Mycoplasma and management - Advice, experience please!

[gmjarvi]

I am very interested in this question as well, but I've honestly been afraid to ask it because there are a lot of people here who have very strong feelings about it.

But hypothetically if you had MG/MS and culled everything and cleaned up everything and started fresh with MG/MS-free birds, a wild bird could literally just give it right back to them, so what's the point?

AND since symptoms can never show up, even quarantining a new bird for 30 days doesnt guarantee you arent just bringing it right back in.

Also how do you do biosecurity and free range?

Yeah, I was a little scared to ask, too, for the same reason. But I'm also glad I asked.

For biosecurity and free ranging, I think that depends on how close neighboring flocks are maybe? We are on 15 acres, and our birds don't wander super far, so I'm not super worried about infection from outside poultry flocks (right now) except for if my nieces come over, as they have chickens of their own and LOVE to interact with my chickens. I think biosecurity protocols are typically more about controlling human behavior, but I do worry about wild birds, as they can live for a long time with chronic illness, just like chickens can. I'd be very interested to know what the infection rate is in wild birds, and the transfer rate from wild birds to poultry flocks. Sounds like a PhD dissertation topic lol .

 

[dawg53]

My point was just that perfect biosecurity is impossible and a negative MG/MS is only valid for the second it's taken because no one can know what happened after that.

Did you not introduce birds from different sources, it all started from the local chicken lady. That's the break down in biosecurity.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

If wild birds get mg it's because of people with sick birds roaming around their yards wild birds don't get mg to chickens it's other people's sick birds that do and birds that are sick they won't be laying so it's a waste of feed for a few eggs when symptoms go away for a time being until stressed again I've gotta a lav oro roo from someone came home opened the box seen hit gasping and bubbly eyes...culled it minutes later because they were to pansy to cull it so they tried dumping it off on someone else now I will never take people's sick birds I will only buy from a hatchery as people don't sell laying healthy birds they dump off their sick and or old birds. I've caught allot of wild birds before and had them tested not one came back with having mg

 

[gmjarvi]

Not every wild bird that flies onto your property has MG. Does every stray dog or cat that you come across have rabies? Of course not. How long do you think a wild bird would live with MG?

I recently found out that some chicken owners pump their show birds full of antibiotics prior to taking them to a bird show. I never knew that. I dont go to bird shows anyway.

When you acquire new chickens and put them in quarantine, I guarantee you they are stressed. They are stressed from the move, and stressed being put in a cage or unrecognizable pen and surroundings. THAT stress alone will bring out respiratory disease symptoms.

It's a great point that not every wild bird is carrying MG or other chronic illnesses that are communicable to chickens, but wild birds can and do live a long time with chronic illnesses and are often loaded with parasites to boot. We have wild turkeys that roam the powerline right-of-way that slices through my property, and while they rarely venture close to where the chickens like to free range, they certainly could if they wanted to. I think it's a risk worth being aware of and taking into consideration. Maybe it warrants further study by those that study pathology in birds. I was setting myself up for a master's thesis on avian malaria, but this also seems very interesting and worth exploring...

 

[gmjarvi]

If wild birds get mg it's because of people with sick birds roaming around their yards wild birds don't get mg to chickens it's other people's sick birds that do and birds that are sick they won't be laying so it's a waste of feed for a few eggs when symptoms go away for a time being until stressed again I've gotta a lav oro roo from someone came home opened the box seen hit gasping and bubbly eyes...culled it minutes later because they were to pansy to cull it so they tried dumping it off on someone else now I will never take people's sick birds I will only buy from a hatchery as people don't sell laying healthy birds they dump off their sick and or old birds. I've caught allot of wild birds before and had them tested not one came back with having mg

I'm curious as to where you read that MG cannot be passed from wild birds to chickens? I've not read that anywhere. It's also worth noting that lab tests for MG performed on species that aren't the normal species tested may not produce reliable results. At least, that's what my state extension lab says, and I trust their educated opinion.

 

[ackie]

My point is simply that I'm unsure how you can say your birds without a doubt do not have MG/MS. Since a negative test on ONE bird doesnt mean your flock in general doesn't have it. So practically, how do you handle this?

I'm curious as to where you read that MG cannot be passed from wild birds to chickens?

I suspect they are trying to say that the MG/MS started with a chicken in a backyard flock. But that doesn't mean you cant have chicken A give it to wild bird B give it to chicken C.
(edited)

 

[dawg53]

I agree about the parasites. Chickens are more susceptible picking up parasites from wild birds.
As far as the wild turkey's go...tomorrow is Thanksgiving, meat on the table! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[gmjarvi]

I recently found out that some chicken owners pump their show birds full of antibiotics prior to taking them to a bird show. I never knew that. I dont go to bird shows anyway.

That made my eyes widen maybe I'm a little bit of a hippie, but the use of antibiotics without an infection present makes me squirm! We don't typically go to poultry shows, and our fair was canceled this year, but 4H is something I am interested in for my son when he's the right age. Several years down the road yet. I'm doubting 4H kids pump their birds full of antibiotics, but I guess ya never know!!! The parents could be doing it

 

[ackie]

That made my eyes widen maybe I'm a little bit of a hippie, but the use of antibiotics without an infection present makes me squirm! We don't typically go to poultry shows, and our fair was canceled this year, but 4H is something I am interested in for my son when he's the right age. Several years down the road yet. I'm doubting 4H kids pump their birds full of antibiotics, but I guess ya never know!!! The parents could be doing it

I dont know the demographic of 4H at all, but if its primarily middle class or lower, I doubt they have an avian vet writing them copious antibiotic scripts.

 

[gmjarvi]

My point is simply that I'm unsure how you can say your birds without a doubt do not have MG/MS. Since a negative test on ONE bird doesnt mean your flock in general doesn't have it. So practically, how do you handle this?


I suspect they are trying to say that the MG/MS started with a chicken in a backyard flock. But that doesn't mean you cant have chicken A give it to wild bird B give it to chicken C.
(edited)

I think this is part of my hang up. Without regular flock testing, how can you be sure that it's not present? In my mind it would make sense to test all or a mathematically significant portion of the flock rather than just one.

NPIP testing varies by state, and I'm pretty sure in my state the only /required/ test is for pullorum... I could be confused, though. So how do we know about the safety of breeder flocks without super transparency on the part of the flock owner? I've even heard that some major hatcheries aren't MG/MS free even though they have to be NPIP certified.

As for the origin of MG, I'm not sure that's relevant at this point in poultry history lol, and I think you might agree. I was curious if that poster had any source saying that MG can't be spread from wild birds to chickens, which flies in the face of what I've read about MG. I thought their implication was that only chickens can spread MG to wild birds and not the other way around.