Can Antibiotic laced eggs be used for compost pile?

[cas]

We had to give our chickens Duramycin as one of them had bloody diarrhea and was very lethargic. Reading some of the posts on here, I wish I would have consulted the post before starting them on it.

This is the first time I had a sick chicken, and didn't want to lose the whole flock. I called the local extension and they advised duramycin. It looks like we have to keep them on it for 14 days and throw out the
eggs during this time, PLUS 2 weeks afterward. I have 15 chickens and that is a lot of eggs! Can I cook them, and add it to the compost? Any suggestions? We are talking over 400 eggs!

And if anyone has proof that we can eat the eggs sooner (as in not waiting the 14 days after treatment ends) please let me know.

thanks! ~cas

 

[mypicklebird]

I would call the extension folk and ask them. There are almost no antibiotics labeled for use in egg layers. Yes for meat birds and turkeys, but no for egg layers. Duramycin says on the label- not for use in poultry laying eggs for human consumption. This means there is no published data on this drug for egg withdrawal time for avoiding drug residues. By default when there is no published withdrawal time, the time is for life. This is more important for people giving or selling eggs to other people. Perhaps your extension folk are privy to unpublished data, or perhaps they are basing a recommendation on the egg cycle being about 2 weeks. In any event- I would call them and ask why they recommended this drug when the label says otherwise. Most people when giving off label drugs (and this is what most people have to use), withhold for 2 weeks. Most people that do use off label antibiotics have a few birds, and keep the eggs after the withdrawal times for themselves to eat (or are breeders/showers)- and there is less worry about drug residues getting into foods for public consumption. If you give or sell eggs, you have to be very very choosy about what drugs you give these birds- as drug residue avoidance for the general public is a big deal. If you use them all yourself- you have more leeway to go offlabel- but I still would not eat eggs during the extension recommended withholding time- unless you don't mind eating small amounts of tetracycline along with them. I am also not sure why tetracycline would be recommended for bloody diarrhea- it is usually used in poultry for mycoplasma/CRD. Bloody diarrhea makes me think of coccidia, which tetracyclines would not be effective for. Coccidia is not a bacteria. When you call them- ask why they picked this drug? Ecoli?

 

[cas]

Thanks so much for replying so fast! So, the chicken with bloody diarrhea is back to her old self - the fact the Duramycin wouldn't fix that problem, does that mean that she would have gotten better if I had done nothing? Should I still keep them all on Duramycin? No other bird showed any sign of sickness, not do any now.
I feel like such a fool for going out and doing this so fast - I wish I had taken more time, but I was afraid that they would all get sick and die.
What, in the future, should I do with a chicken with bloody diarrhea and lethargy?
thanks again,
cas

 

[mypicklebird]

*If* the bird had coccidia, the duramycin did not fix it- tincture of time did. Only a fecal check would tell you if the cause was parasitic. So I can't really answer the first question. Actually for that matter- the second either. I am not usually a proponent of treating normal chickens, except for maybe preventative mite/lice and dewormings. Better in my mind to separate out the sick one and treat only that one. I come from more of a pet chicken background, not herd health- so opinions may vary there. Once you have started an antibiotic regime, I would be inclined to finish it- less likely to contribute to resistant bugs (in case there is something the tetracycline is actually killing).
So in the future if you have a chicken with bloody diarrhea- what I would do is separate her out into quarantine- to better monitor food/water/poop. Consider bringing a poop sample to the vet. Call extension for some phone advice. Ask at the forum. If you are going to use a drug, treat for a disease that fits the symptoms, or get a diagnosis from testing (the fecal would work for coccidia). Coccidia is not usually a lethal problem in adult birds, but can be if they have never been exposed, and if the stain is a bad one. Most chickens get immune to the organism and can exist with it- as it is in the soil, and they will keep getting exposed.

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