Hello, I'm a first time chick mom, 3 weeks ago I got 9 1-week old chicks (7 of them from one pair of parents and 2 of them from another, from the same breeder, no MG free certifications here in a small city in mexico) they had been all raised together for at least 4 weeks, and were all seemingly healthy until one of them began sneezing a lot, wheezing, and gurgling (no mucus). As soon as I noticed I separated him, cleaned out the brooder. I haven't noticed any others having those symptoms, and I took the sick one to the vet and he told me there was no parasites or bacteria in the poop, but the chick must have some kind of a respiratory infection. He said the most common one is mycoplasma and escecially MG, but he also told me after 5 days of Baytril and resting he should be fine and can go back to his siblings. But everything I read online says horrible things about MG and is making me really worry. Also I read that one should never eat eggs from chickens treated with Baytril for their lifetime, is this true? we don't even know the gender yet, but just in case.
If it's MG (no test offered) and this chick grew up with others for 4 weeks in close proximity, does it mean that 100 percent all the chicks have it? If I return the sick chick to the flock as soon as his symptoms clear is it totally fine for the other chicks? Wouldn't he be a symptomless carrier for all his life? I'm really torn about keeping him or returning him to the breeder, but I know if I return him he won't have the best life. I'm reading that some people kill the entire flock for MG (yanks!), is it that bad?
If it's MG (no test offered) and this chick grew up with others for 4 weeks in close proximity, does it mean that 100 percent all the chicks have it? If I return the sick chick to the flock as soon as his symptoms clear is it totally fine for the other chicks? Wouldn't he be a symptomless carrier for all his life? I'm really torn about keeping him or returning him to the breeder, but I know if I return him he won't have the best life. I'm reading that some people kill the entire flock for MG (yanks!), is it that bad?
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