MG Certified hatcheries/breeders?

[X2Farm]

Quote:
That was another issue I had thought about, actually.

I don't know about how that all works, but if there are birds out there that are carriers, and never show symptoms or are never tested, how is there a way to control spread of such an awful disease?

 

[pips&peeps]

Several years ago I was told by Andrew Rohrer, the head of the National NPIP program that he estimted that about 95% of backyard flocks in the US have MS, MG or both.

 

[seminolewind]

Sounds like Marek's carriers, with that high a number!

 

[X2Farm]

pips&peeps :

Several years ago I was told by Andrew Rohrer, the head of the National NPIP program that he estimted that about 95% of backyard flocks in the US have MS, MG or both.

So then, really, when its talked about and ranted about to cull for illnesses and such, when it really seems to be such a significant problem?


My intentions for culling was being that I have been trying to work on preserving "Heritage" breeds and if MG was in my flock, I would in effect be contaminating someone elses by offering hatching eggs or live birds.

DO I basically have to resign myself to the fact that its a hopeless issue and I just culled all these birds for no reason?​

 

[RhodeRunner]

Quote:
So then, really, when its talked about and ranted about to cull for illnesses and such, when it really seems to be such a significant problem?


My intentions for culling was being that I have been trying to work on preserving "Heritage" breeds and if MG was in my flock, I would in effect be contaminating someone elses by offering hatching eggs or live birds.

DO I basically have to resign myself to the fact that its a hopeless issue and I just culled all these birds for no reason?

After speaking with a vet from the Department of Agriculture I was told that Mg is a bacteria in the dirt. All flocks that have access to dirt are considered expossed/infected.

Disease is a constant battle. No breeder has a safe flock, even if they have a NPIP or Mg certification. There are two types of breeders. One medicates their infected fowl, and the other kills them.

I choose to kill mine. In my opinion a breeder doesn't just breed to a Standard of Perfection. They need to breed for health, temperament, and purpose too. Birds that pick up diseases are weak, and I don’t want them in my breeding program, or on my property risking other bird's health. Sure, Mg is never going to go away, and neither will hurricanes, murder, and taxes. Does that mean we should give up?

 

[cmfarm]

Quote:
From what I've read 10% of eggs from infected birds can pass the disease to their offspring. This number lowers the longer they are symptom free. For pullets that become infected before they reach egg laying age have a less than 1% chance of passing it off to their offspring.

 

[GreenMeadows]

Last week I had testing for NPIP-AI and asked them to check for MG,IB and ILT -ontop of the NPIP testing I would have to pay 39.99 per 5 birds tested. We had mouth swabs and blood samples. So if I have 200 birds its going to kill me! Sad but thats how some states work it. I did have some necropsys done a few weeks ago and I asked for them to be checked at the time(dead birds) they did and they were clean. I vaccinate for ILT,MG and IB but you just never know. I have dealt with Georgia to Washington and all the state vets I have talked to say almost all backyard flocks have MG. When we went to shows my friend who is a state vet who checks show birds did tests at the last show and they were trying to find out who was clean and not.(they were not pointing fingers but trying to get numbers) He said dont bother because 1 out of 50 birds tested positive for ILT and 3 of 50 IB and 90% for MG. Pretty sad but this is what we are all dealing with. It is what it is!

 

[pips&peeps]

Just wanted to add that not only do wild birds carry mycoplasma, but so do rodents.

GreenMeadows, your comment also tells me that the current system used for testing MG is not very accurate. If you vaccinate for MG, then the birds should come up positive for MG. So, the test used only indicates if a current infection is taking place, not if the bird would be a carrier.

Also be careful when you vaccinate for MG, it can make your pollurum testing come up with false positives.

 

[GreenMeadows]

You are correct! They will be positive. I have been vaccinating for 6 months now and before the tests were ran I had no idea on how it worked. The birds that were necropsed were not yet vaccinated for MG but did not test positive either. When the state vet was out he suggested testing for IB,MG and ILT and then they called and told me not to bother with MG because I vaccinate all birds now around 5 weeks and up. The price to test is so much and sad but if you test positive for ILT you are monitored and can not show for a year and you cant sell either(in some states). I can see where people do not want to know because it shuts them down. Personally I wanted to know because I would feel like poo if I gave something to someone. I figure you had better sell your birds at the show because they will probably come home with something.

pips&peeps :

Just wanted to add that not only do wild birds carry mycoplasma, but so do rodents.

GreenMeadows, your comment also tells me that the current system used for testing MG is not very accurate. If you vaccinate for MG, then the birds should come up positive for MG. So, the test used only indicates if a current infection is taking place, not if the bird would be a carrier.

Also be careful when you vaccinate for MG, it can make your pollurum testing come up with false positives.​

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

pips&peeps :

Quote:
No, that is not correct:

(c) U.S. M. Gallisepticum Clean. (1) A
flock maintained in compliance with
the provisions of § 147.26 of this chapter
and in which freedom from M.
gallisepticum has been demonstrated
under the criteria specified in paragraph
(c)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section.
(i) It is a flock in which all birds or
a sample of at least 300 birds has been
tested for M. gallisepticum as provided
in § 145.14(b) when more than 4 months
of age: Provided, That to retain this
classification, a minimum of 150 birds
shall be tested at intervals of not more
than 90 days: And provided further, That
a sample comprised of less than 150
birds may be tested at any one time, if
all pens are equally represented and a
total of 150 birds is tested within each
90-day period; or
(ii) It is a multiplier breeding flock
which originated as U.S. M.
Gallisepticum Clean chicks from primary
breeding flocks and from which a
sample comprised of a minimum of 150
birds per flock has been tested for M.
gallisepticum as provided in § 145.14(b)
when more than 4 months of age: Provided,
That to retain this classification,
the flock shall be subjected to one
of the following procedures:
(A) At intervals of not more than 90
days, 75 birds from the flock shall be
tested, Provided, that fewer than 75
birds from the flock may be tested at
any one time if all pens are equally
represented and a total of at least 75
birds from the flock is tested within
each 90-day period; or
(B) At intervals of not more than 30
days, a sample of 25 cull chicks produced
from the flock shall be subjected
to laboratory procedures acceptable to
the Official State Agency and approved
by the Service, for the detection and
recovery of M. gallisepticum; or
(C) At intervals of not more than 30
days, egg yolk testing shall be conducted
in accordance with § 147.8 of this
chapter.
(2) A participant handling U.S. M.
Gallisepticum Clean products shall
keep these products separate from
other products in a manner satisfactory
to the Official State Agency: Provided,
That U.S. M. Gallisepticum
Clean chicks from primary breeding
flocks shall be produced in incubators
and hatchers in which only eggs from
flocks qualified under paragraph
(c)(1)(i) of this section are set.
(3) U.S. M. Gallisepticum Clean
chicks shall be boxed in clean boxes
and delivered in trucks that have been
cleaned and disinfected as described in
§ 147.24(a) of this chapter.


Now yall know why no one does it. This isn't free either, they charge for each blood sample every time you have the test done, and it's pointless. As some of the Post above go on to say, MG is present everywhere and can pop up at any time in your flock. No one is free from being exposed. This is why no one goes to the expense of having constant state monitoring of their flocks. Even with all that, there's no way of knowing it wont pop up the day after the last test in a wild bird or a new flock bird, or from your feed store, or you went to the auction this weekend, didnt buy nothing, but you may have brought home something you didnt know about... There's just too many ways to get it at any given time.

On the egg thing... I have never once heard of egg dipping as a cure for the eggs layed by infected hens. How is that supposed to kill the MG when it's inside the egg? All internal parts of the egg will have the bacteria too not just the shell. So I'd like to see some hard facts on that before I say it works. Especially seeing how Tylan doesnt kill MG anyway, nothing does, it has to run it's course. All the meds on the market that " treat " it only help keep the bird free from other illnesses it may contract while it's fighting MG. There's no cure and all recovered birds will remain carriers the rest of their life. Time is the only thing that treats the symptoms... It's very similar to our version of a cold. They make billions on cold meds but we all know there's no cure for it, it just has to run it's course​