Mycoplasma..? What do I do next?

[NestingMillenial]

Me again - tests came back positive and I would be very interested in hearing whether, once the flock recover, to expect relapses often (like every month or so) or less so. My other questions have been answered but I would really like to have an idea of what to expect, were I to keep the flock, on that front.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think that MG positive flocks are fairly common in the US. There is not a lot you can do about it if you do not return them, but to close your flock for the life of the chickens. You can choose to cull sick birds or treat them when there is an outbreak. But you have so many issues—fowl pox, possible wet pox or canker, MG, and lice. I don’t know how long ago that you received these chickens from the breeder, but they surely would not have become infected with all of that when you brought them home, and did not have any other chickens.

 

[Folly's place]

Why we only get chicks from good hatcheries, or raise our own. We were lucky, years ago, getting chicks from a couple of different breeders, all healthy. I don't plan on ever taking risks like that again.
Mary

 

[NestingMillenial]

Why we only get chicks from good hatcheries, or raise our own.

This place had 100% outstanding reviews, nothing below 5 stars on Google, praise here on BYC dating just from last May... I don't know, they seemed legit. That's why I kept thinking maybe it's my place because how am I the only one having an outbreak after a move? It's been confusing, to dsay the least.

At least the henhouse did hint that they would replace it if I decide to cull (I need them to confirm, I wrote back today since I have the test results, we'll see). They work per "cohorts" so I suppose it is possible that their next cohort of pullets (which is supposedly not overlapping the last) would be MG free.... I have no idea.

On the other hand, I'm really not looking forward to cull all 6 pullets at once (but I will if needed, of course). And at this point if I was sure they wouldn't relapse every month or so, I think I'd consider trying to keep them (flock closed). But I won't if they keep falling sick and needing treatment. I can't seem to find an answer to this though, so I don't know what I should expect.

Oh, and @Eggcessive, I got them 2.5 weeks ago (it was 2 weeks last Friday). Mites and lice seem to be gone (that and fowl pox was week 1 and this MG ordeal is week 2)

 

[Eggcessive]

Well, you can see how it goes. You don’t have to cull them all now. You could wait while keeping the flock closed, and see how they do for the first year. Molting and extreme heat or cold can be a prime time for illness to show up. Everyone does things differently. If you or someone you know butchers chickens you could do that. I can’t eat my own chickens, but that is just me. I have given extra roosters and some hens to a family friend for extra eggs or butchering.

 

[NestingMillenial]

I think that's where we're headed.

The vet from the state lab said that he wouldn't expect frequent relapses. He also told me that MG strains from poultry are mostly different than those found in wild birds, and while some crossing over does happen, it is not overly frequent and is usually milder on the other side (ex. poultry strains are not as hard on wild birds as they are on poultry and vice versa).

So I'm thinking of doing what you say @Eggcessive and give it some time. We're not off to a great start though as one of the symptomatic pullets died last night. I found her dead this morning, which was highly unexpected as she was lively, eating well and even laying up to the day before. But we will see, I hope others make it through with some TLC and that I can update you guys in a while with answer to this thread's questions! Wish us luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

It would probably be bad timing with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend for a necropsy by the state vet lab. But that would have been good to have sent her body in, to get some more diagnostics. Sorry for your loss.

 

[NestingMillenial]

I actually asked them and the poultry lab of my State's vet lab is closed for the long weekend (they just processed the swab test I sent them in time, but the necropsy wouldn't have made it un time).

If we are not able to get the other symptomatic pullet through and she also dies, we will send her body to the lab. The vet told us such sudden death, as has happened to the previous one, would very likely be due to a nasty secondary infection, and so we're a bit worried about that right now...

But our pullet has been looking better today I thought, so I'm hopeful.

 

[Kiki]

This place had 100% outstanding reviews, nothing below 5 stars on Google, praise here on BYC dating just from last May... I don't know, they seemed legit. That's why I kept thinking maybe it's my place because how am I the only one having an outbreak after a move? It's been confusing, to dsay the least.

At least the henhouse did hint that they would replace it if I decide to cull (I need them to confirm, I wrote back today since I have the test results, we'll see). They work per "cohorts" so I suppose it is possible that their next cohort of pullets (which is supposedly not overlapping the last) would be MG free.... I have no idea.

On the other hand, I'm really not looking forward to cull all 6 pullets at once (but I will if needed, of course). And at this point if I was sure they wouldn't relapse every month or so, I think I'd consider trying to keep them (flock closed). But I won't if they keep falling sick and needing treatment. I can't seem to find an answer to this though, so I don't know what I should expect.

Oh, and @Eggcessive, I got them 2.5 weeks ago (it was 2 weeks last Friday). Mites and lice seem to be gone (that and fowl pox was week 1 and this MG ordeal is week 2)

What place did you buy from?

 

[DawnLee]

How many chickens do you have? Are these your first chickens? There are other respiratory diseases besides MG (mycoplasma gallisepticum.) Those include infectious bronchitis virus, MG, coryza, ILT, and others.Testing or getting a necropsy done by the state vet on a sick chicken would be the only way to know for sure what they may have had. Have you ever seen bubbles or foam in an eye, or any swelling of the face or eyelid? Was there ever any bad odor from their faces? Since Tylan has helped, it may well be MG. Sometimes they occur along with a secondary respiratory disease. There is no need to cull your whole flock if you just have a small flock. The eggs are always fine to use, but MG can pass through hatching eggs. So just don’t sell eggs that someone is going to hatch. Treat any sick birds with the Tylan, and if you should lose one or one is very sick, send it in to the state vet for a necropsy. MG only lives for about 3 days on equipment, clothing, shoes, hair, or in your environment, so one day if you lose these birds, you can get healthy chicks and start over. They may live for many years though, and lay lots of eggs.

I read somewhere else that areas with MG positive birds need to be clear for 6 months before getting new birds. I tried to look for more information on this but couldn't find anything.

I also read that I could introduce new birds who have been vaccinated against MG into an infected flock, true?

I am waiting on results but I believe one of my older hens has MG and thus, the rest of my flock would also be infected. I am devastated. I waited a year for 2 different breeds to start a breeding program myself. Now I can't. My flock is beautiful and I would hate to have to destroy them.