Help with chick

[silkiememaw]

Hello all!

I have 6 silkies that I got from day old. They are now 7 weeks old. One of them showed symptoms of mycoplasmosis at 2 weeks old. I took her to the vet and treated the whole flock with tetracycline. Well, needless to say, they would not drink much of their water with it in. I treated for 5 days. She looked better, but still sneezes and looks short of breath on occasion. She eats/drinks/poops/runs like the rest of them. I just don't know what to do at this point. I know they never get over mycoplasmosis, but wondering if there are any other recommendations on what to do for her? She has no drainage from nostrils or eyes.
Currently they are in their coop and accessing the run. She keeps up with the rest, but I can see her breathing is heavier when she rests. She does calm down after a few minutes.
Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Can you get a video of her breathing? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Did your vet perform testing/you had confirmation of Mycoplasma?

If she currently has no symptoms, is eating/drinking and relatively active, then I would just keep watch on her. Mycoplasma makes birds carriers for life, so there is potential for any of them to become symptomatic again and of course pass the disease along to any new birds introduced. MG also is transmitted into hatching eggs, so chicks can be carriers/symptoms as well.

Some folks do give Denagard (Tiamulan) for 3 days out of each month for "maintenance" to help control symptoms.
A you know, this is not a cure, but it's something to look into if you are worried. Denagard is bitter so adding add fruit juice, corn syrup, or sugar to the mixed water can make it more palatable.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/mycoplasmosis/mycoplasma-gallisepticum-infection-in-poultry

 

[silkiememaw]

I hope this works. She’s the white one. You can see she’s breathing heavy.
Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I hope this works. She’s the white one. You can see she’s breathing heavy.
Thank you!

I see what you mean.
She may not have drunk enough medication, could have a secondary infection or illness like Infectious Bronchitis as well.

If you don't want to re-visit the vet for more medication, this is what I would do. Either order some Tylosin (Tylan) and use that - it's a good antibiotic used to treat Mycoplasma. It's fairly safe to use and there really is only a one day withdrawal period when you use it in poultry.
Dose is 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. I would syringe the mixed solution into her several times a day as well as make that her only source of drinking water - let her drink it too. The biggest problem is actually getting this antibiotic. It seems it's always sold out, but you could get on the email waiting list (link to the product below).

Alternatively, you could use Baytril. Baytril is banned for use in poultry, but some vets will prescribe it and some folks do use it off label. So do some reading up on it or talk to your vet. It is a very effective antibiotic. If you treat her with this and she still is not well (has symptoms) then you are dealing with a virus or she may have some type of damage from the MG, a developmental issue, etc. Dosage for Baytril is 0.05ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 3-5 days or follow instructions on the website. (link for Baytril is below as well)

Since she's young and weak, if possible, I would also take a sample of her poop for testing to make sure that Coccidiosis is not a problem. When a bird is weak other conditions that they would be normally resistant to can take over.

Hope that helps. What a little thing she is.

https://allbirdproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-generic
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10

 

[silkiememaw]

Thank you so much! I got on the wait list... I know they would not drink the tetracycline from the vet as I treated the whole flock. She seems fine otherwise except she’s smaller than the rest. Thank you again and I’ll update soon!

 

[silkiememaw]

I ordered the baytril since the other is out of stock.... do you think I should treat the whole flock?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I ordered the baytril since the other is out of stock.... do you think I should treat the whole flock?

I would only treat those that are symptomatic, not the whole flock.

 

[silkiememaw]

Ok thank you so much!