Hello all.
I am on the tail end of what appears to be either an outbreak of MG or a respiratory virus that has led to secondary infections in some chickens. It started after some heavy rain (I am about 1.5 hours away from Houston, TX) in my group of 5 month olds. I have not brought any new birds in from other farms this year, only hatched from my flock. Based on symptoms, incubation time, spread patterns, and other observations I have determined either MG or a virus is to blame. Originally I thought it was wet pox (which is why did not quarantine the sick birds, because all my older birds have had pox at some point due to high mosquito numbers in Texas) but there are no lesions present in the mouth. If another chicken dies I will have a necropsy done at A&M to be completely sure of what they have. I am NOT depopulating at this time, mainly because our chickens are both livestock and pets. Anyways, I have some questions I am hoping someone has the answers to.
Regarding MG:
1) What secondary infections have you most commonly seen? How did you treat them?
2) I know depopulating is an effective "cure", but some studies have found MG in up to 80% of all backyard flocks. Does NPIP always test for MG? Do hatcheries get tested as well? It seems that finding MG free birds would be almost impossible, especially since they can carry without showing symptoms.....
3) If I hatched eggs after dipping them in an antibiotic (it starts with a d.... can't find it right now) and kept the chicks separate, practicing good bio security, would they be considered clean or carriers?
4) I have bantams kept in separate runs in the same yard as the sick chickens live, and they have no direct contact with the sick birds. The bantams have not shown any symptoms of illness. Is it safe to assume they are clean or should I assume they are carriers?
Regarding Viruses:
1) What is the best way to assist my birds with overcoming a virus?
2) Do viruses make the birds carriers or are they clean after symptoms disappear?
3) I have a couple eye infections, possibly due to the high E. coli that has followed the rain. What is the best way to removed the pus and treat the infection? I can get pictures this evening or tomorrow morning if that would help.
4) Once they have had this virus, are they resistant or is it like the flu in humans?
5) Is there any effective way to prevent future virus outbreaks?
I'm sorry for the insane length of this post! This is the first real illness I have had in 6+ years of chicken keeping and I would like to learn as much as possible to help my flock through this or future illnesses.
Thank you in advance for any help and information!
I am on the tail end of what appears to be either an outbreak of MG or a respiratory virus that has led to secondary infections in some chickens. It started after some heavy rain (I am about 1.5 hours away from Houston, TX) in my group of 5 month olds. I have not brought any new birds in from other farms this year, only hatched from my flock. Based on symptoms, incubation time, spread patterns, and other observations I have determined either MG or a virus is to blame. Originally I thought it was wet pox (which is why did not quarantine the sick birds, because all my older birds have had pox at some point due to high mosquito numbers in Texas) but there are no lesions present in the mouth. If another chicken dies I will have a necropsy done at A&M to be completely sure of what they have. I am NOT depopulating at this time, mainly because our chickens are both livestock and pets. Anyways, I have some questions I am hoping someone has the answers to.
Regarding MG:
1) What secondary infections have you most commonly seen? How did you treat them?
2) I know depopulating is an effective "cure", but some studies have found MG in up to 80% of all backyard flocks. Does NPIP always test for MG? Do hatcheries get tested as well? It seems that finding MG free birds would be almost impossible, especially since they can carry without showing symptoms.....
3) If I hatched eggs after dipping them in an antibiotic (it starts with a d.... can't find it right now) and kept the chicks separate, practicing good bio security, would they be considered clean or carriers?
4) I have bantams kept in separate runs in the same yard as the sick chickens live, and they have no direct contact with the sick birds. The bantams have not shown any symptoms of illness. Is it safe to assume they are clean or should I assume they are carriers?
Regarding Viruses:
1) What is the best way to assist my birds with overcoming a virus?
2) Do viruses make the birds carriers or are they clean after symptoms disappear?
3) I have a couple eye infections, possibly due to the high E. coli that has followed the rain. What is the best way to removed the pus and treat the infection? I can get pictures this evening or tomorrow morning if that would help.
4) Once they have had this virus, are they resistant or is it like the flu in humans?
5) Is there any effective way to prevent future virus outbreaks?
I'm sorry for the insane length of this post! This is the first real illness I have had in 6+ years of chicken keeping and I would like to learn as much as possible to help my flock through this or future illnesses.
Thank you in advance for any help and information!
