Hi all, sorry for my absence.
i recently got a 3-5 mo old americanna hen with either pneumonia or coryzo, but from the smell probably the latter. i got online help locally 3 days ago and made some improvement using vet-rx and 2 days of injections of tylan-50 (1.5 ml), heating pad and a steam vaporizor, which has been on non stop for 3 days now. yesterday was her best day, but im afraid i didnt make her drink or eat near enough and now she is so dehydrated and weak she will barely open her eyes and can only hold her head up for a few minutes at a time. her breathing is better, no open beak gasping, but she won't drink, and won't swallow, even a dropperful at a time very carefully in the beak. i didnt want to take a chance of drowning her and felt i had no other choice but to inject her as i read on a page i found. it said to use STERILE saline or lactated ringers but tyring to get either on a sunday afternoon is impossible. the PHARMICIST at CVS told me to put her in a tub of water to rehydrate her. i looked at him and asked him if thats how he would treat his grandfather in an equally critical situation. seems a chicken is only worthy of being a meal to most folks... so i mentioned needing saline for subcutaneus injection and he told me to use tap water...i wanted to hit the guy by now. Anywho, rather then driving to another store for distilled water, i bought it there so i could get home asap. I figured brand new distilled water was the closest thing i could get to anything sterile but i still need to know if there is a better way before i make an infected water baloon out of this poor thing. at this point anything will help as i am just at a loss and figured if the distilled water didn't kill her, the dehydration would. any idea's? im in st pte, florida.
thanks.
i recently got a 3-5 mo old americanna hen with either pneumonia or coryzo, but from the smell probably the latter. i got online help locally 3 days ago and made some improvement using vet-rx and 2 days of injections of tylan-50 (1.5 ml), heating pad and a steam vaporizor, which has been on non stop for 3 days now. yesterday was her best day, but im afraid i didnt make her drink or eat near enough and now she is so dehydrated and weak she will barely open her eyes and can only hold her head up for a few minutes at a time. her breathing is better, no open beak gasping, but she won't drink, and won't swallow, even a dropperful at a time very carefully in the beak. i didnt want to take a chance of drowning her and felt i had no other choice but to inject her as i read on a page i found. it said to use STERILE saline or lactated ringers but tyring to get either on a sunday afternoon is impossible. the PHARMICIST at CVS told me to put her in a tub of water to rehydrate her. i looked at him and asked him if thats how he would treat his grandfather in an equally critical situation. seems a chicken is only worthy of being a meal to most folks... so i mentioned needing saline for subcutaneus injection and he told me to use tap water...i wanted to hit the guy by now. Anywho, rather then driving to another store for distilled water, i bought it there so i could get home asap. I figured brand new distilled water was the closest thing i could get to anything sterile but i still need to know if there is a better way before i make an infected water baloon out of this poor thing. at this point anything will help as i am just at a loss and figured if the distilled water didn't kill her, the dehydration would. any idea's? im in st pte, florida.
thanks.
