Imagine for a 2nd : During morningchicken job , you hear a sneeze . It ’s not out of the ordinary , so you continue with your work . Then you listen a sneezing again and begin to look into which chicken is the source of this funny little sound . As you scan the spate , you notice one Bronx cheer breathe with its mouth open , even though it ’s a relatively cool morning , and then it sneeze again . Moving nigher to the sneezing bird , you’re able to get word it wheezing . These are all definitive planetary house of a respiratory disease in a crybaby , and there ’s a good chance that this disease may be triggered by a air of theMycoplasmabacteria .
Mycoplasmais a genus of bacterium that is screw to attack the respiratory or locomotor system in chickens . There are two strains ofMycoplasmathat can cause respiratory disease in chickens : Mycoplasma gallisepticum(MG ) andMycoplasma synoviae(MS ) .
MG Basics
For commercial domestic fowl producers in the U.S. , MG is one of the most costly diseases , not because MG have high levels of mortality but because it ’s connect with a decrease in egg production in laying hens and decrease increment rate in broilers and turkey . Inbackyard chickens , MG can cause the same problems . Like in commercial wench , MG is not connect with high levels of mortality in backyard birds .
MG is not a hardy bacteria ; therefore , it ca n’t survive outside a host for more than a few days . MG horde include chickens in a backyard flock , as well as wild hoot , so wild birdie can transmit MG to backyard chicken through unmediated or collateral contact . At the same fourth dimension , an infected hen can occur MG by ovarian contagion on to a doll ( called a vertical , aka female parent - to - tiddler , transmission ) . People can also circularise MG if it is pick up by shoe , clothing or hand that have been around the bacteria or septic shuttle .
chicken infect with MG may not show any symptom until there is redundant strain , which could be triggered by a change in caparison , provender , atmospheric condition or simply by poor management . In chickens , the symptoms can range from mild to severe and include coughing , sneeze , wheezing , and ocular and adenoidal sack . In continuing stages , a self-conceited head , respiratory compromise and severe cellulitis can be seen . These symptom are very like to the symptoms of many respiratory diseases , so science lab trial must be done to confirm MG as the effort .
The MS Strain
MS is standardized to MG in that MS is also an transmission of the respiratory tract , but MS can spread to spliff . wicked infections of MS can taint the synovial membranes of joints and cause dangerous swelling . Just like MG , MS can be transmitted vertically from an septic biddy through the egg to the offspring and also horizontally carried by groundless boo as well as shoe and clothing that have been exposed to infected birds .
The outcomes of MS are , most of the sentence , similar to MG with low mortality but a drop-off in egg output and growth charge per unit . The symptom of a balmy MS infection are those of a respiratory disease and admit cough , sneezing , wheezing , and optic and nasal discharge . knockout MS infection include therespiratory symptom , as well as joint protrusion , which may result in lameness .
Again , it ’s difficult to diagnose respiratory disease establish on symptoms alone ; testing can be done in a science lab to determine if there is an MS transmission . Similar to MG , bar is the good medication when it comes to MS .
MS is associated with moist environments , so check that the wimp have a ironical living area is very important , as well as have a clean , well - ventilated coop . Antibiotics can be used to treat MS but are n’t to the full effective and can be very pricy . Contact your fowl veterinarian for antibiotic direction because chickens are food for thought fauna and some restrictions may use if you are consume their eggs or meat .
Prevention Is Key
As with any disease in domestic fowl , it ’s better to prevent the disease than to have to deal it . Good biosecurity practices — using consecrate shoes and clothes that are only tire when working around the chickens , limit your birds ’ contact with wild birds , and quarantine any bird that shows symptom — will go a foresightful way to preventing sickness in the flock .
If MG is suspect in your muckle , the easy elbow room to treat the disease is to meliorate direction , such as reducing the amount of rubble in the air and increase ventilation . Antibiotics have been shown to facilitate treat MG , but the contagion is know to return after finish the antibiotic discussion . A vaccinum is also uncommitted and might be vindicate in some fount . Contact your fowl veterinarian for antibiotic or vaccinum counseling , for the reasonableness stated previously .
Keep in mind that withMycoplasma , infected breeders will spread the disease to their young , while infected volaille will act as vector to spread the disease throughout the sight , hyperbolise the infection . treatment are long-winded and difficult , and disease outcomes are wide-ranging from lack of signs to CRD .
With all of this info aboutMycoplasmain judgement , let ’s go back to our sneezing , wheezing Gallus gallus .
As a newly informed poulet keeper who can now spot a nauseous chicken and live what actions to take , you immediately quarantine the ill snort from the rest of the plenty so that there can be no unmediated contact . You check that the quarantine area is well - ventilate , and you put up the Gallus gallus with fresh water and nutrient in clean containers .
While the pallid bird is quarantined , you decide to clean the chicken coop and apply a germicide , as well as add a novel windowpane that allows for more ventilation but with holes that pocket-size enough so that wild birds ca n’t recruit the henhouse . After a few days of quarantine , you no longer get wind sneeze and wheezing and the once - sick chicken now appears healthy and ready to recall to the flock .
Because you know of at least one chicken that was let out toMycoplasma , most potential other birds in your flock have been let on , so be vigilant and quick for the next meter you hear a coughing , sneeze or wheeze coming from the chicken coop .
This column was drop a line by Theodore Derksen and Rodrigo A. Gallardo , and it originally appeared in the November / December 2016 proceeds ofChickens .
