Ideal MG discussion

[chickenlittle32]

My flock has something...I am not sure as to what exactly it is. I have already treated them with duramycin..and it did nothing for them. I was advised to use Tylan to treat them to see if it helps. To get them checked out, it would cost me $150 and a trip that we can't honestly take right now. (school is starting very soon and have to get supplies/uniforms)

Anyway, we saw some pics online to know what it somewhat looks like and DH looked inside the chicks that died. We didn't see anything that looked questionable. All organs looked healthy no dark spots..etc..Can anyone honestly help me try to figure this out?

 

[hinkjc]

You need to contact your state ag dept or state vet and have them take a bird for testing. That is the only way to know what you're dealing with. Most do the testing free of charge and will advise on what you need to do.

 

[chickenlittle32]

I called the state ag dept. That's who wants to charge me the $150. They told me I'd have to bring in 3 birds for them to euthanize and then do the testing.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Find out who does NPIP testing for the state. They are usually cheap and subsidized.

In CT a necropsy is $90 BUT if it's a disease control issue than the state picks up the tab.

MG is just a simple blood test.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Great!

Who did the testing for you?

The University of Kentucky is in my town, and they have a livestock diagnostic lab. It's only $10 for a bird to have a swab test or a necropsy! The doctors are disease experts. We have a multimillion dollar horse industry here, so I think that's a big part of the diagnostic place.

I had the hen tested because she had horrible chest congestion, I was freaking out! But it turned out that she had some form of pneumonia and the doctor said it could be attributed to a weak bird and not a flock issue.

MG is done with blood, not a swab. Did they tell you they tested for MG/MS?

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
I will be making a call to MD DOA on Monday to obtain a report under the freedom of information act if this report exists. If there is one I will post it, if not Ideal deserves a BIG apology!

I contacted the Texas Department of Agriculture Friday, but they said they don't regulate poultry, that the Texas Department of State Health Services does. I'll be contacting them tomorrow. Seems to me Texas would know more about the issue than MD would, seeings as how Ideal is in Texas.

I have 25 Dark Cornish chicks shipping on Wednesday, so I would like to know one way or the other. In any case, these chicks go straight into the brooder and from there into their own tractor. They won't have contact with other members of my flock for months, if ever.

Lacking definite information from Texas regulatory agencies, I'm inclined to give Ideal the benefit of the doubt. Being a storyteller, I'm very well aware of the power of folklore and how quickly an urban legend can develop.

Till then this is just unsubstantiated gossip, which would be as good a reason as any for forum management to pull a post or thread.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
I will be making a call to MD DOA on Monday to obtain a report under the freedom of information act if this report exists. If there is one I will post it, if not Ideal deserves a BIG apology!

I contacted the Texas Department of Agriculture Friday, but they said they don't regulate poultry, that the Texas Department of State Health Services does. I'll be contacting them tomorrow. Seems to me Texas would know more about the issue than MD would, seeings as how Ideal is in Texas.

I have 25 Dark Cornish chicks shipping on Wednesday, so I would like to know one way or the other. In any case, these chicks go straight into the brooder and from there into their own tractor. They won't have contact with other members of my flock for months, if ever.

Lacking definite information from Texas regulatory agencies, I'm inclined to give Ideal the benefit of the doubt. Being a storyteller, I'm very well aware of the power of folklore and how quickly an urban legend can develop.

Till then this is just unsubstantiated gossip, which would be as good a reason as any for forum management to pull a post or thread.

Thanks Buster that saved me calling the wrong place, I will call them after I call MD, I believe Texas is a hour or two behind in time.

 

[Thomas423]

I called Ideal myself on Friday morning and they would not confirm or deny the claim. I do not think that we should spread rumors but I do feel that they should be willing to confirm or deny the claim especially on BYC since many members are also their customers.
Hopefully, by Monday we can have some solid answers.

 

[PurpleChicken]

I believe this thread has been an intelligent discussion on Ideal and MG. We do need to wait for details but we also need to discuss issues like this being that backyardchickens.com is probably the largest group of backyard flock owners in the US.

 

[Centaurheart]

If I were a big commercial hatchery with a steller reputation I'd go to hell and back to make sure my birds were clean and no one was ever shipped sick. I cannot imagine Ideal wouldn't feel the same and do they same. It's their business, their reputation, and there's too much communication about this sort of thing in the world today because of the web to even let someone hint at shipping out sick birds - especially from a big producer like them. Small backyard breeders and those interesting questionable folks at auctions and on craigslist are always suspect.... and for good reason, but these commercial operations absolutely HAVE TO BE CAREFUL. Many chickens from backyard breeders are exceptional birds, far better than hatchery stock if your talking show quality, but you just don't always know who's sick or who isn't so you have to be cautious.

But I think its horrible that people slander great businesses (even inadvertently by repeating rumors) with things they don't know is the actual truth. If you want to know if its true, contact the business and get into it with them! The truth is, any chicken can get sick from just casual contact - even from the guy unpacking the chicks for the first time at their home that just got done caring for their own flocks can expose them. I even have wild crows that interact with my flock when they free range in the yard and probably fly down the rural road and interact with my neighbors flock or who knows where else. I pet my chickens and am in and out of feed stores trodding all over.

It's not impossible to do good biosecurity, but its really hard to keep germs off things, especially ones that survive in the wild fairly easily. We try... we try really hard. But for me half the pleasure of having my birds is watching them range the yard while I'm out there with them.. and there's only so much protection I can give them.

My chickens are mainly pets. I eat the eggs but get a whole lot of pleasure out of chickens being chickens. I let them enjoy life! If I become a serious breeder sometime, then I might have a fully enclosed area and get picky about changing my shoes and cleansing between handling different birds.


Some of my favorite chickens are from Ideal. I will continue doing business with them! In my opinion they are a great hatchery.