Sick to death of mycoplasma

[hellfire]

Anyone have the same? Many many years ago I bought two new hens from a local shop and as always quarantine them.
After I introduced them they got sick and so did the rest of my flock.
Turned out the two new ones were mycoplasma positive. Ever since then it rears it’s head now and then especially if I introduce new birds.
If I hatch my own I’m fine but recently bought two new girls for new blood and now this is the worst I’ve seen my flock in years.
The new girls have gone through quarantine and are fine but the rest a week after introductions are all sick with one death. She was a very old girl admittedly.
I understand stress can cause it to come out in carriers but really fed up and want to know bar apple cider vinigar and tylan in the water or culling and starting from scratch what can I do?
I’m told many back yard flocks here are mycoplasma positive.
Chickens probably all came from the same place all them years ago!
The two that originally introduced it have been gone about 5 years now.

 

[dawg53]

The only way to have a disease free flock is to cull all your birds and bury them deep away from your coops/pens. Then wait about one month, if in fact it's Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG).

During the one month time frame, this will give you time to sanitize your coops, nest boxes, waterers and feeders. Sunlight will take care of the soil.
MG bacteria lasts only 3 days in the environment. You'll have plenty of time to get things squared away for your next flock.

I highly recommend ordering chicks from a reputable hatchery such as Meyer or ideal hatcheries for example, and raising them yourself.
Buying birds off Craigslist, flea markets, farmer down the road, swap meets, and untrustworthy breeders is risky, as you have found out.
Think biosecurity.

 

[Perris]

Have you seen this?
https://www.nadis.org.uk/disease-a-z/poultry/diseases-of-farmyard-poultry/part-1-mycoplasmosis/
As the new blood is already in, and the peak stress over, it should get better and you can raise your own again for some years. I wouldn't go the culling route myself; it would destroy any with natural immunity or strong resistance to MG, which is surely a valuable strain worth preserving and breeding.

 

[Perris]

I highly recommend ordering chicks from a reputable hatchery such as Meyer or ideal hatcheries for example

this isn't an option as the OP is in the UK

 

[dawg53]

this isn't an option as the OP is in the UK

Thanks for correcting me on that. I havnt had my 2nd cup of coffee yet.
Hopefully they have hatcheries in the UK.

 

[Perris]

Hopefully they have hatcheries in the UK

no such thing here, as yet

 

[dawg53]

Have you seen this?
https://www.nadis.org.uk/disease-a-z/poultry/diseases-of-farmyard-poultry/part-1-mycoplasmosis/
As the new blood is already in, and the peak stress over, it should get better and you can raise your own again for some years. I wouldn't go the culling route myself; it would destroy any with natural immunity or strong resistance to MG, which is surely a valuable strain worth preserving and breeding.

Unfortunately there is no natural resistance to MG. Maybe in a few hundred years after we're gone.

 

[Perris]

Unfortunately there is no natural resistance to MG. Maybe in a few hundred years after we're gone.

how do you know? maybe yesterday? maybe tomorrow? maybe a hundred years ago in a place that doesn't routinely do lab testing and necropsies?

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.fdacs.gov/content/download/77376/file/Mycoplasma-Brochure.pdf

 

[dawg53]

https://www.fdacs.gov/content/download/77376/file/Mycoplasma-Brochure.pdf

Thank you. I've been preaching this stuff about MG for a long time.