possible mycoplasma in 4 week old silkie taking Baytril

[kuki mom]

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?

 

[Eggcessive]

Since they have all been together for 4 weeks, I don’t see any point in keeping the chick separated or worry too much. Baytril is banned for chickens, but some vets do still prescribe it for certain infections. The chick may never lay as well or be as healthy as others, but it may recover from symptoms if it doesn’t get secondary infection or air sacculitis. Here is some information about egg withdrawal times (5-8 days after withdrawing the drug) with Baytril or enrofloxacin:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...nrofloxacin_Preparations_Baytril_and_Enrotryl

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21392039/

There hasn’t been a lot of recent studies done on egg withdrawal and Baytril because the FDA banned it due to increasing antibiotic resistance.

 

[HargroveOutdoors]

If one has it, it'st likely that they all do. You should first get testing. If they are determined to have it the responsible thing to do is either cull them or maintain a closed flock. I dealt with MS recently, here is my thread on what happened and what I did. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/respiratory-problems-help.1386607/

 

[kuki mom]

Since they have all been together for 4 weeks, I don’t see any point in keeping the chick separated or worry too much. Baytril is banned for chickens, but some vets do still prescribe it for certain infections. The chick may never lay as well or be as healthy as others, but it may recover from symptoms if it doesn’t get secondary infection or air sacculitis. Here is some information about egg withdrawal times (5-8 days after withdrawing the drug) with Baytril or enrofloxacin:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...nrofloxacin_Preparations_Baytril_and_Enrotryl

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21392039/

There hasn’t been a lot of recent studies done on egg withdrawal and Baytril because the FDA banned it due to increasing antibiotic resistance.

Great, thank you, so since the chick is still so young I guess I won't have to worry about egg withdrawal unless he or she gets sick again as adult? The vet is not a poultry or livestock doctor but exotic pet doctor specializing in birds.

 

[kuki mom]

If one has it, it'st likely that they all do. You should first get testing. If they are determined to have it the responsible thing to do is either cull them or maintain a closed flock. I dealt with MS recently, here is my thread on what happened and what I did. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/respiratory-problems-help.1386607/

So do you think if the chicks were in the same brooder for 4 weeks, it's not a problem for the other chicks if I return the sick chick after it recovers? I'm not planning to get more chickens. I just want to keep the other 8 safe. I'm not sure they offer mycoplasma testing here from last time I talked to the vet it seemed that they didn't. But I will look into it. BTW the symptoms are quite mild and it was improving without antibiotics but the doctor gave Baytril so I have no choice but to finish the course.

 

[kuki mom]

I just confirmed that nobody in this region does testing for mycoplasma, why do they treat this disease so differently here? The vet also seems to think its common and not a big deal...

 

[HargroveOutdoors]

Location? In the states its usually tested for.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mycoplasma can be common in some backyard flocks, and in wild birds. It is sad to start out with sick birds, but since they might have MG, they all could possibly test positive for it. Everyone handles these things differently. Testing is certainly the best thing to document what disease the chick has. Some would cull sick birds. If you do that you could send the body to your state poultry vet if you are in the US, to get a necropsy and they would identify the disease. Keep the body cold but not frozen if you want to get a necropsy, and most state vets accept bodies M-F.

 

[kuki mom]

Location? In the states its usually tested for.

Yucatan, Mexico. The vet said no so I called the main lab and they said maybe call the government lab in Mexico City, I've written them but that's too much, nobody does it they said. Does that mean most of the chickens here might carry mycoplasma ?!? Strange!

 

[kuki mom]

Mycoplasma can be common in some backyard flocks, and in wild birds. It is sad to start out with sick birds, but since they might have MG, they all could possibly test positive for it. Everyone handles these things differently. Testing is certainly the best thing to document what disease the chick has. Some would cull sick birds. If you do that you could send the body to your state poultry vet if you are in the US, to get a necropsy and they would identify the disease. Keep the body cold but not frozen if you want to get a necropsy, and most state vets accept bodies M-F.

The approach seems very different here in Mexico, they treat the birds with antibiotics and put them back in the flock! The vet said it's not a problem, and the breeder just refers to it as a "cold" and says he will take the bird back if I don't want it. I'm just really torn because the sick one is not that sick (just wheezing and sneezing and gurgling but very energetic and eating a lot) and also I don't want to have problems in the future after the treatment to have recurring issues or give problems to its siblings. I wonder what's the experience with others of putting a treated bird back in the flock?