Salpingitis antibiotic questions

[Chicky Chicky Boom Boom]

Hello everyone!

We had a few questions regarding our 6 year old hen, a Golden Laced Wyandotte named Peanut. To give a brief history, she has been experiencing symptoms of Salpingitis and possibly Egg Yolk Peritonitis(occasional small lash eggs,swollen abdomen), and has recently been experiencing occasional respiratory symptoms(crackling noise during breathing, sneezing). We realize that this is probably incurable, we are mostly hoping to prolong her comfort and possibly longevity if we can.
Our flock is Mycoplasmosis positive, and we assume the Salpingitis may originate from there. To treat the Salpingitis, we have administered Baytril (Enrofloxacin) orally to Peanut about once a month, for the past 3 months(about 12 mg/kg 2x daily, 5-7 days each). Each cycle has relieved the symptoms, only for them to come back after a few weeks. We've been administering Denagard (Tiamulin) to the rest of the flock to treat Mycoplasmosis once every month in their drinking water, with 5-day cycles. We haven't been giving it to Peanut (she's been inside this whole time), because we're unsure about overdoing antibiotics.

So, some of the questions we have...
Is it safe to continue to administer Baytril? We are worried we may inadvertently breed a superbug in Peanut that we might carry to the rest of the flock.
We have read some folks combine Baytril and Doxycycline, and we are considering that as a next step. Has anyone had success with that combo? Any pointers about dosage or length of cycle? We have read about smaller pet birds being on Baytril for a month or more...We also have Tylosin on hand but have not used it on Peanut as of now.
and..
We are wondering if anyone has suggestions about combinations of any of these drugs since the Baytril on its own doesn't seem to help longer term.
Side note, she is not laying so we are not worried about a withdrawal period.

Thanks for your time and thoughts, any input is much appreciated!

 

[coach723]

I've had a fair number of hens with salpingitis, I've not had one recover from it. I've tried just about every antibiotic out there, singly and in combinations, and the best I can say is that sometimes it may have bought the bird some time, but it not cure it. They all ultimately succumbed at some point. It's notorious for not responding to treatment. The best chance is when caught early, and most of the time it is not. They are so good at hiding the symptoms that most often it's pretty advanced by the time you know. I've never had one start laying again with it. I'm not trying to be discouraging, just honest. When I have a bird with it now, I generally don't treat unless there is no abdominal bloat I can feel. Otherwise I just leave them with the flock until they are obviously unwell, go off food or water, isolate themselves, or get attacked by flock mates. Then I euthanize. I have one now that is very advanced and is expelling lash material almost daily. I will euthanize when the time comes. I think if you've treated 3 times already with no real positive results, I personally would stop treating it. I doubt the MG has anything to do with it. I have never had a respiratory disease in my flock, and yet have had a fair amount with salpingitis. It's more likely that the cause is based more on a reproductive cycle that has them ovulating almost daily, a system that doesn't get much rest. I would think that the stress of any other illness could cause a flair in MG symptoms though.

 

[Chicky Chicky Boom Boom]

Thank you for your response, coach723. That's about the answer we expected...We were hoping we might have caught it early enough.. sigh. Sweet little Peanut.
Anyway, your input is appreciated.

 

[MsPennysMum]

Don’t give up on her… my Lily survived a bout of salpingitis and 6 months down the track is still with us, which considering she’s a ex-commercial Isa Brown is pretty phenomenal. Vet treated Lily with tribessen. She now has hormone implant so crossing fingers that takes care of any further reoccurrence. Just saying it might not be all over quite yet.

 

[coach723]

Tribrissen is another type of SMZ/TMP (Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim) medication. I have used that on occasion also. You can get it as a fish antibiotic on line without a prescription. Look for fish SMZ/TMP or aqua-SMZ/TMP . When you have the help of a vet they can often test to see which antibiotic may be most effective. Without a vet you go with what has worked in the past, and if it doesn't work you can switch to another medication to see if it will, trial and error, basically. And hope. The implant can be a lifesaver in some situations with reproductive problems, but not everyone has access to vet that will do it, or cannot manage/justify the cost. I've heard of some people that were able to have it done fairly reasonably, but many found it to be quite expensive. And it's a recurring cost since it needs to be redone every 4 to 6 months usually.

 

[swaterman]

Hello, do you know how to dose and how much? I have a hen I suspect has this and cannot afford to take her to the vet.

 

[coach723]

For salpingitis, enrofloxacin (Baytril is one brand) is usually considered the best option. I will link to two sources where you can get the oral medication without prescription. Dose is .045 ml per pound of body weight twice a day for 5 days. It is given orally. If you have never given medication orally before, the last link is to info on how to do that safely.
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10
https://jedds.com/products/enrofloxacin-10?_pos=1&_sid=67a6fd1d7&_ss=r
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[swaterman]

Thank you so much!

 

[Melissa C]

Hello everyone!

We had a few questions regarding our 6 year old hen, a Golden Laced Wyandotte named Peanut. To give a brief history, she has been experiencing symptoms of Salpingitis and possibly Egg Yolk Peritonitis(occasional small lash eggs,swollen abdomen), and has recently been experiencing occasional respiratory symptoms(crackling noise during breathing, sneezing). We realize that this is probably incurable, we are mostly hoping to prolong her comfort and possibly longevity if we can.
Our flock is Mycoplasmosis positive, and we assume the Salpingitis may originate from there. To treat the Salpingitis, we have administered Baytril (Enrofloxacin) orally to Peanut about once a month, for the past 3 months(about 12 mg/kg 2x daily, 5-7 days each). Each cycle has relieved the symptoms, only for them to come back after a few weeks. We've been administering Denagard (Tiamulin) to the rest of the flock to treat Mycoplasmosis once every month in their drinking water, with 5-day cycles. We haven't been giving it to Peanut (she's been inside this whole time), because we're unsure about overdoing antibiotics.

So, some of the questions we have...
Is it safe to continue to administer Baytril? We are worried we may inadvertently breed a superbug in Peanut that we might carry to the rest of the flock.
We have read some folks combine Baytril and Doxycycline, and we are considering that as a next step. Has anyone had success with that combo? Any pointers about dosage or length of cycle? We have read about smaller pet birds being on Baytril for a month or more...We also have Tylosin on hand but have not used it on Peanut as of now.
and..
We are wondering if anyone has suggestions about combinations of any of these drugs since the Baytril on its own doesn't seem to help longer term.
Side note, she is not laying so we are not worried about a withdrawal period.

Thanks for your time and thoughts, any input is much appreciated!

I thought I'd post what I did to clear up my hen's salpingitis. She was laying lash eggs and quite big ones for some time. I thought I was going to lose her but she seems to be making a full recovery and I thought I'd share in case it can help anyone else. Here's what I did: twice/day I made a concoction of .5 mL of oregano oil (to fight the infection if it was viral), 1/4 teaspoon Manuka honey, 1.5 mL nutridrench (when she was super sick and losing so much weight), as well as 1/2 tablet Baytril (an antibiotic.) I did this for 10 days straight twice/day except I stopped using the Manuka honey about 1/2 way through and switched to regular honey (less than 1/4 teaspoon.) I think the combo of all of these things seemed to work. I syringed it into her mouth. (She did not like it.) She hasn't laid any more lash eggs. I'm doubtful that she'll lay eggs again but I'm glad she didn't die. I hope this helps people looking for an effective treatment. (I added oregano oil and Manuka honey because the oregano oil has strong anti-viral properties and Manuka honey has strong anti bacterial properties. I read a trial that was done with Oregano oil to fight E. coli and based my dosage on the info in the trial.) My hen weighs about 4-5 pounds so .5mL twice/day was the dosage for her. I totally winged the Manuka honey dosage giving her 1/4 tsp twice/day for 5 days. Then I switched to regular honey in part because the Manuka honey I have was incredibly expensive. (I used it in the past to help treat a MRSA infection.)

I don't know about the combination of drugs you mentioned but I thought I'd share what I did to treat my hen who was laying quite large lash eggs. Since treatment she hasn't laid anymore lash eggs, her energy has returned, she's eating well and she doesn't have anymore diarrhea. I think Oregano oil probably contributed to her recovery as well as Manuka honey along with the Baytril. Oregano oil has anti bacterial and anti viral properties. Good luck!!

 

[Sarahh_Janeyy]

Hey, just one thing to add to this - do you have access to Meloxicam? I've had mixed results with it. But as an anti-inflammatory, it has helped various chickens with various inflammation issues (esp in the reproductive tract). I have been having the best luck with using it every other day. I had a chicken we used it with every day and she stopped eating. You have to give it with food/not an empty crop. We have used it in conjunction with antibiotics to help our chickens.

One girl with egg yolk peritonitis didn't make it, necropsy showed she had a ruptured oviduct. I wonder if an implant could have prolonged her life, but sadly we'll never know I hope the backyard chicken laws will change.. It it heartbreaking to know there are solutions out there we don't have access to because people eat the animals we call pets.