Mycoplasma Gallisepticum / CRD / Respiratory (gurgling/rales when breathing; no other symptoms)

[Suzierd]

Jeffers livestock also sells a MG vaccine
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/mg-bac/camid/LIV/cp/F7-J8/cn/3501/
But is it the new live vaccine? I don't see where it says. It would be a good idea to talk to the good doctor and make sure you get the right one. It is expensive, to bad you can't get a smaller bottle. But in my opinion worth the money.

 

[RedDrgn]

RedDrgn, I'm assuming you didn't get the test results back yet (and it figures it's a holiday weekend). Yeah, so much for chickens being easy to keep! What makes it more difficult, I think, is that this is my first time raising chicks so I have nothing to compare normal health and development to. I swear some of my chicks look smaller than what they should be (maybe due to the feed having that funky stuff in it?) The chick (a cochin) that had the sneeze for a week has cleared up - no idea if it's due to the second antibiotic or if it was just going to happen anyway. I think the sneezing is totally gone from everyone; I had a third chick that had the sneeze for a few days, but I'm not noticing it anymore.

You like that $100 fee for a consult, huh? My husband would have a stroke if I ever spent that much money on a chicken! Now, if I had a large flock that I had invested a lot of time and money into, it might be worth it, but for my purposes, it's definitely not worth it. My husband is still trying to psychologically recover from the $2000 we've spent on our dog in the last 8 months due to a tick-borne illness and god-knows-what-else is wrong with her! I haven't made any phone calls yet to our local university, but someone who works at TSC gave me the name of someone there who they deal with when they have questions so it's worth a shot.

As for vaccines, the only vaccine they have gotten is for Mareks (got my first batch of chicks from My Pet Chicken). The 3 chicks that I got from the feed store were not vaccinated for Mareks because whoever breeds them (a local breeder, not a hatchery) does not vaccinate them. The chicks that I'm getting next month are also from MPC, and they will also be vaccinated for Mareks (except for the 2 bantams that are in that order; I guess they don't do that vaccine on bantams). You know, that has gotten me to wonder if all of the chickens are not vaccinated for Mareks, is it pointless to vaccinate some of them? Something else to ponder...

I'm also learning quickly that you can ask the same question to 3 different people, and get 3 different answers! No wonder we're going crazy trying to find the "right" answers. The guy that owns the feed store where I bought the 3 chicks (where I think the disease may have originated) tried to tell me that "chickens can get colds like humans"! Ummm, no, I don't think so, buddy. He also told me that when he gets new chickens he automatically adds antibiotics to their water just to "start them off" (whether they're sick or not). WTH?!! I don't think I'll be taking any advice from him. I'm definitely going to have a pair of dedicated coop shoes once my chicks are outside, and I will take all other biosecurity measures if I visit any feed store or someone else's coop.

BTW, I love the pic of Persephone at the vet on the scale! What is her breed, and how did you get her to stay still?

Nope, nothing yet. We called Friday and the admin at the vet said that we'd get results Saturday. We asked if they were sure with it being a holiday weekend and they were like, oh yeah. So when we called Saturday, one of the vet techs answered and they were like "No, the lab isn't open because of the holiday weekend. The sample should've already been run due to hold times on the blood, but no one's called us with a result and they're closed until Tuesday." So today, and hopefully I'll be near a computer and can post the result when it comes in. Its been killing me all weekend. The rest of the flock is still fine and so is Persephone, as far as we can tell. So it's like

.

Peresphone's a welsummer and she didn't move from the scale because she was petrified. My DH said that she didn't try to move at all while at the vet and only occasionally panted with her wings held akimbo like she was overheated. I can't blame her; I'm not too fond on the doc's either.

No, I don't think anyone will vaccinate banties, just because they're so small. As other mentioned, you can find vaccines for sale online, but they're super expensive and some you can't get without a veterinarian license. I don't really know what to say on that.

The guy that recommended medicating chicks just because, though. Oh heck no! And you're right, everyone has a different idea of what should be done and very few of them are even remotely the same as each other. Ugh!

 

[happima]

Hi RedDrgn,

Interestingly, I'm going through a similar situation with my Welsummer right now and she looked just like your bird on that doctor's scale.

We've had rattling, eye foaming, head shaking. After three days of tetracycline in water/food seems pretty cleared. We got our tests this past Saturday, so still have long wait for results.

Question: are you keeping your Welsummer isolated until you get results? My Rosie wants out of the bathroom and back in the chicken yard!

 

[ronott1]

Sorry for the terrible long waits.

Has anyone suggested poison of toxins? Some parts of the country have hemlock growing wild. Chickens will sometimes eat a bit and get sick and then will leave it alone. Could be time and not the anti biotic helped.

Ron

Hi RedDrgn,

Interestingly, I'm going through a similar situation with my Welsummer right now and she looked just like your bird on that doctor's scale.

We've had rattling, eye foaming, head shaking. After three days of tetracycline in water/food seems pretty cleared. We got our tests this past Saturday, so still have long wait for results.

Question: are you keeping your Welsummer isolated until you get results? My Rosie wants out of the bathroom and back in the chicken yard!

Quote:

 

[RedDrgn]

Hi RedDrgn,
Interestingly, I'm going through a similar situation with my Welsummer right now and she looked just like your bird on that doctor's scale.
We've had rattling, eye foaming, head shaking. After three days of tetracycline in water/food seems pretty cleared. We got our tests this past Saturday, so still have long wait for results.
Question: are you keeping your Welsummer isolated until you get results? My Rosie wants out of the bathroom and back in the chicken yard!

We've had nothing but the rattling/gurgling. No eye/beak foaming or anything else and it has been completely clear since 48 hours after beginning treatment. I just want my test results back so I have some idea of what we're dealing with.

Yes, our wellie has been isolated in a large dog crate in the garage since the moment I heard her gurgling when I opened the run door over a week ago. We'll not return her or allow any contact with the rest of the flock (all of which remain asymptomatic) until we know what she's got/decide what to do, just in case it is contagious. Oh she's not happy about it at all. She stopped laying at as of this past Saturday. Can't blame her; I know she's not happy being alone.

Sorry for the terrible long waits.

Has anyone suggested poison of toxins? Some parts of the country have hemlock growing wild. Chickens will sometimes eat a bit and get sick and then will leave it alone. Could be time and not the anti biotic helped.

Ron

No, no one has. Not sure how viable that possibility is, though. I would think that if she had ingested something (like hemlock), she'd have gastrointestinal problems and not strictly respiratory. Depending on what our test results tell us, we'll ask the vet about this possibility, though. You never know know; chickens do get into EVERYTHING.

 

[happima]

RedDrgn:

OK, I will not give into Rosie's pleas and will leave her locked up in the bathroom. I called the vets and they concurred - keep in isolation until test results back and we know what we're dealing with here.

I have one Ameraucana I've been watching, as she wasn't eating too much for a couple days, but Isabella seems to have her appetite back and is not showing other symptoms. I've been trying to be very careful with sanitation as I go from chicken coop to sick bathroom station. Not fun.

Hope you get your test results back soon and that all is clear for your Welsummer to return to the flock. Keep us posted.

 

[MadHens]

RedDrgn, thanks for your update even though you still don't know what's wrong. I was thinking about you and your chicken over the weekend! Isn't that funny? Now I'm worried about other people's chickens! It's a sickness (this whole chicken thing) I tell ya! All my chickens are doing great right now - no sneezing, raspiness, or anything. Today is either day 7 or 8 of the chlortetracycline. I'll go to 10 days and then stop using it. We get our new chicks 2 weeks from now. The ones I have now will either go to the basement or garage before they get here. My husband hasn't even started building the coop yet - eeeeek! I plan on being very careful with biosecurity when the newbies get here. Eventually, they will all be together, but that probably won't happen until near the end of August. If they get sick, then they get sick. I'm so tired about worrying about everyone's health! I just need to relax and breathe...lol

Edited to add: Just to add to my worries - I think the second chick that got sick (my cochin) is a rooster (and he/she is only 4 weeks old)! I don't want a rooster, and I wouldn't even be able to give it away because of its potential for harboring some nasty respiratory disease!

 

[Ksane]

Did anyone ever get your test results back? This is killing me to find out what it was!

 

[Suzierd]

Did anyone ever get your test results back? This is killing me to find out what it was!

X2
I also worry about other people's chickens lol, you would think my own would be enough!
Hoping it all turns out well.

 

[eirwin]

Thank you so much for all the information. I'm going through the same thing with one of my hens. I had a couple of the neighbor's kids run after her when I wasn't looking and I believe that's what started it all. I also have three new 2-week old chicks that could have been the problem. My hen shows no other signs except for the breathing and no eggs. I was worried about the lack of egg production. I didn't know that it could be because she wasn't happy being isolated. So far I haven't done anything except keep her isolated and special treats along with her regular food. I'm always amazed at the number of "chicken experts" on this site. At the end we all have to do what feels right for us. When I first noticed the problem and started researching the site I was ready to put her down.