Help with ms positive flock

[west1]

Okay. . . I know this is a repetitive thread here. I've read them all and still have a few questions, hopefully I can get some help. I recently acquired some chicks to add with my flock of 6. They were sneezing and on duramycin when purchased. Had I have been more knowledged in keeping chickens this would have been a red flag. However they seemed fine and receptive to the duramycin. Let them free range when the weather was nice. Then I purchased more chicks from same breeder. Joined a Facebook site and found there was someone else who had purchased chicks and they were all sick. During this time I did research and figured it was mg. Got a message that the chick the other lady sent off was ms positive. Well I have had to cull 4 of 8 chicks from the first purchase. And I have 11 in the house that I'm treating with duramycin. I have ordered denaguard. Should be here tomorrow. My question is do I treat the little ones in the house with denaguard after the duramycin. Or stop and start denaguard. I will be treating the older chicks ASAP. One had bubble eye. The other three couldn't stand / walked funny, but no respiratory problems (that I was aware of) they have All been culled. The remaining 4 seem okay???????? I realize that I should cull all, but don't have the heart to do it. So before it's mentioned, I will have a closed flock until all have passed. Thank you, Melissa west

 

[TwoCrows]

Are you sure they have MS? MS can cause lots of ailments including respiratory issues, but mainly it causes swelling in the foot joints and hocks. It also causes lots of liver infections. But it can cause some runny noses and sneezing. I have never heard of bubbly eyes with MS. (My flock has MS) Bubbly eyes would come from having MG or Coryza, 2 other nasty bacterial infections that they carry for life. MS as well...carriers for life.

Duramycin will work well with MG. MS will need the Denagard. The Dura is useless for MS. Dura is great for most respiratory issues. If you think they have MS, stop with the Dura when the Denagard comes in and use it. If you think they have MG, then use the Duramycin.

Good luck with these babies. Keep us posted on how things go.

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh, and if you need some mental support for yourself to get through this MS outbreak, LOL, I can help you through it. Took me 8 months of meds, surgeries on feet to drain the leg tendon sheaths, 50 miles of vet wrap, and a lot of courage to get my flock healthy again. Nearly killed me. LOL But they all survived.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about all the problems you are having with the chicks. TwoCrows gave you good advice about the medications. You could also have more than one illness in the flock unfortunately, if chicks from the same source are testing positive for ms (that wasn't a typo?) would think you would be best off treating for both problems at this point... any chance you could get one of yours tested?

 

[TwoCrows]

Kelsie is right here. I would get them tested before you assume they do have MS or MG. Chicks can stumble and have walking problems a lot, many times from simple vitamin deficiencies or genetic issues. Dry sneezing is very common in babies from all the dander they produce. You don't want to medicate if you don't have to. It is hard on the kidneys of small babies.

 

[west1]

So I would have to give a chick to find out, like a sacrifice? I'm in ga close to the uga. I've never done this before but I imagine I could figure out how to get it tested.
The sneezing of the chicks in the house was wet, now it's dry. No more rattling/clicking in the chest. The old chicks. . . Trust me it was not a stumble. They are 8 weeks old and it seemed to attack the right leg first?? It was not normal by any means.
There is no stinky/ crusty snot, so I don't think it's coryza. The eye thing was odd, it only happened on one of the eight.
Thank you for the support, this has been a very traumatic experience, almost thought of just giving up. However my husband was supportive on this (think it has more to do with all the money we have spent on chicken coops & chicks) And I feel responsible to do what I can to help these guys, it's amazing how easy it is to get attached to them :-/

 

[TwoCrows]

No sacrifices. LOL Some vets will take a blood sample and test for MS, MG and anything else it might be.

I know how you feel. My first batch of chicks, some had AE, a nasty brain swelling which can and does kill chicks. I was devistated. I had never kept chickens before and here I have all these sick babies that may not survive. I did get them thru it with lots of supportive care, but it really freaked me out! LOL I was so ready to throw in the towel as well. But it got better. You learn a whole lot when they are sick.

If they seem to be improving on the antibiotics, then continue with them. MS usually strikes the left foot first. (the birds left foot). I never saw it in my birds right feet. But I am only going on my flock, and this is what my vet told me about MS. I had blood taken and was informed how difficult it was going to be to treat them. Since yours are babies, if they do have MS, you can't do surgeries on the foot pads to drain the fluid. I don't know how badly your babies have it, but my girls were getting pretty lame until I learned how to drain the fluid from the pads. (the fluid builds up in the leg sheaths and drains into the pad) If I were you, I would difinitely seek the advice of a vet if they do have MS. An avian or poultry vet. This is not a simple thing to treat, the run of antibiotics can be months long, and hard on the birds. You will see liver infections, anorexia, lameness, blue combs, all sorts of nasty things. I don't regret not putting all these birds down, as I learned far more about chickens than I could EVER have. But I don't know if I would go through it again.

Call around and see if you can find a poultry or avian vet that will work with you. And I know how hard this sounds, but if they do have MS, you might consider putting them all down and starting over.

 

[sourland]

Good luck at identifying and resolving the health issues with your birds. Great advice has been provided.

 

[west1]

There is a vet that goes to our church. I'll call her tomorrow. I know she has chickens that she has rescued. But avian is not her specialty by any means. If she could just do the blood then that would be a start.
I had bought a rooster from this same breeder, and introduced him to my 4 girls. So I'm sure my whole flock has it. They are not showing any signs of mg or ms. Yet. Would it be okay to do the monthly preventative on them for the ms? If the blood work is not to pricey then I'll get them tested too. This whole thing is so frustrating! It really has made me sick. Worst of all. . . Before all this I placed an order with Murray mcmurray. They will not be here till April 7. I have thought about culling all and starting over. But I just can't do that to my older hens. This was why I'm trying to find something that will keep this manageable. I've read where it's possible on this site, so at least there is some hope. That doesn't make watching my chicks get sick and being culled any better. I know it makes my husband up set doing it as well. It's sad to cry over a chick. But I just can't help it.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC.

Glad you joined us!