Mycoplasma (MG) in chickens

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Permalink Reply by Duncan Martin on November 21, 2012 at 12:15am

Hi Keltie,
I have never had to deal with Mycoplasma, but I know it to be one of the infections that remains within a hen, symptoms or not. Chances are that your birds will never meet another flock of hens, but I suppose a crow may snatch an egg one day while you're looking away for a minute (it happens to me regularly when I get distracted in the garden). I am not sure about transference of MG to other birds, especially once treated, but is something to consider.

I would certainly not introduce any new hens without first culling these and cleaning the coop thoroughly with soap, water, vinegar, and sunlight, if the sun ever returns.

A vet will have the best medical advice, but will likely cost more than replacing the flock. I'm so sorry to hear about all the hurdles in trying to get some eggs. I hope things go better from now on.
Duncan

Permalink Reply by Keltie Craig on November 21, 2012 at 7:40am

Thanks Duncan. We did end up going to the vet, and have decided to go with antibiotics to try and clear up symptoms, and then just try and keep the birds as healthy and stress free as possible - apparently it is possible that they could remain asymptomatic. We will not intriduce any new birds, for sure. If they continue to have flare ups, we will cull at that point. Thanks for the support!

Permalink Reply by Caroline on November 29, 2012 at 5:09pm

Im sorry to hear about your misfortune. I'm just on my way to pick up fennel seed, dill seed and some tumeric as preventative measures for my hens. Mine are robustly healthy. They eat laying mash with hot water in the morning and I'm going to give as scratch those seeds and a wee bit of tumeric. When I get home I let them out of the run and they take over my backyard and feed on bugs and weeds. Instead of antibiotics why not try those herbs first? And if they're not too young you might want to add a thin layer of pure cedar wood chips in your nesting box and run. It will disinfect the ground and area. Just dilute it with pine chips or what ever you are using as ground cover. Where did you get your hens? Did they come with those diseases? All the best, Caroline

Permalink Reply by Caroline on November 29, 2012 at 6:58pm

One other thing, if you have wild peppermint growing that's also antibacterial. The herbs I recommended are antibacterial. The hope is that injesting them will not just clear bugs out of their gut but get into the bloodstream and hopefully improve the lungs and eyes. I haven't had to deal with this before but I'm just suggesting what I would try. Also apparently St John's Wort helps with Mereck's disease. It's the creeper with yellow flowers in June and July that the bees love. A local plant. Again, best wishes for your little flock, Caroline