Hen with Canker! Please help me know what to do to treat it!!

[Krazy4Chicks]

My hen (Blue Laced Red Wyandotte) has been having trouble swallowing for the last two days, and yesterday I noticed clear mucus dripping out of her mouth after she took a drink of water. I opened up her mouth a few minutes ago and from pictures I've seen on the web, it definitely looks like Canker. She's about a year old now, and is a good layer. I don't want to lose her, but my hubby says "no" to bringing her to the vet, as we just can't afford it. And to be honest, no vets in our area deal with chickens. Can someone recommend some medication that I can pick up at a feed store?

 

[dawg53]

You can purchase metronidazole 250mg tablets online as "Fishzole." Otherwise you'll most likely have to buy metronidazole or flagyl from a vet.
Dosage for the metronidazole is one 250mg tablet given orally once a day for 5 days. Birds with canker are carriers and can spread it to other birds via waterers/feeders. To keep canker in check, I recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon acidified copper sulfate per gallon of water for 3 days once a month. Make sure you use a plastic waterer when using the copper sulfate and dont overdose using it.
You can order Fishzole (metronidazole) in this link:
http://pet-healthcare.revivalanimal.com/search?w=fish zole
You can order the copper sulfate in this link:
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/acidified_copper_sulfate.html

 

[casportpony]

You can get metronidazole at Petsmart, it's sold as API General Cure, It also has praziquatil, but that will be fine. Check the back and make sure it has 250mg metronidazole and 75mg praziquantil. It look like this:





-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

3.67 pounds or 1.67 kg- she’s very small. I guess I can mix the power with water but that seems like a messy battle that will end in me wearing more of the meds than she will be ingesting!

At that weight, give her 1/3 of a pack once a day for 5 days

 

[fizzgigsmom]

Trichopills+ Trichomoniasis pills (can be bought on ebay, but I'm not sure about feed store) or Sovereign Silver (colloidal silver) in drinking water every day till a few days after it clears. (Can be found in health food store.) You can also use Baytril. I'm not sure where that can be bought without a prescription though.

 

[ksamples]

At two pounds he needs 45 mg (1/5th a pack) once a day.

Do I put it in his water or pour it down his mouth?

 

[ksamples]

Thank you so much for all of your help

 

[Eggcessive]

How much should I give my chicken of the general cure.

How much does your chicken weigh? The usual dosage of metronidazole for a 5 pound chicken is 250 mg daily for 5-7 days. Or give 50 mg per pound. On the label it says that each packet has 250 mg of metronidazole.

 

[casportpony]

Ok thanks, I really appreciate all the help. I will either mix it in water and use an oral syringe to give it to her or else my cat is on cosequin capsules, I may dump the cosequin out and put the API powder in the capsule and give it to her that way.

Either way will work. Good luck.

 

[CrystalAnon]

You can purchase metronidazole 250mg tablets online as "Fishzole." Otherwise you'll most likely have to buy metronidazole or flagyl from a vet.
Dosage for the metronidazole is one 250mg tablet given orally once a day for 5 days. Birds with canker are carriers and can spread it to other birds via waterers/feeders. To keep canker in check, I recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon acidified copper sulfate per gallon of water for 3 days once a month. Make sure you use a plastic waterer when using the copper sulfate and dont overdose using it.
You can order Fishzole (metronidazole) in this link:
http://pet-healthcare.revivalanimal.com/search?w=fish zole
You can order the copper sulfate in this link:
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/acidified_copper_sulfate.html

Thank you very much for this info. Due to this thread, and this reply in particular, my Lucy is back to eating & drinking again all by herself, for the first time in days!
I scraped the plaque out of her mouth. (Prob will need to do it again)
Found metronidazole at a local tropical fish shop a few days ago. Got two different brands that I’m switching between at 250mg per day. (They have different co-active ingredients… praziquantel & sodium chloride.) Used Fenbendazole for two days, until I was able to find the metronidazole. She’s doing well! Her mouth does not smell half as bad as it did the day I found her with this issue & the second/third day was the worst! She felt so horrible, I thought for sure I was going to lose her.
Thank you so much!!