Mareks and Mycoplasmosis and quarantine, oh my!

[hunthaven]

Sorry, I feel a bit punchy with all that's gone on. I've lost 6 birds to Marek's in the last ten weeks, and I sent one of the bodies to the state lab for necropsy. Came back positive for Mareks AND and with Mycoplasmosis detected, so now I'm under quarantine.

Fortunately, I had already set up another coop for my baby birds, so they're far away from the affected coop. At this minute, none of my birds--not even the dead bird--was/is showing symptoms for Mycoplasmosis, no respiratory issues at all. The guy from the ag department who came to inspect yesterday suggested that I call my vet to see if she thought putting some antibiotics in their water was a good idea--I called, but she didn't call me back, and I doubt she'll give me an antibiotic if none of them have symptoms.

So--any of you have experience with this? Is there anything I can give them to help them resist symptoms of MG? I know about ACV and garlic. Any other ideas? I have ordered a MG and fowl pox vaccine because we have lots of mosquitos here and I'm weary of losing my birds. :-(

 

[Cragg Klefor]

I am sorry you are going through this!
I would suspect the vet may give the antibiotic as it is really to help keep away any secondary illnesses due to weakened defenses while a bird is a Microplasmosis carrier. It sounds like it would be the best thing to do for them.
Besides that, I would just make sure they get their fill of their proper chicken feed with the odd treat such as cooked egg and plain yoghurt, then I would also give them some extra poultry vitamins through their water (if you can't get antibiotics) to help their already weakened immune systems. Nutri drench or similiar. Best of luck with your situation, it can't be easy! I have no experience with this but hopefully others will be by soon!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry that you have so much going on, but it's good that you found out what you're dealing with.

For the Mycoplasma, you can use Denagard (Tiamulin). I believeit is given 3 days a month for "maintenance". Let's see if @chicknmania has some suggestions for you in managing MG within your flock.

As for the Marek's. The best you can do is also manage symptoms. Fresh food, fresh water, try to keep stress to a minimum.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[chicknmania]

Mycoplasma can manifest itself either as MG (which is the respiratory kind) or MS (which ends up in the Synovial fluid of the joints in the bird and causes swollen joints and feet). Yes, Denagard is an excellent preventative. To use it as a preventative, we put it as the sole source of drinking water, for seven days. I make a stock solution of 8 TBSP of Denagard to 1.5 cups of water, and then mix two TBSP of stock solution to a gallon of drinking water. To that I add 1/2 C Karo syrup, and 1.5 C of fruit juice...apple, white grape, or something similar) that has no added sugar. You have to add flavoring to it, because Denagard is extremely bitter, and they won't drink it if you don't. If you have symptoms in the flock already, you can double the Denagard dose if you think it's necessary, so it would be 4 TBSP of stock solution to 1 gallon of drinking water. But usually, even if there are symptoms, the preventative dose is enough. Denagard can be toxic to chickens, so it's important to mix it correctly. It also works for other poultry. Once MS/ MG has been in the flock, it's probably not ever going to go away. Most birds develop an immunity to it. It is a good idea to always use Denagard as a preventative, every 30 to 60 days. There is no withdrawal period.

For severe cases of MS/ MG, antibiotics may be needed. We currently have an old rooster who developed MS symptoms, probably because he is low on the pecking order and wasn't getting enough of the preventative dose. We have him quarantined and he has responded well to antibiotics, and I expect him to recover. Yes, he may always be a carrier, but MS/ MG is so common and prevalent..it's in the soil and everywhere too...so my experience has been that it is just something we have to watch for, and with using the preventative, it has not been a big problem for us to date.

 

[hunthaven]

Thanks, everyone, for your informative replies! I'll order Denagard ASAP and start doing the preventative dose. No signs of respiratory distress here (yet), and I hope to keep it that way.

Question: I ordered the MG vaccine, thinking I would give it to some younger birds who aren't living in the main coop. But I know that mycoplasmosis can be transmitted through the egg, so some of the babies I hatched could be carriers. Would it hurt them to give them the vaccine? Or would the vaccine simply (in their case) be a wasted effort?

One more question: I also ordered the Fowl pox vaccine because one of my hens has a scab on her comb that hasn't cleared up this past week. I was also thinking of giving that vaccine to the babies, because we have a LOT of mosquitos (live by a creek and lake). Would it be okay to stagger the vaccines by a couple of weeks (week 1: MG vaccine, week 2: fowl pox vaccine, week 4: MG booster, etc.) Anyone else dealt with this?

I have already resigned myself to the fact that since the five birds remaining in my main coop have been exposed to Marek's AND mycoplasmosis, I may lose them before their time. But I want to do the best I can for the six babies I have in another coop a good distance away from the olders.

 

[chicknmania]

I forgot to add that it is important too to do everything possible to keep your flock healthy. Make sure that they are dewormed regularly with a broad spectrum dewormer, and that they have access to dust bath, and some good quality poultry vitamins for them for a while wouldn't hurt, either. Not at the same time as the Denagard, but after you are done treating. Good luck!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Mycoplasma can manifest itself either as MG (which is the respiratory kind) or MS (which ends up in the Synovial fluid of the joints in the bird and causes swollen joints and feet). Yes, Denagard is an excellent preventative. To use it as a preventative, we put it as the sole source of drinking water, for seven days. I make a stock solution of 8 TBSP of Denagard to 1.5 cups of water, and then mix two TBSP of stock solution to a gallon of drinking water. To that I add 1/2 C Karo syrup, and 1.5 C of fruit juice...apple, white grape, or something similar) that has no added sugar. You have to add flavoring to it, because Denagard is extremely bitter, and they won't drink it if you don't. If you have symptoms in the flock already, you can double the Denagard dose if you think it's necessary, so it would be 4 TBSP of stock solution to 1 gallon of drinking water. But usually, even if there are symptoms, the preventative dose is enough. Denagard can be toxic to chickens, so it's important to mix it correctly. It also works for other poultry. Once MS/ MG has been in the flock, it's probably not ever going to go away. Most birds develop an immunity to it. It is a good idea to always use Denagard as a preventative, every 30 to 60 days. There is no withdrawal period.

For severe cases of MS/ MG, antibiotics may be needed. We currently have an old rooster who developed MS symptoms, probably because he is low on the pecking order and wasn't getting enough of the preventative dose. We have him quarantined and he has responded well to antibiotics, and I expect him to recover. Yes, he may always be a carrier, but MS/ MG is so common and prevalent..it's in the soil and everywhere too...so my experience has been that it is just something we have to watch for, and with using the preventative, it has not been a big problem for us to date.

Excellent! Thank you

 

[chicknmania]

Thanks, everyone, for your informative replies! I'll order Denagard ASAP and start doing the preventative dose. No signs of respiratory distress here (yet), and I hope to keep it that way.

Question: I ordered the MG vaccine, thinking I would give it to some younger birds who aren't living in the main coop. But I know that mycoplasmosis can be transmitted through the egg, so some of the babies I hatched could be carriers. Would it hurt them to give them the vaccine? Or would the vaccine simply (in their case) be a wasted effort?

One more question: I also ordered the Fowl pox vaccine because one of my hens has a scab on her comb that hasn't cleared up this past week. I was also thinking of giving that vaccine to the babies, because we have a LOT of mosquitos (live by a creek and lake). Would it be okay to stagger the vaccines by a couple of weeks (week 1: MG vaccine, week 2: fowl pox vaccine, week 4: MG booster, etc.) Anyone else dealt with this?

I have already resigned myself to the fact that since the five birds remaining in my main coop have been exposed to Marek's AND mycoplasmosis, I may lose them before their time. But I want to do the best I can for the six babies I have in another coop a good distance away from the olders.

Some may have different views on this, but I personally avoid vaccines, for the reasons you already mentioned. Your birds will develop immunity to many things, provided they are healthy to begin with. If you've already ordered or received the vaccines, I'm not sure where you would go from here....

 

[hunthaven]

I forgot to add that it is important too to do everything possible to keep your flock healthy. Make sure that they are dewormed regularly with a broad spectrum dewormer, and that they have access to dust bath, and some good quality poultry vitamins for them for a while wouldn't hurt, either. Not at the same time as the Denagard, but after you are done treating. Good luck!

I just dewormed them last month; withdrawal period ends tomorrow. If I can get them past the Marek's--or the immediate threat--I'll do everything I can to keep them healthy.

Three of my birds are laying, and were laying before my first Marek's case presented itself. Since then, all of the birds I lost presented right at the time of laying. I know that's a stressful time, so I get it. But I'm hoping my pre-laying hen (in that coop) and my rooster make it to maturity without showing signs of Mareks. I really HATE that disease.

Thank you for the great info! I printed it out and put it in my chicken file!

 

[Eggcessive]

Mycoplasma is pretty much everywhere, and common in backyard flocks whether carried by wild birds or brought in on affected birds or carriers. Mycoplasma and other opportunistic bacteria or viruses can be found during necropsies of birds with Mareks, simply because Mareks causes poor immunity from low white blood cell counts.

It seems strange that your state agricultural agent came out to inspect, since both Mareks and MG are so common in backyard flocks. It is good in a way, since many don’t realize they have these diseases, and can get educated on how to deal with them. On the other hand, many people here on BYC are afraid to get necropsies or testing for fear of having people show up and try to make them cull their flocks. They have actually posted that. I can see doing that for things like avian influenza and some other things.

I hope your flock gets better, and you can minimize any deaths. But with Mareks in the flock, that is going to be very difficult. Here are a few threads that has some info on Denagard (Tiamulin) :
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/denagard-confusion-please.1141363/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/denagard-dosage.819104/