I'm interested in starting a conversation thread about effective treatments for common maladies that owners can perform on their own chickens without resorting to a vet (if at all possible).
In case you haven't heard, the FDA has been very busy in removing many common drugs from the over the counter market (ie your feed store) which were once used to treat illnesses in animals in the food chain (chickens, swine, cattle).
It has been largely directed at antibiotics, but that has swept towards others as well.
Here is the list of upcoming restrictions. You will now need a Veterinary prescription to obtain drugs on this list.
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary...ce/JudiciousUseofAntimicrobials/ucm390429.htm
I am heartbroken to see on that list Hygromycin B, the last and only approved wormer for layers. (This is important if you sell eggs to offset your feed cost).
There as well is Tylan/Tylosin and Tetracycline and Oxytetracyline and Sulmet (sulphamethazine).
I know many buy and use off label (with caution and care and adequate pull times), but that will become much more difficult now as many of these products will simply be off the shelves. Some feed stores have back stock, but legality of selling it is now in question, and back stock will deplete rapidly.
So what are we to do if a bird legitimately gets sick or acquires a malady?
Obviously good husbandry is always the first line of defense, but most small backyard holders simply do not have the field rotation to prevent the inevitable build up of worms and oocysts (coccidiosis), let alone the song birds and critters that track things in.
And, most small backyard holders do not have the dollars to run to the vet for every small thing like a simple puncture wound on a hen that starts looking ugly or seasonal worming!
Sadly, for many, it is very difficult to find a local vet willing or knowledgeable about treating chickens. (Vet schools are geared to commercial treatment which is generally to cull...at least when my daughter was working her way through Vet Tech school a few years back.) So many of us chicken owners are on our own.
What do you plan to do?
What treatments, herbal or otherwise, have shown to be truly effective? I'm interested in evidenced based facts rather than just grandpa's anecdotal stories (though old farmers can definitely teach us a thing or two) or an assumption that "it must be working" as "I've never had a problem."
Unfortunately the "natural" and "herbal" market is rife with a lot of very expensive products that are honestly, pretty ineffective "snake oil.".
Please tell us what you use, some evidence that shows it truly is effective, and how you treat with it.
Please keep all conversations friendly, honest, and with the intent to be helpful (not sell your product nor argue over ideologies...ie natural only or vet only).
Thank you for your input and hopefully a collective pool of helpful and accurate knowledge.
Lady of McCamley
@casportpony
@TwoCrows
@donrae
@Eggcessive
@aart
@sourland
@drumstick diva
@lazy gardener
@Ridgerunner
@fisherlady
@Egghead_Jr
In case you haven't heard, the FDA has been very busy in removing many common drugs from the over the counter market (ie your feed store) which were once used to treat illnesses in animals in the food chain (chickens, swine, cattle).
It has been largely directed at antibiotics, but that has swept towards others as well.
Here is the list of upcoming restrictions. You will now need a Veterinary prescription to obtain drugs on this list.
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary...ce/JudiciousUseofAntimicrobials/ucm390429.htm
I am heartbroken to see on that list Hygromycin B, the last and only approved wormer for layers. (This is important if you sell eggs to offset your feed cost).
There as well is Tylan/Tylosin and Tetracycline and Oxytetracyline and Sulmet (sulphamethazine).
I know many buy and use off label (with caution and care and adequate pull times), but that will become much more difficult now as many of these products will simply be off the shelves. Some feed stores have back stock, but legality of selling it is now in question, and back stock will deplete rapidly.
So what are we to do if a bird legitimately gets sick or acquires a malady?
Obviously good husbandry is always the first line of defense, but most small backyard holders simply do not have the field rotation to prevent the inevitable build up of worms and oocysts (coccidiosis), let alone the song birds and critters that track things in.
And, most small backyard holders do not have the dollars to run to the vet for every small thing like a simple puncture wound on a hen that starts looking ugly or seasonal worming!
Sadly, for many, it is very difficult to find a local vet willing or knowledgeable about treating chickens. (Vet schools are geared to commercial treatment which is generally to cull...at least when my daughter was working her way through Vet Tech school a few years back.) So many of us chicken owners are on our own.
What do you plan to do?
What treatments, herbal or otherwise, have shown to be truly effective? I'm interested in evidenced based facts rather than just grandpa's anecdotal stories (though old farmers can definitely teach us a thing or two) or an assumption that "it must be working" as "I've never had a problem."
Unfortunately the "natural" and "herbal" market is rife with a lot of very expensive products that are honestly, pretty ineffective "snake oil.".
Please tell us what you use, some evidence that shows it truly is effective, and how you treat with it.
Please keep all conversations friendly, honest, and with the intent to be helpful (not sell your product nor argue over ideologies...ie natural only or vet only).
Thank you for your input and hopefully a collective pool of helpful and accurate knowledge.
Lady of McCamley
@casportpony
@TwoCrows
@donrae
@Eggcessive
@aart
@sourland
@drumstick diva
@lazy gardener
@Ridgerunner
@fisherlady
@Egghead_Jr
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