Tylan injection...How do I do it????

I have a RIR with a swollen eye. I have been reading that Tylan injection is the best bet. Can anyone tell me how to do it. I am afraid to put it in her chest. That is what I read. Any tips???? Thanks.

Under the skin on the back of the neck is how I was instructed to do it. You just pinch some skin up and put the needle in the skin, not the muscle. Any other symptoms besides a swollen eye? Any discharges from the eye? Bubbles?

http://www.afn.org/~poultry/newsletr/1996/psep96.pdf
Chicken Medications
by Dr. James Barton and Clarence Gillihan
(excerpt)
".....Bacterial Diseases:
Purchase a bottle of Tylan 50 and several 3cc
syringes with 25 to 30 gauge 1/2" needles. Give your hen 1 to 1 1/2 cc. of Tylan under the skin of the neck .........Continue daily injections for three days but not more than five. Withdrawal time is one month. Tylan does not have much activity against coccidia, but it is very good against Mycoplasma bacteria which is responsible for some respiratory diseases.

To inject Tylan 50, pull the hens feathers back
to reveal the skin on base of the the neck on her back. Lift the skin up and insert the needle gentlty but firmly into the skin just far enough to allow the Tylan to be injected. You will be able to feel it. Be careful that you do not inject yourself. Make certain that you do not push the needle through the skin and out again not injecting at all................

Because Tylan is so powerful, it is recommended
that you purchase some Beneficial Bird Bacteria
and feed it to your chicken after she recovers.
Tylan wipes out all the benficial bacteria that is normally present in a chickens digestive system.

Also, Tylan can kill skin cells near the site of the injection so you should not use anything stronger than Tylan 50 - a stronger variety, Tylan-200 is also available at your local feed store, but this will likely do more harm than good.

When purchasing syringes, get them from a
local drug store. The 'human' grade needles are a little sharper than the vetrinary grade. The cost is about the same and your hen will thank you...."


If you have OXINE this is the time to use it and mist regularly with it.

Besides the Tylan you might also try an opthalmic ointment. It will help with infection and also keep the eye moist and repel some of the irritants that can make things worse. Also keep in mind that Tylan shots are painful and burn so your hen might react, just expect it so she doesn't jump and get poked with the needle a second time by accident. I know for my goats for pink eye I can squirt it directly into the eye for maximum benefit (it stings then too), but clears it up quick. I did this as a last ditch effort on a roo with a very goopy sick looking eye and it cleared it up in 2 days. But it's certainly an off-label usage.

WOW! Thank you so much for all of this information! I am so glad I posted.

While researching this , I read to inject in the breast muscle but I am happy to hear the back of the neck is OK. It seems a little easier behind the neck.

Her eye is swollen and drooping down a little, but I have not seen any bubbles yet. I have been checking her continually for bubbles. I put some sulmet in her water (which may be useless) until I get the syringes. Which makes me think....Is it OK to mix Tylan 50 and Sulmet???????

She is in with 5 others so I thought they could all use some sort of Antibiotic in the water so that is why I used the Sulmet. I sure hope she doesn't get all the rest of these beautiful birds sick. I would have a big problem on my hands.

Thanks again.
Kristin

Quote:
By Opthalmic ointment do you mean the kind for humans? I have some Erythromycin left over from when my son had Pink Eye. Do you think I could use that on her before the Tylan and hope it clears up? From what I have read if it is IB then I need to go for the internal antibiotic. hmmmm will try it anyway. Thanks!

No it's a veterinary ointment, you can get it online from veterinary supply houses or at a tractor supply. Comes is a little 1/8 oz yellow tube. Called Terramycin. The other might work just as well though. It's oxytetracycline and polymyxin. Works for a number of different types of infections.

Also the Sulmet is for treating coccidiosis which is an internal problem (protozoa in the stools causing diarrhea and blood in the stools, and I wouldn't think it would do anything for the bad eye. It is for a whole different class of organisms. I don't think mixing the two would be a big deal though since they act in two different ways.

I would be cautious about mixing antibiotics, which you would be very nearly doing if you preceded Tylan with Sulmet.

Read KJ Theodore at shagbarkbantams.com. She has an article on how to give injections to chickens. Just what you want.

You should consider that Tylan is meant to be injected intramuscularly--into the muscle--for a reason, apparently.

I'm no expert, but I wanted to offer this.........

Edited to say that you may freely disregard my thoughts about Tylan into the muscle. I defer to Speckledhen and the two Dr.s cited above.

Huge thanks for that reference, BTW

Yes the Tylan going into the muscle isn't necessary. The only injections that MUST go IM are hormonal shots, it's the only way they are effective.