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hunthaven
Songster
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The fowl pox vaccine should be given when the chicks are at least 8 weeks old and 4 weeks before laying. As far as the Mareks vaccine, I’m not sure. For some reason I thought it was supposed to be given when newly hatched, before being exposed to anything, but I could be wrong.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.
http://www.vetdna.com/test-type/avian-bird
You can send away for your own labs. Most take a few drops of blood or a sterile swab.
The lab was friendly and helpful when I called.
My FB friends keep telling me, "Gee, my friends raise chickens, they never do anything special, and their chickens are fine!"
This is were I disagree. I find it rude to assume OP birds were “$2 at most” first off. Depending on what kind of bird and where they were obtained even day old chicks could easily cost more then that.Theres no cure for mg, meds only hide the symptoms when shown. If it was me personally Id cull and start over not worth all the meds etc for a $2 bird at most when they will always be carriers anyways
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/