Sick Hen, help! Possible MG?

[MegG84]

I have a sick hen. About 2 months ago I noticed her eye became EXTREAMLY swollen (see picture). She had a huge knot above her eye. I separated her and treated her with some eye drops. She seemed to be doing better. Since then I have noticed that she has had bubbles in her eyes. I noticed this in the same hen last year too and her eye became swollen then as well and eventually went away on its own. She now has a lot of mucus coming out of her mouth and smacks a lot, her nose has also been stopped up and her beak has been covered in dirt and mud from scratching it across the ground. I have only really noticed her having problems during the summer months. she has lost some weight and her face is pale and her comb is not vibrant anymore. I am worried that this may be Mycoplasma Gallisepticum. If this is the case I know it is VERY contagious and most likely the rest of my flock are already carriers. I also have some young hens that I have been recently introducing to my flock. I have been placing them in a large dog kennel inside the run with the other hens. I only have 4 adult hens at the moment and 6 that are about 6 weeks. I only have one hen that is currently laying and I only collect about 4 eggs a week right now, and the shell cracks easy and isnt very strong. I also recently moved them all to a bigger coop in May and egg production has not improved since. My oldest hen is about 7 and the youngest about 4. Could they all have MG and this is what is causing there egg production to decline? I do not want to expose my whole flock and potentially my friend and neighbors flock as well. She usually helps take care of my hens and horses if I go out of town. I would feel terrible if her flock got sick because of mine. I have read it can transfer from shoes and clothing. My question is, should I cull my whole flock including the babies? Should I cull my 4 adult hens only? Should my babies be ok, or have they more than likley already been exposed? Can I safely treat them and keep them? I have a small flock and I am particularly attached to one. We also have other animals as well and I have been told by a vet the MG could possibly transfer to horses because cattle can also get this. Does anyone have any advice on what my best option is?

 

[MegG84]

Here are pictures of her from today. She looks a little better, but still has lots of mucus in her mouth.

 

[shaw613]

Sorry this happened to you .... my flock got mycoplasma this summer from a wild turkey (fairly sure). I had testing that confirmed it. In about June, my egg production went way down, almost to nothing. After the confirmation of mycoplasma, I had to choose between culling my entire flock, including babies I had just hatched, or dealing with it. I chose the latter, and have learned a great deal about the disease. I treat all active cases with a 1cc shot of LA200, and band that chicken. That seems to clear up any sneezing or symptoms. I haven't had any recurrences of symptoms, and my thought is that a weak hen may have to be culled. Glad it hasn't come to that. Also, once a month I treat their water with denagard/triamulox at the preventative dose of 8 or 10cc/gallon of water for 3-5 days. Now that my hens have been through their molt, they are laying well again. I get the occasional egg with the scarring from mycoplasma, and their production is reduced somewhat. I do add light through the winter so the hens have 14-16 hours of daylight, and I give them a 20% all flock feed. I was told by the university avian department that 90% or more backyard/free range flocks will have mycoplasma. Unless you confine your birds to inside housing and use strict biosecurity measures, it's fairly futile to prevent it. I'm vaccinating all new hatched or purchased birds with MC Bac, which doesn't create immunity, but they don't get the symptoms of MG. We'll see.

 

[Eggcessive]

Your hens have already been exposed to the disease if it is MG. MG spreads through hatching eggs, if they all make it to hatch. So you have it in your flock. Inform your neighbor that she should change her shoes and wash her hands between the flocks if she takes care of them again. Who knows, she may have a bird who has had it before. It is a common disease in backyard flocks. There are other diseases with slightly differing symptoms. Testing is the best way to know exactly what is wrong. Sometimes there can be 2 different diseases, or one disease with a secondary infection. The eye looks really swollen, and there may be pus around the eye that needs to be squeezed out gently. Does her face smell bad? Antibiotics such as Tylosin, doxycycline, denagard, enrofloxacin, and oxytetracycline all can treat symptoms of MG. Here is one available online that can be put into the water:
https://pigeonsuppliesplus.com/products/doxy-tylan-100-grams-pdr-pigeon-supplies-plus-line