Amoxicillin and chickens

[Charlene W]

My hens were diagnosed with mycoplasma awhile back and the vet prescribed a sulfa type drug that didn't work as well as I had hoped and some are getting the respiratory infection again. I got some fishbiotic amoxycillin at the feed store as advised by people. I hope it is better and we don't have to pull the eggs for almost 2 weeks again. It was winter before so not so many eggs to scramble for the chickens. Was looking up the dosage here. Saw a 500 mg capsule per liter of drinking water. How long to pull the eggs?

 

[coach723]

Usual treatment for mycoplasma is Tylosin or tetracyclines, I don't think amoxicillin is effective for it. See this article:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...ticum-infection-in-poultry#Diagnosis_v3342218
You can get Tylosin here:
https://jedds.com/products/tylosin-powder
Mycoplasma infection is chronic, the medications will help with symptoms, but the birds are not cured. They are still carriers, and will develop symptoms again, particularly during times of stress, and can still transmit it to others. So treatment is ongoing for life.

For future reference, amoxicillin dose is 57 mg per pound of body weight twice a day, orally. It won't mix in drinking water, it will settle out. When I give it, I mix enough for several doses (either ground up pill or emptied capsule) based on the birds weight and mix it into a small amount of softened coconut oil, divide into the number of doses and and then freeze it. Then I can give it like a custom pill. Goes down easy.

 

[Charlene W]

Thank you. The guy at the feed store said it covered any respiratory infections his birds got. I was hoping....and will now return the bottle. will order the Tylosin and keep it on hand. I have about 46 chickens. Apparently I got a sick one at some point last fall and it infected my flock. I am going to let them all die off eventually before getting more hens. That may take awhile. The vet charged a small fortune to diagnose it by throat swab on a hen, but at least I know what it is now. I am learning not to trust vets for some things and turning to the chicken community. I guess I should just treat the ones having an outbreak? Or should I treat the whole flock again?

 

[coach723]

I would probably treat them all. Since they are all exposed, it would be easier than doing a few, and then maybe having to do a few again, and so on. Sorry you are having to deal with it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Amoxicillin will not treat mycoplasma (MG) because it lacks a cell wall.
https://www.poultrydvm.com/pathogens/mycoplasma-gallisepticum

As Coach723 said, Tylosin can treat it, or you can get Tiagard or Denagard. Those are specific for MG. Tetracyclines, such as oxytetracycline or doxycycline may also treat symptoms. The good thing about Tylosin is that it requires no egg withdrawal. You can buy it from pigeon suppliers such as here:
https://birdpalproducts.com/product...tGxww81LxjX9Ews_m371Qei7G8dvvrRaXOIixANpbXj99

 

[Charlene W]

Thank you to all of you. Yeah, if I treat a few then someone else gets it and it keeps going on and on in circles. I buy my chickens at a poultry swap and got a few from a different vendor last year. Scott doesn't sell sick chickens so I should have waited until he had the breed I wanted. Learned the lesson the hard way. A guy there this month was trying to sell a one eyed rooster with sores on his comb. Been in a fight. I said something about the eye and he acted like he hadn't even noticed. That type I definitely avoid! Love the no egg withdrawal because I am getting about 25 or more a day and hate wasting them by feeding back to chickens, although they love them scrambled. I have had chickens for about 25 years and this is the first time for mycoplasma. Vet did throat swabs and charged me $388 bucks but I had to know what it was after losing about 5 chickens over a few months. I ordered the Tylosin last night. Again, thank you so much. Makes me wonder why the vet didn't prescribe it in the first place.

 

[coach723]

If it's not an avian vet or a vet that treats birds regularly, they may just not be knowledgeable about it. Some people just treat the flock monthly to keep it under some control.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have heard of some treating with Denagard or TiaGard in a prevention dose once a month for prevention. I would prefer to treat only a bird showing symptoms since the organism can become resistant to antibiotics with overuse. Placing a chicken in a wire dog crate with food and the medicated water, and leaving her in the coop or run during the day would be a way to separate without her getting bullied once she comes back in the flock. If you are able to place her in the cage at first light, she could even roost with the flock at night. Once a chicken is diagnosed with MG, the flock should all be considered carriers for life. Once the last of those birds are gone, by waiting a few weeks to get healthy chicks from a hatchery, you could then have a flock free of MG.

Zoologix is one of several national labs that will allow you to test your birds for multiple respiratory diseases. They will send you swabs for you to collect a sample from a chicken, and you can mail it back Fedex or UPS to them for PCR testing. They offer an avian respiratory panel of 8 diseases. Here is a link:
https://www.zoologix.com/

 

[Charlene W]

He's a farm animal vet and seemed to know how to treat a chicken but possible that isn't what he sees normally. We live in rural Afton OK. The prescription he gave me is sulfadimethoxine. It did work but not fast and I had to pull eggs for almost 2 weeks. At least it was winter and there weren't as many eggs. I have two out there now on that while I wait for the new drug to come. Others may have it, but it is not easy to identify the culprits all the time from hearing a sneeze or cough unless they are not in a group. None of them are over a few years old so we will be dealing with this a long time I am afraid and I can't add to my flock. That sucks with my chicken addiction.