I plan to send the following to the Georgia Poultry Lab in regards to the mishandling of testing protocols as well as lack of training of their lab technicians.
My plan:
Step 1.
use vaccine in current breeding stock to stop vertical and lateral transmission of MG by vaccination with MG-VAC first. Then F-strain vaccination 4 weeks later for life time protection of those chickens. I only have chickens and 2 geese. No turkeys anywhere near me.
My only problem is procurement of F-strain vaccine. It is only available to veterinarians.
Step 2. Practice egg dipping to control vertical transmission of Microplasma Gallisepticum. Process includes washing eggs thoroughly in antiseptic and antibacterial wash. Heat eggs to 100 degrees for 3 hours to cause expansion of egg contents. Mix 500 grams of tylan in 2 liters of refrigerated water and 1 liter of ice. Transfer eggs from heat to tylan ice water mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes. The ice water / tylan mixture causes contraction of the egg contents pulling the tylan into the egg through the porous egg shell. In theory, the tylan kills the MG. My theory is that MG positive embryo are weak and the stress of the hot to ice cold kills all the weak embryos.
Step 3. Build bird safe coops for offspring. Practice complete bio-security protocols for that offspring.
Including keeping at least 1000 feet between vaccinated parent stock and non infected offspring. And keeping each batch of offspring seperated from each other. No curious farm visitors wanting to see all the pretty birds allowed. NPIP lab technicians will be required to wear bio security Tyvec overalls, mask and proper gloves that do not fall apart during testing. I will provide this extra biosecurity measure. NPIP lab technician will follow my orders in regards to handling my chickens. Testing will begin with non infected birds first and move to vaccinated birds. Last will be what I deem to be at risk birds. Blood vials and MG swabs WILL NOT be used in one pen and assume all birds in other pens are MG positive based on testing only in one pen. (That was a waste of my time and money and a waste of the federal government funds allocated for the study of prevalence of MG in Georgia)
Lab Techs must be educated about the diseases they are testing for.
I have been tested twice in last two years and both lab techs told me all chickens get colds. I am infuriated by this spread of misinformation. CHICKENS DO NOT GET COLDS! Please, as the Georgia Poultry Lab TRAIN YOUR REPRESENTATIVES BETTER.
Institute a protocol for testing that includes education about the diseases they are testing for. There is so much literature available on the internet. All you have to do is pick one and print it out for them to read as part of the training process. If there is no budget for printing these things. The fact that I know chickens do not get colds and your representative argues with me is insulting.
If I had not believed the first lab tech, I would not have continued to build a flock of breeding stock that carried MG.
It is the responsibility of the breeder to do everything possible to ensure the health and follow good breeding policies to have healthy offspring to sell to chicken enthusiasts.
It is the responsibility of the government entities the private breeder trusts (namely, the Georgia Poultry Lab) to make sure the breeding stock owner is aware of all the diseases that can affect the health of the breeding stock. All tests available and the cost should be explained when a flock for breeding owner contacts the Georgia Poultry Lab for certification. It is also the responsibility of the Georgia Poultry Lab to properly educate the representatives of the Georgia Poultry Lab so misinformation is not perpetuated.
I am extreamly distressed that your representative tested all birds in one pen for diseases that the rest of my birds may not even have. A vial of blood and a swab for MG should have been taken in all my different pens. So to me it was a waste of money to bother testing.
I am also angry that I received an NPIP certificate in the mail and was not informed that I was MG positive. But had to call several times to get my results. That should have been a priority for the Georgia Poultry Lab to contact me ASAP to prevent me from continuing to spread this disease to others. Seriously, if kill the bird is the only recommended way to deal with a disease. Shouldn't there be a little more urgency in the diagnosis and communication with the owner of infected birds.
I would like to speak to a veterinarian to express my concerns regarding my above complaints as well as get additional information concerning my steps to contain MG on my farm without euthanasia of all my chickens. Especially in regards to vaccination. If MG is such a threat that euthanasia is the only recommended plan of action, MG testing should be part of the required tests for NPIP certification. The flock I purchased that I believe carried the MG to my farm was NPIP CERTIFIED. So in essence, the Georgia Poultry Lab is responsible for the spread of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum to my farm. I trusted the NPIP CERTIFICATION to mean the birds were disease free. That was not true.
End letter
any feedback to this letter is welcomed.
Please try to help me word this letter to the best effect. Also please try to be understanding to my situation. I may have to kill 180 birds on my property. Most are pets. All are rare breeds. Some I have been working on breed perfection of my own creations for 15 years. I did not know about MG a year ago. And the chickens I kept specifically for testing because of cold like symptoms were tested and NPIP certified. Those sick chickens were only kept long enough to have them tested. They were euthanized that afternoon. In my previous experience culling sick chickens was the best policy. But with Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) chickens exposed to it get it. Some have cold like symptoms, some just die, some have no symptoms and are carriers for life. The disease is a single cell organism without a cell wall. It can live on shoes and clothing and even your hair for up to 3 days. It can live in the human nasal cavity for up to 7 days. It gets in the dust and bedding of chickens. It is "shed" by the infected chicken in skin, feathers, and cold symptoms sneezing. This is called lateral transmission. And it can be transmitted through the egg. This is vertical transmission.
I did not know all these details when I posted chicks for sale. I have contacted most of the people I sold chicks to that I have tested positive for MG. If I missed anyone on this forum, I apologize. I feel horrible about my part in possibly transferring this disease to anyone.
My plan:
Step 1.
use vaccine in current breeding stock to stop vertical and lateral transmission of MG by vaccination with MG-VAC first. Then F-strain vaccination 4 weeks later for life time protection of those chickens. I only have chickens and 2 geese. No turkeys anywhere near me.
My only problem is procurement of F-strain vaccine. It is only available to veterinarians.
Step 2. Practice egg dipping to control vertical transmission of Microplasma Gallisepticum. Process includes washing eggs thoroughly in antiseptic and antibacterial wash. Heat eggs to 100 degrees for 3 hours to cause expansion of egg contents. Mix 500 grams of tylan in 2 liters of refrigerated water and 1 liter of ice. Transfer eggs from heat to tylan ice water mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes. The ice water / tylan mixture causes contraction of the egg contents pulling the tylan into the egg through the porous egg shell. In theory, the tylan kills the MG. My theory is that MG positive embryo are weak and the stress of the hot to ice cold kills all the weak embryos.
Step 3. Build bird safe coops for offspring. Practice complete bio-security protocols for that offspring.
Including keeping at least 1000 feet between vaccinated parent stock and non infected offspring. And keeping each batch of offspring seperated from each other. No curious farm visitors wanting to see all the pretty birds allowed. NPIP lab technicians will be required to wear bio security Tyvec overalls, mask and proper gloves that do not fall apart during testing. I will provide this extra biosecurity measure. NPIP lab technician will follow my orders in regards to handling my chickens. Testing will begin with non infected birds first and move to vaccinated birds. Last will be what I deem to be at risk birds. Blood vials and MG swabs WILL NOT be used in one pen and assume all birds in other pens are MG positive based on testing only in one pen. (That was a waste of my time and money and a waste of the federal government funds allocated for the study of prevalence of MG in Georgia)
Lab Techs must be educated about the diseases they are testing for.
I have been tested twice in last two years and both lab techs told me all chickens get colds. I am infuriated by this spread of misinformation. CHICKENS DO NOT GET COLDS! Please, as the Georgia Poultry Lab TRAIN YOUR REPRESENTATIVES BETTER.
Institute a protocol for testing that includes education about the diseases they are testing for. There is so much literature available on the internet. All you have to do is pick one and print it out for them to read as part of the training process. If there is no budget for printing these things. The fact that I know chickens do not get colds and your representative argues with me is insulting.
If I had not believed the first lab tech, I would not have continued to build a flock of breeding stock that carried MG.
It is the responsibility of the breeder to do everything possible to ensure the health and follow good breeding policies to have healthy offspring to sell to chicken enthusiasts.
It is the responsibility of the government entities the private breeder trusts (namely, the Georgia Poultry Lab) to make sure the breeding stock owner is aware of all the diseases that can affect the health of the breeding stock. All tests available and the cost should be explained when a flock for breeding owner contacts the Georgia Poultry Lab for certification. It is also the responsibility of the Georgia Poultry Lab to properly educate the representatives of the Georgia Poultry Lab so misinformation is not perpetuated.
I am extreamly distressed that your representative tested all birds in one pen for diseases that the rest of my birds may not even have. A vial of blood and a swab for MG should have been taken in all my different pens. So to me it was a waste of money to bother testing.
I am also angry that I received an NPIP certificate in the mail and was not informed that I was MG positive. But had to call several times to get my results. That should have been a priority for the Georgia Poultry Lab to contact me ASAP to prevent me from continuing to spread this disease to others. Seriously, if kill the bird is the only recommended way to deal with a disease. Shouldn't there be a little more urgency in the diagnosis and communication with the owner of infected birds.
I would like to speak to a veterinarian to express my concerns regarding my above complaints as well as get additional information concerning my steps to contain MG on my farm without euthanasia of all my chickens. Especially in regards to vaccination. If MG is such a threat that euthanasia is the only recommended plan of action, MG testing should be part of the required tests for NPIP certification. The flock I purchased that I believe carried the MG to my farm was NPIP CERTIFIED. So in essence, the Georgia Poultry Lab is responsible for the spread of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum to my farm. I trusted the NPIP CERTIFICATION to mean the birds were disease free. That was not true.
End letter
any feedback to this letter is welcomed.
Please try to help me word this letter to the best effect. Also please try to be understanding to my situation. I may have to kill 180 birds on my property. Most are pets. All are rare breeds. Some I have been working on breed perfection of my own creations for 15 years. I did not know about MG a year ago. And the chickens I kept specifically for testing because of cold like symptoms were tested and NPIP certified. Those sick chickens were only kept long enough to have them tested. They were euthanized that afternoon. In my previous experience culling sick chickens was the best policy. But with Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) chickens exposed to it get it. Some have cold like symptoms, some just die, some have no symptoms and are carriers for life. The disease is a single cell organism without a cell wall. It can live on shoes and clothing and even your hair for up to 3 days. It can live in the human nasal cavity for up to 7 days. It gets in the dust and bedding of chickens. It is "shed" by the infected chicken in skin, feathers, and cold symptoms sneezing. This is called lateral transmission. And it can be transmitted through the egg. This is vertical transmission.
I did not know all these details when I posted chicks for sale. I have contacted most of the people I sold chicks to that I have tested positive for MG. If I missed anyone on this forum, I apologize. I feel horrible about my part in possibly transferring this disease to anyone.
