Our Poultry’s Battle With Mycoplasma: What We Learned (The Hard Way)

When We Brought Chickens Home—We Didn’t Expect This

When we started keeping poultry, we dreamed of fresh eggs, healthy birds, and a peaceful coop.
What we didn’t expect was our flock getting sick—and facing the tough reality of managing Mycoplasma, a common but frustrating poultry disease.

We’re sharing our story: what we tried, what worked (and what didn’t), and what we wish we had known before bringing chickens home.

It all started when my seemingly healthy meat birds were finally old enough to move from the brooder to their outdoor coop.
The next morning, my daughter and I went out to check on them—and found one had died overnight.

It went downhill fast after that. Rapid weight loss, lethargy, sneezing, coughing, leaky eyes and beaks… it almost always ended in death unless we stepped in to end their suffering sooner.

We battled symptoms for two months with vet-prescribed antibiotics and little guidance—only being told, “It’s probably some kind of respiratory infection.”

When my egg layers—housed in a completely separate area—started showing symptoms too, I knew something bigger was going on. I sent one of the sick hens off to our state ag department for testing.

Sadly, the results came back positive for Mycoplasma, click the link to learn more.

What You Should Know About Mycoplasma:

• Highly contagious

• Cannot be cured, only managed

• Passed through eggs, meaning chicks can hatch already infected 🐣

• Spreads via contaminated surfaces—like feeders, clothes, and shoes

• May be asymptomatic until birds are stressed

After a lot of heartbreaking discussion, we decided the best thing for our flock—and our future as a farm business—was to cull and start over.

It was such a hard decision. I cried about it more than once. Some of my favorite girls had been exposed and didn’t even look sick yet… it was devastating. 😭

One major lesson we learned from this awful experience:
Be careful where you get your poultry.

Good biosecurity practices are a must, but sometimes things still slip through the cracks.

If you’re a chicken mama or papa who’s experienced this disheartening illness—don’t beat yourself up.
You’re not alone. 💪🏼