MG experience. How did you eradicate it ?

[Chickenfever16]

I have an MG positive flock of 22 hens. Heart breaking. I am planning on rehoming to someone who knows this and is willing to close the flock. In Ontario it is not required to depopulate flocks.
Has anyone been through this and cleaned their property after ? It seems to varied how long people
Recommend to let the property sit chicken free. Any help?? Advice on disinfecting ? From those that have successfully recovered.
Thanks

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Mg can only live off host for 3 days but a few months is better as for cleaning I would use bleach and more bleach and vinegar I wouldn't have rehomed them to make it someone elses problem I would have culled them as even with a clean yard whatever yours got it from like a wild bird they will get it again esp if they were free ranged

 

[Eggcessive]

MG can be very common in backyard flocks and in wild birds. Some people cull birds, but if it came from wild birds in your area, you might get it again. I would close the flock to new birds or to birds leaving the flock. MG dies on equipment within 3 days. Other diseases such as ILT, can linger a bit longer, especially in frozen droppings. Routine cleaning after birds have gone is all that is necessary. I would separate sick birds, perhaps try some Tylan (tylan) to treat symptoms, and place them back in the flock when healthy again. If you cull sick birds, you could get a necropsy to confirm the diagnosis. MG can come back if birds become stressed, but some birds may be more resistant to it.

 

[Chickenfever16]

MG can be very common in backyard flocks and in wild birds. Some people cull birds, but if it came from wild birds in your area, you might get it again. I would close the flock to new birds or to birds leaving the flock. MG dies on equipment within 3 days. Other diseases such as ILT, can linger a bit longer, especially in frozen droppings. Routine cleaning after birds have gone is all that is necessary. I would separate sick birds, perhaps try some Tylan (tylan) to treat symptoms, and place them back in the flock when healthy again. If you cull sick birds, you could get a necropsy to confirm the diagnosis. MG can come back if birds become stressed, but some birds may be more resistant to it.

I did get a necropsy done after birds kept sneezing chronically and was confirmed MG. in Ontario it is not mandated that birds be depopulated. I know my source wasn't the local wild birds but from a man who sold me birds off Kijiji (totally my fault). They got
Sick within weeks of integrating. My idea of isolating them was incorrect (I'm a newbie with chickens) and they still had contact through fencing. I had no idea how insane MG is and transmittable. It's been an awful learning lesson.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am really sorry about your birds. Many people have gone through the same learning experience. But it is not the end of the world with your chickens unless you were planning on breeding or seeling birds. You could enjoy these birds for eggs they lay, unless they are too sick for that. Many people would close the flock, and try to keep the flock as healthy as possible by using something like tiamulin (Denagard) to treat and prevent further outbreaks. There are many threads by others on BY and elsewhere about using this antibiotic that specifically treats MG.

 

[Chickenfever16]

I am really sorry about your birds. Many people have gone through the same learning experience. But it is not the end of the world with your chickens unless you were planning on breeding or seeling birds. You could enjoy these birds for eggs they lay, unless they are too sick for that. Many people would close the flock, and try to keep the flock as healthy as possible by using something like tiamulin (Denagard) to treat and prevent further outbreaks. There are many threads by others on BY and elsewhere about using this antibiotic that specifically treats MG.

Thank you. Yes. I am considering keeping the flock closed and enjoying the eggs which I have been doing for the past year. I have
Been told by specialists and when you do thorough research on MG, there is no anitiobiotic that cures it. It lays dormant. Antibiotics only cure the symptoms the bird is experiencing. Once they have exposure, they are carriers for life.

 

[Kiki]

Thank you. Yes. I am considering keeping the flock closed and enjoying the eggs which I have been doing for the past year. I have
Been told by specialists and when you do thorough research on MG, there is no anitiobiotic that cures it. It lays dormant. Antibiotics only cure the symptoms the bird is experiencing. Once they have exposure, they are carriers for life.

This is true.
Good luck with what ever decision you make, I am sure it is not easy.

 

[BantyChooks]

This is true.
Good luck with what ever decision you make, I am sure it is not easy.

X2

I have suspected MG in my flock. I am choosing to breed for resistance.

Also, the course of action largely depends on what strain you've got. The particular one I think I have causes a slight runny nose in juvies and nothing else. No production drop. So, in my case, culling would be foolish since it came to my flock from the neighbour's birds. New birds would get it again.

 

[MaryZoe]

I too bought adult hens, didn't quarantine fully enough, and ended up with MG in my flock. I have spent almost 2 months treating them, first with individual Tylan 50 injections into the most affected, then with all sorts of vitamins and nutrient drenches for all 35 chickens, then finally I treated the entire flock with doxycycline, which was prescribed by my vet (who had a hen tested at a lab, where MG was diagnosed).

My chickens are finally quite healthy again. I know they will be "infected" for life, and that I can never sell a chicken, but my flock is for my own enjoyment. I can still eat (and even sell) their eggs. So why not?

Don't be too discouraged. If you do not intend to sell your chickens, you can do fine even with a "closed" flock. I may not buy baby chicks for a while, but when one of my ladies goes broody, I fully intend to allow her to hatch out her chicks. If one of them shows signs of MG, I will treat it on an individual basis. I have no intention of culling my entire beautiful flock of chickens.

But neither will I sell or trade any to possibly spread this miserable bacteria!
I honestly suspect that MANY other chicken flocks I've seen carry MG. I have heard the rattling breathing and sneezing at several causal keepers and breeders I've visited, but they tend to ignore it. I, on the other hand, start treating my flock at the very first sneeze or wheeze. I suspect that many people prefer to ignore it than face the consequences.

What have others experienced?