Marek's, Mycoplasma, Coryza, Oh My!

[tacosta1009]

Although my subject line may seem like a joke, this has certainly not been one! I take my chickens seriously, and have been as meticulous as I know how to be to keep them healthy, but I have not always succeeded. The learning curve has been tough!

A couple of weeks ago I had a chicken with ataxia (walking around like a drunken sailor). I did what I thought I was supposed to do and isolated her. I also called the Georgia State Poultry Lab, because I have already spent so much money on vets. I figured their free diagnostic services could help me. Everyone, including myself, thought it was Marek's. I thought it was the responsible thing to do to figure out what was ailing her in order to better support my flock. As it turns out, her necropsy did not show lesions or signs of Marek's. Fast forward that same week and I learned that one of my ten tested positive for Coryza. In the interim, however, I was told that it was likely Mycoplasma. I'm honestly drained by it all. The night before I got that result, I encountered my first (and favorite) rattling hen. I brought her in, fed her scrambled eggs, and began fogging her cage with Oxine (3x daily). When I went out today, I had another hen that was rattling, as well as one who's voice sounded croupy. I brought them both in as well. In the meantime, I heard back from the Georgia Poultry Lab with the Coryza DX, and the vet recommended Tylan 50. I was able to order it today and hope to receive it tomorrow.

I still don't know what got the chicken with ataxia, and I am not even sure where all the respiratory bacteria came from, but I am routing for my flock. I hope that I can nurse and treat them back into a place where the bacteria can be kept at-bay, and they can live their lives.

What am I missing? What do you all recommend? Should I not be so hopeful? What should I expect?

I am grateful for all the chicken wisdom and knowledge on this platform!

 

[Pyxis]

So sorry you're going through all this I dealt with coryza in my flock a couple years ago. Since I breed and show, I chose to cull my birds and start over with chicks hatched from eggs I collected before the cull date. I know it really sucks to get a diagnosis like this.

Since you're in touch with vets, I'm sure they already told you about how coryza is incurable. You'll want to keep antibiotics on hand all the time to treat symptoms when they have flare-ups. You might want to avoid adding any more new birds until these ones pass away, so as not to keep the infection going.

Tylan 50 should work. Coryza is also particularly susceptible to Sulmet, if you can get some of that.

 

[dawg53]

Pyxis is correct. Tylan/Baytril + any type of sulfa drug will treat coryza. However it's best to cull since birds are carriers for life and will easily spread the disease.
Here's a link, scroll down to Infectious Coryza:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[tacosta1009]

I won’t be able to get myself to cull the entire flock. Going to work to make the best of it.

 

[Myrshine]

Just don’t breed to sell to others, show birds or anything with giving away or going to someone else’s flock, as you’ll spread the diseases to them and cause them the same problems. All those diseases you mentioned are incurable, chronic and birds are carrier for life. Treat affected birds to ease symptoms.

 

[tacosta1009]

Update:

I’ve got 3 chickens with an improved rattle, and 6 (including those sneezing). I haven’t seen any discharge in the nose or eyes. There is no smell. There are no swollen faces. I had one chicken test positive for Coryza. Could it still be Coryza without it’s more hallmark symptoms? Does it mean it’s just a less severe case?

 

[Folly's place]

It still means it's Coryza, and sort of under control right now. Still permanent in your flock, sadly.
This is a contagious flock, and needs total isolation. can you manage to keep them, your clothes and boots, no visitors, and everything that's involved in isolation until all your flock has died? Any neighbors with chickens? Talk to your experts, read about it, and try to get through this.
Personally, I'd do a lot of crying, and cull my flock.
So sorry for your birds,
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Looking forward, it's important to know how this disease arrived in your flock.
Here we only buy chicks from very good hatcheries, or hatch our own within our flock. We never get birds from another flock, ever. Birds can leave here, but none return. When I do go to observe other birds, at a show, or another flock, only clean clothes and shoes are worn, and everything goes right into the washer when I return home. No cross contamination!
We are fortunate that no near neighbors have chickens, so no issues there going in either direction. And birds who die unexpectedly get necropsied.
I'm glad that you had your bird necropsied, because having good information is best.
Mary

 

[tacosta1009]

Hi, Mary. I appreciate your response.

Trust that I take my flock so very seriously. I currently have my vet involved, I am consulting with a vet from the Georgia State Poultry Lab, and I have had two birds taken for necropsies there.

I am informed. I don’t have neighbors with chickens, I don’t attend bird shows, I don’t breed or sell. I eat eggs and share eggs with those I love, and I raise the chickens as a hobby.

As for how it wound up in my flock, I’m not sure. I did bring in a rooster from a unknown breeder and flock. Horrible mistake, I know. I’ll never do that again. BUT I did quarantine him for 60 days, and I took him to the vet TWICE for fecals. I treated him for coccidiosis and mites. He didn’t and still doesn’t have any respiratory symptoms.

I started my flock with birds from a friend and i added 8 from a hatchery. I wonder if the original chickens were carriers. I also had someone come here for two roosters i hatched once, I wonder if they brought it.

I’ve learned a lot since then, but the moral of the story is...I have no idea.

 

[Folly's place]

Our first chickens came from a neighbor, who got hers from a good hatchery. then twice we got chicks from local breeders, again, long ago, and were lucky that nothing came with any of them. That's all been over fifteen years ago, and we've been paranoid about biosecurity ever since.
It's just so sad when disaster strikes, and you've certainly done what you can to manage this, now that your flock is in trouble.
We've had chickens for almost thirty years, and our disasters have been to predation, our worst being to one of our own dogs, when the dog fencing failed. Sometimes things just don't go right, and again, I'm so sorry.
Mary