three new chicks, one seems sick, one seems under the weather, and one seems healthy!

[Eggcessive]

Do you have anywhere to get an antibiotic? This is what you need to treat your chicks. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

Agreed!
I do suggest the OP order as soon as possible, that gets sold out quickly.

Sneezing with drainage and bubbles in the eyes is usually a good indication of Mycoplasma.
The Tylan will treat the symptoms, all though the birds will always be carriers.
Getting some testing to find out what you are dealing with is the best way to go, but that may not be an option.

Yes, it looks like it is back in stock after being out of staock for many weeks.

 

[zaz13]

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous
I'm really no help here, but maybe one of these folks will pop on in a little bit and offer some advice. Good luck!

Thanks for calling their attention!

Do you have anywhere to get an antibiotic? This is what you need to treat your chicks. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

Someone recommended this stuff earlier in the week but all of my local feed stores advised that it is now banned for sale in Florida. Looks like I should be able to order online so that is good.

Bubbles in an eye can be early signs of a respiratory disease, such as MG or mycoplasma. All chicks have been exposed, so Inwould keep them together and treat them all. MG is a disease that stays with the chickens all their lives. They will pass it on to other birds and through their hatching eggs eventually. Certain antibiotics can treat symptoms, but won’t keep it from coming back in your flock. Many cull chickens with symptoms. Others close the flock to new birds and treat with certain antibiotics. Most antibiotics are very difficult to find anymore. Your state vet may be helpful to find how to get tested or to get a necropsy on a chick that dies. Here is a link to read about MG in chickens:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf
https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-...tion-m-g-chronic-respiratory-disease-chickens

Agreed!
I do suggest the OP order as soon as possible, that gets sold out quickly.

Sneezing with drainage and bubbles in the eyes is usually a good indication of Mycoplasma.
The Tylan will treat the symptoms, all though the birds will always be carriers.
Getting some testing to find out what you are dealing with is the best way to go, but that may not be an option.

Okay so let's say that it is Mycoplasma. I have a small yard so I got 3 hens only because many people recommended not to keep them solo or in pairs, only in groups of 3 or larger. That being said, my flock should never grow in size, as I only ever "wanted" one or two. Essentially only introducing new hens when these pass away, was the plan.

I get the symptoms under control using the antibiotics recommended, and they are carriers of the disease for their lives. No new chickens will be introduced, so they wont pass it on, and these hens are intended for strictly egg laying, not reproducing, so they wont pass it to offspring. And unless they have other conditions to stress them, the symptoms of Mycoplasma dont return?

The last thing, does/will Mycoplasma affect the edibility of their eggs or slow their egg production? Since of course that is the main intention of having the chickens.

 

[zaz13]

Thanks for calling their attention!


Someone recommended this stuff earlier in the week but all of my local feed stores advised that it is now banned for sale in Florida. Looks like I should be able to order online so that is good.




Okay so let's say that it is Mycoplasma. I have a small yard so I got 3 hens only because many people recommended not to keep them solo or in pairs, only in groups of 3 or larger. That being said, my flock should never grow in size, as I only ever "wanted" one or two. Essentially only introducing new hens when these pass away, was the plan.

I get the symptoms under control using the antibiotics recommended, and they are carriers of the disease for their lives. No new chickens will be introduced, so they wont pass it on, and these hens are intended for strictly egg laying, not reproducing, so they wont pass it to offspring. And unless they have other conditions to stress them, the symptoms of Mycoplasma dont return?

The last thing, does/will Mycoplasma affect the edibility of their eggs or slow their egg production? Since of course that is the main intention of having the chickens.

Okay so I read over the article from UMD, and it claims that chicks with Mycoplasma could have reduced egg yield, is that "at all times," or more so that they will have reduced egg production when showing symptoms.

The other thing the article says is to not eat eggs from chickens treated with antibiotics. Does that mean to NEVER eat eggs of chickens treated, or only not to eat eggs of chickens currently being treated with the antibiotics, (a.k.a the antibiotics will eventually flush from the system and the eggs will eventually be edible again?)

 

[zaz13]

Okay so I read over the article from UMD, and it claims that chicks with Mycoplasma could have reduced egg yield, is that "at all times," or more so that they will have reduced egg production when showing symptoms.

The other thing the article says is to not eat eggs from chickens treated with antibiotics. Does that mean to NEVER eat eggs of chickens treated, or only not to eat eggs of chickens currently being treated with the antibiotics, (a.k.a the antibiotics will eventually flush from the system and the eggs will eventually be edible again?)

I've done a lot of reading and I've I believe that I've answered most of my own questions. It looks like the withdraw period for Tylan soluble is only 1 day for eating chickens and there inst any recommendation for eggs. It seems like since my chicks are only 6 weeks and are still many months out from their first eggs, that by the time the first eggs come, the tylan should be well out of their systems.

The better question is, if I decide to purchase the Tylan and administer it to all the chicks, will it do any harm if they don't have Mycoplasm? In other words, if I avoid going to the vet and getting testing done, and it turns out that they don't have Mycoplasm, can administering Tylan Soluble do any HARM to the chicks?

Reading has also brought me to the conclusion that my flock will benefit from the regular addition of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and crushed garlic to their water. So, starting tomorrow, I will be adding some all-natural, organic ACV and garlic to their water to help boost their immune systems and treat systems long-term and permanently.

But, based on reading, I still have one question. If they do have Mycoplasm, then it stays with them for their lifetime, correct? Do the symptoms and negative side effects of Mycoplasm come out often/regularly, or only when exacerbated by other stressors (i.e. other illnesses, moving to a new home, severe weather conditions, etc.)? Will Mycoplasm cause a permanent reduction in egg production?

I'd like to avoid culling these chicks, as they will be the only members of their flock for their lifetimes. If I can realistically treat and avoid symptoms with out serious and severe long-term negative side affects, then I would prefer to do that. I could easily get some Tylan soluble powder from the recommended website and use that until they seem healthy, and continue to administer it whenever symptoms seem to flare up.

Thank you in advance, I know I've written a LOT in the last three posts....

 

[azygous]

Questions are welcome here. It's what this place is all about.

You seem to have a pretty good handle on this matter. Tylan should cause no harm if your chicks don't have this infection. It's better to play it safe by treating the symptoms that these chicks present.

Some flock keepers do cull every bird when they discover a respiratory illness in their flock. Yes, it will reside in the cells of these birds for their lifetimes. No one can see the future and if there will be more symptoms of secondary infection. There could be. There also may never be another occurrence. Yes, stress does play a role. You will need to keep Tylosin on hand to treat if that happens so you don't lose any of your little friends.

Keeping a perfectly disease-free flock is a heck of a lot of work, and much of the time, you still can't be sure some wild bird won't bring a disease to your flock in spite of strict biosecurity and culling of sick birds.

As you are planning to do, that's what those of us with an avian virus in our flocks do. We maximize their health and well being so they can be resistant to disease. The result, I will venture to guess, is that those of us with a disease in our flocks have healthier chickens than many flocks where the owners have no idea if their flock is carrying a disease or not.

 

[zaz13]

The tylosin finally came in the mail Friday, today is day 3 of treatment and I've one heard chick 1 (the red, who was the worst,) sneeze once! Today I let them out of the coop for the first time and they're really enjoying digging for bugs and rolling in the dirt. so happy to see them getting healthy! Obligatory pic of them rolling in the dirt