My experience dealing with MG (Mycoplasma gallispectum)

[gumpsgirl]

I am so sorry and heartbroken for you too.

I will tell you however, you are absolutely making the correct decision here and my hats off to you for being responsible. Especially with making such a tough decision as this. I also commend you for educating yourself about the disease so you know what the repercussions of not culling your flock would be. You are a very responsible flock owner and for that alone, I commend you. There are many people/flock owners out there that know their flock has or has had MG and don't do anything other than treat them, then sell their eggs and birds.

Did the state vet tell you that you will need to let your coop and grounds stand empty for at least three months? You will also need to get some Oxine to disinfect everything. I bought a chemical sprayer (like what you would put weed spray in) and spray my coops down regularly with the Oxine now.

My heart truly goes out to you as I've had to deal with the prospect of culling my entire flock last year when I brought home a chick that had/was carrying Infectious Coryza. I worked closely with the head poultry vet from VA Tech and didn't end up having to cull everyone. I had to cull a lot, but not all. After a lot of work and culling on my part, my flock is now healthy again and absolutely closed to another bird every entering it.

When it comes time to start your flock again please contact me. I'd be more than happy to send you some eggs free of charge.

 

[Muzzie]

How heartbreaking I'm so sorry you had this happen to you. Thanks for sharing your story with the rest of us you may have saved many other birds. Sometimes the right decision is the hardest to make I admire your courage. Great big hugs to you.

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:
I didn't really question why it is the way it is, it doesn't really make sense to me either, but it's been researched and proven, so I just accepted it. It's easy to kill when it's outside the body, so Courtney was telling me it will be easy to clean my coop of MG.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Not to go off topic but this is a thread that will be a good reference
for many in the future.

I know where my MG came from. The same infected flock has Mareks in it. The flock owner knows. I don't think the owner understands the
severity of the situation and seems to be a nice person. Technically I broke
the law by buying a bird from this person and transporting it into CT.
What is one supposed to do?

Again I will say in my case the bird I bought had visible signs when I
picked her up. I just said to myself "No big deal, just a cold". I consider
myself an educated chicken person but still did something
that STUPID.

Reading this thread has made me more convinced it's time to cull. The
thought of letting my pet hens be coned at a processor is too crazy for
me which means only I can be the one to cull so I know they will have
an easy passing.

The thought of me inadvertantly infecting any of my friends flocks is
even worse.



Southernbelle if you were closer we could do this together and cry on
each other's shoulders.

 

[emmalynn]

I am so sorry for what you are going thru.

Does anyone know who to contact to get MG testing done?

 

[jenjscott]

I know one of the Doctors who taught at the npip class in Arkansas was almost nonchalant about Pullorum, stating that MG was what we needed to be more concerned with. While it doesn't wipe out 80 percent of a flock, like pullorum used to do, its economic effects in loss of production are far reaching.

" Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a major pathogen of poultry species world-wide. MG is the etiologic agent of chronic respiratory disease in chickens and infectious sinusitis in turkeys and has been described as the most economically significant Mycoplasma species affecting poultry. In the U.S. alone, annual losses attributed to MG exceed $100 million. " - USDA Agricultural Research Service

"Mycoplasma gallisepticum, one of the so-called pleuropneumonis like organisms causes disease in poultry. It kills chicks and poults and results in poor feed conbersion, high condemnations, lowered egg production, and high drug costs. Economic losses can be severe in infected flocks; therefore, the ultimate goal of the poultry industry should be to eradicate this Mycoplasma from poultry." - North Carolina State University at Raleigh

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:
Thank you, Gumpsgirl

I thought I'd heard someone mentioned you had to do something like this once. I ordered Oxine online - when I was researching, it seems it was reccommended over and over, so I got some. The state vet and the research papers I've read reccommended letting it sit empty 2 weeks after disinfecting. It'll take me 3 weeks to incubate eggs and I'll raise them inside for a few weeks, so it will probably be at least 2 months before I get birds back out there. I already had eggs coming to me in the mail when I found out about this, so I'm trying to have everything taken care of and sanitized while these are incubating, so that I can start rebuilding immediately. I would gratefully accept any offers of hatching eggs. BYC has the best people.

 

[jenjscott]

In Arkansas you contact the Livestock and Poultry Commission and you can take a blood sample to one of two state labs to have it tested.

 

[cluckychick]

I applaude you on your dicision making. I can't imagine how hard this is for you and I'm sorry you are going through this.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
I have to find some solace in the above post. When I first starting reading this thread I was horrified, like a common human disease, from what I am reading on how the disease spreads we would ALL need to cull our flocks.

Consider that NOT just started and adult birds can bring this in, but also hatching eggs. Show Quality birds due to the constant lack of bio security at shows would be a sure thing to be carriers. One note so many people put down the quality of large hatchery birds need to take a second look. And it is not just the listed disease, flu viruses that started from avian can re mutate and infect your flock and would make your birds carriers.

I would bet that if we all had our flocks tested MOST of us would find it. Not being insulting just basing it on what I have read. My birds are healthy but what I have read has scared the H*** out of me. To be safe you would have to grow and make your own feed, NEVER bring in a bird unless it is from a tested hatchery, never hatch any eggs unless from a tested hatchery, never go to or participate in any bird sale, swap, or show, basically never leave your home or farm. Even the mail man would have to leave the mail in the road and you would have to disinfect it before touching.

Sorry but this thread has my head spinning and not much these days has done that, not even the infamous Swine Bird Flu.