Mycoplasma?

[brahmorp]

Hello everyone! This is my first post here, so bear with me. A couple weeks ago I got a flock of 8 orpington pullets. They've been wonderful and I love them and their antics. However, maybe a week and a half ago I noticed some sneezing. One actually has a squeaky little sneeze, a couple others just sound like they're blowing air (similar to people I guess). After picking up one girl today, I noticed mildly bubbly eyes (see image). I haven't checked if the others have this yet or not. A quick google search suggests mycoplasma.

How do you guys suggest I proceed? They are all still acting bright and normal, sneezes aside. I don't want it to get worse and turn potentially fatal, but at the same time I am not against letting nature run it's course, if this is something they can potentially recover from on their own. At this point, is it useless to separate the sneezing hens from the rest, considering how long they've all been in contact with each other?

Thanks in advance for any information you can share!

 

[Sally PB]

Tagging some people who can help.

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Bubbles in the eyes along with the other symptoms of respiratory illness could be Mycoplasma. Without testing it would just be a guess.

It might not be a bad idea to have some Tylosin on hand to treat symptoms if they worsen.
Hard to know whether they need treatment if they are eating/drinking/active but sometimes symptoms can worsen quickly.
At minimum I would flush eyes with saline and keep them cleared of bubbles.

 

[brahmorp]

Bubbles in the eyes along with the other symptoms of respiratory illness could be Mycoplasma. Without testing it would just be a guess.

It might not be a bad idea to have some Tylosin on hand to treat symptoms if they worsen.
Hard to know whether they need treatment if they are eating/drinking/active but sometimes symptoms can worsen quickly.
At minimum I would flush eyes with saline and keep them cleared of bubbles.

Thanks so much for your input. So far the only Tylosin I can find online OTC is marketed towards pigeons, as I was told it is illegal to use in chickens since we consume their meat and eggs. Is this safe to use in chickens anyway, and if so, how long is the waiting period typically before eggs are safe?

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylosin for pigeons is fine to use on chickens to treat MG. I would try to find the 100% tylosin since a few suppliers sell the 20% or 50% for the same price. Here is where you can get it:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/
Allbirdproducts sells it too, but it is out of stock.
Your vet can write a prescription for the brand name Tylan soluble powder from Alivet,com and Chewy.com:
https://www.allivet.com/p-2102-tyla...MIoeSCx-Ti7QIVbFXVCh01vgp6EAQYAiABEgJTxvD_BwE

 

[Purpleroan]

Tylosin for pigeons is fine to use on chickens to treat MG. I would try to find the 100% tylosin since a few suppliers sell the 20% or 50% for the same price. Here is where you can get it:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/
Allbirdproducts sells it too, but it is out of stock.
Your vet can write a prescription for the brand name Tylan soluble powder from Alivet,com and Chewy.com:
https://www.allivet.com/p-2102-tyla...MIoeSCx-Ti7QIVbFXVCh01vgp6EAQYAiABEgJTxvD_BwE

Thank you! I will check it out. I would call my vet except I don’t have an avian one yet, and I doubt they’d write me a script without seeing the birds first. At least, that’s how it worked when I was a vet tech, perhaps it’s different with chickens though. I’m not opposed to doing this, but I figured I would get some opinions here first though.