My experience dealing with MG (Mycoplasma gallispectum)

[luckydux]

Well southernbelle I hope everything is going as planned and I'm curious to find out if you have eradicated mycoplasmas from your property.

 

[ben bouchard]

i got 20 bid they are seek have to call vet tomorow they got bubble noze and water in there eye iwent to get chicken from other place last week maybe there was virus because the guy told me is chicken was died went they were going to other people coop

 

[rockstar]

I have a hen with MG signs. I separated her from the rest of the flock. No other chickens have symptoms. I have tylosin on order, but in the meantime I used an antibiotic I had been prescribed that was not needed on hand. I crushed the med and put it in the hen's drinking water. Three days later her symptoms have almost disappeared. I would like to hear if anyone else has tried something like that.

 

[artsyrobin]

I have a bantam cochin roo and standard cochin hen isolated in the bathroom, finally figured out it was mg, tried all sorts of approaches, natural, tylan etc. Finally saw this thread-

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/392918/anyone-familiar-with-denagard post 46


Quote:



i honestly told them things had to change today, after alot of research came to the conclusion it is MG(Mycoplasma gallispectum) and last nite shifted them to denagard, speciafically for respiratory- it actually was a last ditch effort, 1 T to a gallon of water and honey or sugar added- by the time i started them on it, neither was eating or drinking, so had to use an eyedropper and get it in them that way- by this morning, no obvious change- by noon the greyness to their faces was receding, still giving them the water every hour, captain has begun complaining out it, by three, dora is standing and picking at the food, i will continue the denagard, then once a month they will need boosters of it. Ultimately(as i understand) it will mean a closed flock, i won't ship hatching eggs or birds. It is possible it came in with the wild birds or one of mine was a carrier that i brought in, quite often the illness isn't obvious until they get stressed- but it does mean all my birds have been exposed to it- the only other option is culling, and since these are pets, i don't plan on selling or shipping eggs-

THANKYOU DAWG

 

[HaplessRunner]

One evening my Barred Rock hen, who I've had for well over a year, bumped into the back of my legs when I was feeding the rabbits. I looked at her and she looked a little funny. I picked her up and noticed her face was swollen and her eyes were watery and bubbly – I think she bumped into me because she was having a hard time seeing. No sneezing, coughing, discharge or any other sign of illness; her appetite was normal and she laid an egg that day. I immediately put her in quarantine and started searching everything I could find on swollen face and bubbly eyes. Nothing seemed to fit and it was too late in the day to talk to a vet. The next morning she was perfectly fine, the swelling was gone and her eyes were normal and she wanted out of quarantine. I thought she must've tried to eat a bee or something and I went to set her down with her coopmates and I heard a sneeze. I picked her right back up and put her back in quarantine and called my vet who referred me to the state vet, who happens to be located within 10 miles of me.

The state vet came out for free that afternoon and swabbed throats and took blood on my Barred Rock and 5 other birds in the flock. The vet was very nice and seemed happy to help me, but I got the impression he thought I was one of THOSE people, the ones who call for professional help over every little thing. After all, this bird looked perfectly healthy right then and I only heard her sneeze once. He kept telling me he thought it was nothing, but we may as well be sure.

I got the call yesterday afternoon that it was MG (Mycoplasma gallispectum) also known as CRD (Chronic Respiratory Disease). He told me that MG is common in backyard flocks and the state doesn't have a protocol for dealing with it. The source is a trio of bantams I bought last month. I had quarantined them and they showed no sign of illness, but MG survivors are carriers for life and they infected my birds while showing no signs of it themselves. He said it was especially telling that one of my birds that has never been off my property got sick when the newcomers did not.

UPDATE: I did cull my original flock and accepted hatching eggs from some generous BYCers to start over again. Now, I never bring in started birds and I will never show my birds because poultry diseases are spread too easily. MG is common in wild birds, but I've never seen any signs of it in my current flock.

Karen,

Sadly, I am having a similar experience. In early February, I was searching for a splash ameraucana rooster to pair with my black ameraucana pullet. I found one that a backyard person had acquired from a reputable breeder. In observing his flock near Gainesville, VA, the flock appeared to be healthy and well maintained so I purchased this rooster and his brother. After keeping these roosters in quarantine for 3-4 weeks and not noting any problems, they were transitioned into my flock.

Early this month, I began to note some respiratory problems with my layer flock. I cleaned out the built up manure in the coop and sanitized the area. The brother of the desired rooster began to have problems so he was culled three weeks ago and the remaining acquired rooster was placed in the bachelor pen. Respiratory problems continued to spread and worsen over the last week even while administering meds in the water. I also noticed a new unpleasant smell in the coop.

Yesterday, I drove 2.5 hours to the State Vet lab in Harrisonburg and delivered this rooster and five of my sickest hens for euthanasia and subsequent necropsy. I am waiting on the results of this evaluation to determine what is the cause of this problem and whether my entire layer flock and bachelors pen will require culling. At this point, I am not optimistic of a positive outcome.

Well this afternoon, I got the word from the State vet lab, my chickens were positive for both MG and MS. My chickens were completely healthy prior to the introduction these two birds. As it turns out, these birds had overcome their illnesses but were carriers for MG & MS and would be for life. I will now have to cull my entire flock which includes a BB black ameraucana cockerel, a RV black ameraucana pullet, a BV blue wheaten ameraucana cockerel, a BV wheaten ameraucana pullet and a RV ameraucana cockerel. I will also lose my Swedish flower hens, my entire layer flock, and my bachelor pen. I am hoping that I do not lose my cream legbars as well since they were in a separate pen which was adjacent to the layer flock. But the odds are not with me. I also had to go through my incubators and dispose of all the eggs that had been laid during the exposure period. It is really hard to throw away eggs with active swimmers and those within a week of hatching.

I do appreciate the support that the Virginia Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services has provided. They euthanized, performed necropsies, and paid for some additional laboratory testing at no charge to me.

So it looks like I am starting over as well. Sometimes it feels like that you can do everything right and still suffer horrendous consequences.

All my best to you, Karen.

Tony

 

[HaplessRunner]

Well southernbelle I hope everything is going as planned and I'm curious to find out if you have eradicated mycoplasmas from your property.

According to the State Vet, several repeated cleanings with Clorox/water mix will be sufficient to kill both MG & MS. Since these pathogens do not have a hard outer cell membrane, the Vet indicated that they are very fragile. The vet recommended after multiple cleanings to leave the coop unoccupied for 2-3 weeks. I have read that leaving them vacant a little longer helps. The Vet also indicated that because of their fragility sunlight is sufficient to kill MG and MS.

 

[luckydux]

Sorry for losses...life is always full of lemons