal for eggs, but says that's her usual recommendation. I'm wondering if there's an issue with too much residue in the eggs, or just that the withdrawal in eggs has never been analyzed.

 

[dawg53]

https://online.zoetis.com/US/EN/Products/Pages/LS_50.aspx
How about no withdrawal? I'd still wait 3 days. If the meat is good to eat in 3 days, so are the eggs.