antibiotics in water

[tnchickenut]

I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why would you medicate birds if they are healthy? I have never had (other than some crippled chicks at birth) any sick chicks. Not from hatchery, not from my own stock, not from others backyard eggs that I hatched.
Antibiotics when not needed is never a good thing... in any animal, including humans. You can and will build up a tolarence and when the bird is truely is needing them you will be hard pressed for treatments.
Nope. Don't do it.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Yep...agree with Cyn. Why would you even consider putting antibiotics in the water of a bird that isn't sick? Kind of scary to me that as a vet you would even consider it.

 

[gritsar]

I should have mentioned, I had 100% survival rate without antibiotics, hatchery stock. My birds have been "on the ground" since they were two and a half weeks old.
I've had three long time commercial poultry farmers tell me that in their opinions my birds are healthier than theirs, who are pumped full of antibiotics and other medications from day one.
ETA: I should correct myself here and state that I meant to say medications and vaccines, since they don't use antibiotics.

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
ditto.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

We never use anti biotics. We use pro biotics.
A little bit homemade kombucha in the water once a week, and when I think about it, small amounts of raw dairy kefir that we make.
We have had zero illness in a full year.
Back when we started doing that, we saved several chickens that should have died.
And they got better far faster then antibiotics could manage.

The thing with anitbiotics, is that they are not discriminitory. They kill off all the good bacteria. Bacteria that is needed for health.
We also avoid them for the humans as well.

For wounds, we use raw coconut oil and raw honey. Nothing else.

Oh, and I have used drops of fermented cod liver oil for a few of our meat chicks last year.
We also give it to our cats on occasion.
And we never vaccinate.

And people wonder why we are so healthy, ever since we stopped mainstream medicine usage around here