Amoxicillin Dosage for Bantam Hen

[Jkpeterson1362]

I've got a little bantam hen that is 5 months old, hasn't yet layed her first egg, and weighs about 1.3lbs. She is a Porcelain d'Uccle and I was told by a user on here that her symptoms are similar to those of Salpingitis. Before I administer the amoxicillin I want to make sure I have the dosage right.

From what I have researched and found it looks like:

For every 1lb you should administer 57mg. Which means she would get 74mg.

Does this dosage sound correct to anyone who has treated birds with amoxicillin? Also, the amoxicillin is in powder form. She loves when I mix her calcium powder in yogurt/food, so can I give her the amoxicillin in that same way? This is my first time having a hen so ill so any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[coach723]

That is the correct dose, 57mg/lb, and should be given twice a day. The easiest way to give it is to mix it in bit of liverwurst paste and feed that. I've also mixed it in a bit of coconut oil and chilled it til solid and given it that way. I have mixed it in a bit of water and nutridrench and given with oral syringe, but the amoxicillin does not dissolve well in water, so that is harder. You may have to follow with some syringes of water, and shake a lot, to get it all out of the syringe.
If it is salpingitis (I've not seen your other post), it can be quite resistant to treatment so I wish you luck. I've not had luck with amoxicillin, but my cases were pretty advanced when found. You may have better luck with Baytril (enrofloxacin), but no guarantees. You can get oral enrofloxacin from pigeon supply (Jedds.com).

 

[Jkpeterson1362]

@coach723 Yea I was told not to get too hopeful. We were going to just cull her after figuring out what she had, but its hard to do that when she is SO active and seemingly healthy (and cute)! She eats, drinks and wants to perch on the box we've separated her into. She just seems to be in a lot of pain while trying to pass poop. I figured I would treat her for a certain amount of time and if there seems to be no progress we will put her down.

Thanks for your reply though that is all super helpful! I'll have to get some of that enrofloxacin to keep on hand if this ever happens again. Praying it won't though!

 

[coach723]

I've had several with this, sometimes you don't know for sure until they pass and it's proven at necropsy. As long as they are pretty much doing normal chicken things, eating, drinking, not isolated from the flock, I leave them be and with the flock. Once they are obviously not feeling well any longer, having crop function issues, isolating themselves or being picked on, then I make the decision to cull. I've had them last as much as 18 months, one almost 24 months, with this going on before they were obviously feeling lousy, though they do slow down. And I've had some go much quicker, there is just no way to know exactly what's going on inside and predict. If it is salpingitis then her abdomen will gradually over time become pretty bloated and firm, and you will need to handle carefully as it can be quite uncomfortable for them.

 

[Jkpeterson1362]

@coach732 ok once I begin treating her I'll throw her back in with the other ladies here soon and keep an eye on her. I'm just worried she's already experiencing pain with whatever this is she has so we'll see how this goes.

I'm curious though, are there certain causes for Salpingitis? I had a flock for probably about 8 years and I had never had a chicken come down with something like this? I'm seeing so much about lash eggs that hens lay due to Salpingitis, but never got one from my hens? I'm worried about my other hens as well and would like to take measures against it.

Again I really appreciate all your feedback and help. Its so very helpful!

 

[coach723]

In all my reading, I've never come across any information that gives a definitive answer to the root cause, other than infection/inflammation. Most studies are for production layers or broilers, neither of which tend to live long enough for this to be a huge issue, and when it happens, they just cull. Some think that it can be spread by a rooster mating with the hens, I would think if that were the case it would be more widespread. I've had roo's for years, and it's not widespread among my hens. It does seem to have a higher incidence in hatchery birds and hybrids raised for heavy laying. Most of mine have been hatchery RIR's and onset has been at about 2 years old, give or take. So maybe a genetic component? Some think it can happen when the cloaca is 'lazy' and allows bacteria in. I read one article that linked it possibly to bacterial/viral exposure as a chick, sort of a dormant thing that kicks in when the reproductive tract becomes active at some point. It's also similar to internal laying, kind of two sides of the same coin. When I lost my first hen to this I looked far and wide, and the information tends to be pretty basic and not terribly helpful as far as prevention. I just keep things as clean as I can, practice as good of animal husbandry as I can. I hope your girl recovers, sincerely, but if she does not it would be a very good idea to have a necropsy done, or do an informal one yourself, so you know for sure what happened. Sometimes different things can have very similar symptoms. This may help you:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

 

[Jkpeterson1362]

This is such great information. Thank you for the time you took to respond. As well as adding the additional link !

I wonder if it did have something to do with the idea of the chick being exposed to the bacteria/virus, and it had been dormant until she was ready to lay. Because this all initially started around the time that her and the other hens hit 5 months. While the others began laying, she started acting sick.

But I've also got a friend at a vet clinic, and she kinda echoed the idea that maybe its due to a "lazy" cloaca, or that potentially some breeds are more susceptible than others. If thats the case I gotta keep an eye on my other d'Uccle and see if she comes down with it eventually. I've only ever had EE, Dark Cornish, and some mutt hens before these bantams, and the only thing they contracted when sick was respiratory. Not to say they couldn't contract it of course, but maybe they're a little more resistant?

I truly hope she recovers as well! But this is all really interesting. You'd think that because Salpingitis is pretty common (at least from what I've been reading) they'd have more information on prevention methods and treatment. I'll definitely be doing a necropsy on her if things go south and we have to put her down. As well as educate myself as much as possible.

Thanks again!