FYI: over the counter antibiotics prohibited w/o prescription after 06/23

[azygous]

This should answer many of our questions as to what meds we won't be able to get after 06/23 without a vet's prescription: https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/pha...otics-will-require-prescription-in-june-2023/

About the only ones we use for backyard chickens are injectible penicillin and Tylan 50, maybe some sulfas. It will require a prescription to buy those come June.

I have inquired at two of my online pharmacies about whether this federal law will impact the variety of fish antibiotics we have been able to get without prescription. One has replied. KVSupply said that they know of no reason why OTC fish antibiotics such as fish mox and fish cillin should be affected by this law, although circumstances may change.

Since Tylan 50 is one of the most often used antibiotics for CRD, the respiratory infection commonly affecting many flocks, it might be wise to replenish your supply before June. Be aware, though, hoarding these meds won't be practical as their effectiveness decreases over the shelf life.

 

[azygous]

There's no doubt whatsoever that we will see unnecessary deaths due to this overzealous government action.

It was meant mainly to target corporate food producers that relied on antibiotics rather than sanitation and hygiene to manage bacterial infection among thousands of chickens and other meat animals. It's unfortunate that medium size family farm operations and tiny backyard flock owners, who mostly are very conscientious about antibiotic use as well as caring for their animals are penalized for the behavior of the giant corporate meat industry.

I dread the consequences.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Sorry to hear that. It is already the case in Canada, and it is painful to know something could help, but I can't afford a vet or find one to take a chicken or duck patient.

We have no easy access to a fecal test either, that requires the animal to be physically seen by the vet, so if you have a flock and find a suspect stool, you can't just scoop it up and test it, you have to figure out who produced it, and bring them in for a full consultation.

That is crazy complicated and has been the death of too many birds for no reason.

With avian flu epidemics, is it necessary to bring a chicken to a vet (whose work brings them in contact with the virus) and then bring them back to the flock to see which worm she has gobbled up? You risk the whole flock just to get an answer that could be had with a simple test that is identical to a dog/cat test.

(Sorry for the rant, I went through an issue that resulted in an unnecessary death because I couldn't get some simple tests to rule out some potential issues. My grief is clearly not done yet, and now it is spilling out on my keyboard.)

Very sorry you are now in my boat instead of me in yours.

 

[dawg53]

Our government will be mandating how much toilet paper to use soon enough.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

It was meant mainly to target corporate food producers that relied on antibiotics rather than sanitation and hygiene to manage bacterial infection among thousands of chickens

That has never made sense to me, since it's specifically the mega-farms that can and will pay a veterinarian to mass-prescribe antibiotics instead of improving sanitation and hygiene. Seems like it's only smaller ranchers/backyard flock keepers that are financially harmed.

 

[dawg53]

Pretty much! Instead of the Communist bread lines in the USSR, we will be standing in lines for our allotment of TP! I am probably dating myself with that analogy.

LOL. It was like that when Covid first started, remember? The stores were empty of TP and when they got some in stock, it was limited to how much we could purchase or wait in line for one roll.
It'll be like that soon enough, not just TP, plain as day.

 

[ChknMama50]

I'm delighted - I'd rather some chickens die than we do for lack of working antibiotics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63666024

Do have to agree that it's very frustrating to see people abusing antibiotics and getting rid of the ability to get SOME antibiotics OTC- that is such a wonderful option for those chickens who truly Need them and owners who are responsible in their usage but can't afford a vet or don't have an avian vet available!!
Here's a quote from the article you linked to that sums up the major issue:

"The overuse of antibiotics, in both human medicine and agriculture, has seen them become less effective and led to the rise of 'superbugs' - strains of bacteria that can no longer be treated by certain drugs."

Not sure I'd go so far as to agree with your particular comment ;-) haha but I DO agree- it's a huge "pet peeve" of mine for many, many years as a former CRNI who worked almost solely on doing IV antibiotics on humans and as an ICU nurse before that- hearing just HOW flippant people are about these meds!

Can't even begin to tell you how many otherwise intelligent people will stop their antibiotic prescription before it's complete because they "feel better"- EVEN when they've been told repeatedly by the doctor, the nurse, the pharmacist, AND others for YEARS to please, please do NOT do that- ALWAYS, always finish your full dose- this careless behavior is why we have "SUPER BUGS" to begin with...

Now that same flippant action is going to hurt innocent animals and farmers/owners too!! Not sure they should pay for the actions of people who don't bother to put in the effort to figure out WHAT, WHY, and truly correctly HOW to use medications.... oye... sorry!! ;-) but just now finding out that this is going to happen in June...no wonder I'm having a bit of trouble finding meds for my poor sick chicken now!! As if it's not hard enough to become the one to figure out the problem, the proper treatment- and then HOW re: dosages etc. with chickens that the manufacturers won't help as it's being used "off label" so all I can do is THANK YOU THANK YOU, thank you!!! to all the wonderful 'experts' on this site who frankly deserve some type of real medal for having the patience of saints!!! I'm blown away by how many threads I read where they're given the very answer they are looking for and then two PAGES later are still acting like they have NO idea what to do.... much less taking the time to read the entire thread- yeah, it's a pain to all of us ;-) but doesn't take THAT much to finish reading or at least skim thru for relevant content and not ask the same question over again that's already been answered repeatedly..... You guys truly are saints!! (am starting to realize part of the problem must be when it's more "real time" and they've answered by the questioner hasn't seen it yet...but years later it's crazy to read!! ;-) lol

Great forum though- thank you so much to esp. a handful of names I see repeatedly here and on other forums even that take such time and effort to share their wisdom with those of us who are starting off CLUEless when it comes to chickens!! ;-) Tough stuff to sort thru and deal with when something you love or even just feel responsible for is suffering... Learning as much as possible is part of being a responsible owner I guess and I can only pray I can retain it all or at least take good notes that I can access much quicker!!! ;-) lol

 

[azygous]

We are fast approaching the June cut-off where over-the-counter animal antibiotics will need a prescription from a vet to purchase. At least that's what the law says.

I have had no real luck getting the on-line animal pharmacies to answer the question - will we still be able to buy fish antibiotics for our chickens without a vet prescription?

I believe the answer is yes, as long as the medication has a disclaimer on the label - "not for human consumption". But I have not been able to verify this from those on-line pharmacies. They do not answer my inquiries. But it appears we are going to still be able to get them without going to a vet for a prescription.

Now, here is another question a lot of people have been asking - is amoxicillin bought with a fish label the same amoxicillin as your doctor would prescribe for you? The answer is yes. Here is the lab study. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772414X22000111

The take-away from all this falderol is that this law was passed to make it appear the government has done something when very little actually will change. It also proves that politicians aren't qualified to actually hold down a real job like real people.

 

[azygous]

Sorry about the confusion. My health issue affects my cognitive clarity, among other things. Picture how you feel when you're coming down with the flu, the brain fuzz.

I also get confused by products called by a different name when it would benefit everyone if the names were uniform across manufacturers. That's a social disorder I have. It's just sometimes a real circus in my head.

Sorry I wasn't my usual self today. Now I am just going to go lie down.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

We are fast approaching the June cut-off where over-the-counter animal antibiotics will need a prescription from a vet to purchase. At least that's what the law says.

I have had no real luck getting the on-line animal pharmacies to answer the question - will we still be able to buy fish antibiotics for our chickens without a vet prescription?

I believe the answer is yes, as long as the medication has a disclaimer on the label - "not for human consumption". But I have not been able to verify this from those on-line pharmacies. They do not answer my inquiries. But it appears we are going to still be able to get them without going to a vet for a prescription.

Now, here is another question a lot of people have been asking - is amoxicillin bought with a fish label the same amoxicillin as your doctor would prescribe for you? The answer is yes. Here is the lab study. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772414X22000111

The take-away from all this falderol is that this law was passed to make it appear the government has done something when very little actually will change. It also proves that politicians aren't qualified to actually hold down a real job like real people.

Thank you for the calm your post provides...

After reading it I am tempted to say... Their efforts will be as successful as picking up Jell-O with a hammer.

I wonder if this isn't as much about the recent use of veterinary medication for self-medicating as about keeping antibiotics out of the environment. Politics is sometimes about the things not said, but secretly motivating.

(From Ketamine to Ivermectin)