Anyone know how to judge amoxicillin dose for a five pound Brahma hen?

[CazzaJayne]

I've had a few with the wobbly gait, and it usually progresses to Marek's paralysis. I'm not saying that's what she has, just something to consider. FYI, not all Marek's presents with one leg forward, one back, there are many ways the neural form can present itself. That said, no harm in treating for everything else it might be, that's what I would do.

-Kathy

The only problem with treating it for everything is I won't actually be able to pin down the actual cause, so I'll be no help to anyone else that experiences this. She does appear to be getting much better. For 2 nights, we had to place her on the roost as she couldn't get up on it herself (and she fell off it in the middle of the night on both nights). Last night, she got on to the roost herself and managed to still be there in the morning. This indicates (well at least to me) that the balance issue is improving. I suppose we'll know one way or another in the next few days. Just have to trust my husband to remember to give her the Amoxyclav tomorrow morning, I start a 24 hour shift this afternoon. I will give it to her just before I leave and the second I get home, but I need that 'in-between' dose in her. Fingers crossed she gets it lol.

 

[CazzaJayne]

I've had a few with the wobbly gait, and it usually progresses to Marek's paralysis. I'm not saying that's what she has, just something to consider. FYI, not all Marek's presents with one leg forward, one back, there are many ways the neural form can present itself. That said, no harm in treating for everything else it might be, that's what I would do.

-Kathy

And Marek's would be a total bummer, but I suppose if she survives it, she'll have natural immunity in future and pass that on to any babies she might have. I've been reading about vaccinations vs natural immunity and I'm kind of leaning toward natural immunity, which is ironic given I'm exactly the opposite in my thoughts about vaccinating my children. Given it's in wild birds (that get in their pen and eat their food, and poop in there whilst my girls are out foraging) it's impossible to completely avoid. So maybe having a strong, naturally immune flock is the way to eradicate it, at least from my property.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: I have it in my flock and I lose 4-6 a year from it, but that's 4-6 of a *very* large flock.

-Kathy

 

[Lora Indy]

Since your pullet is responding to the antibiotics it could very well be an ear infection.
I had a hen in very bad shape make a full recovery .It took her 2 full rounds of antibiotics, 10 days each.

Try to make sure she is drinking and if you can, try putting a waterer up on bricks so she doesn't need to put her head all the way down. Same with food. It causes more pressure on the eardrums when they put their head down and they may get dehydrated trying to avoid the pain.

Best of luck to you and your pullet, Lora

 

[casportpony]

Since your pullet is responding to the antibiotics it could very well be an ear infection.
I had a hen in very bad shape make a full recovery .It took her 2 full rounds of antibiotics, 10 days each.

Try to make sure she is drinking and if you can, try putting a waterer up on bricks so she doesn't need to put her head all the way down. Same with food. It causes more pressure on the eardrums when they put their head down and they may get dehydrated trying to avoid the pain.

Best of luck to you and your pullet, Lora

Very good point! I just received a paper from an avian pathologist that mentions this! Will ask him if I can share it here.

-Kathy

 

[Lora Indy]

I do hope you can link the paper!

I think inner ear infections are seriously under diagnosed because there are no outward symptoms. There is no visible swelling or drainage and they can hide the pain . You don't see anything until they get dehydrated or loose their balance.Then, it's a long road back. I had to hand feed and water Bobbi for several days because she couldn't coordinate her head and neck movements. She couldn't stay upright and kept circling left so I made her a towel nest in a big mixing bowl. If she got scared/tired/cold her head would whip down between her feet with her neck corkscrewed around in such a way I couldn't see how she could breathe. All in all, there was nothing that screamed ear infection, it all looked neurological.

I was very fortunate to find a vet that loves birds, is attending at a zoo and did not charge through the nose.

Bobbi made a huge improvement on day 5 of antibiotics, started eating like a fiend and started gaining weight back. She had lost a full pound so she had been sick for some time without showing any symptoms. At the end of the first round of antibiotics she still couldn't make it up to roost so she got another 10 days plus meloxicam. That did the trick. At that point we were going into winter and she had been in the house for 2 weeks so she became a house chicken for the winter.
She is now back out with the flock and doing great but she still comes to the house to lay her egg. She knows where her basket is, settles in and takes her time.Lora

 

[CazzaJayne]

Since your pullet is responding to the antibiotics it could very well be an ear infection.
I had a hen in very bad shape make a full recovery .It took her 2 full rounds of antibiotics, 10 days each.

Try to make sure she is drinking and if you can, try putting a waterer up on bricks so she doesn't need to put her head all the way down. Same with food. It causes more pressure on the eardrums when they put their head down and they may get dehydrated trying to avoid the pain.

Best of luck to you and your pullet, Lora

She isn't having any trouble lowering her head to drink or do anything else for that matter, so I assume that's a good sign?. She preens herself quite well and just as often as the others, including tucking her head in under her legs to get in between her legs, and wrapping her head around her side to get to the base of her tail feathers - and she does all this now without losing her balance. She's still a little wobbly on her feet, but nothing like what she was last week. The biggest thing that worries me is that she doesn't seem "happy" (having said that, she doesn't seem particularly depressed either, but just 'not herself') and I know what a drain that can be on her immune system. I'll just keep on keeping on with her and hopefully she'll be well again in no time. We're coming in to winter here (although our winters aren't extremely cold. It doesn't snow here or anything), so if she can come through this, she's one tough little cookie

 

[CazzaJayne]

Since your pullet is responding to the antibiotics it could very well be an ear infection.
I had a hen in very bad shape make a full recovery .It took her 2 full rounds of antibiotics, 10 days each.

Try to make sure she is drinking and if you can, try putting a waterer up on bricks so she doesn't need to put her head all the way down. Same with food. It causes more pressure on the eardrums when they put their head down and they may get dehydrated trying to avoid the pain.

Best of luck to you and your pullet, Lora

Very good point! I just received a paper from an avian pathologist that mentions this! Will ask him if I can share it here.

-Kathy

Do you ladies sense that Marek's might be the go-to diagnosis because the symptoms of many, MANY chicken ailments are so similar and Marek's is so 'scary' and common, or is that just me? I can't help but wonder how many birds are culled 'just in case' it's Marek's when it could have been something from which they may have made a full recovery. Does anyone have an idea how long it would take a chicken to either recover or pass if it were Marek's? I'm sure each case would be different, but a rough idea would be great. I had assumed that if it were Marek's she wouldn't have lasted this long, but I'm new to all this, so I shouldn't be assuming anything lol.

 

[casportpony]

I've had birds with Marek's live for years with it, so I just provide supportive care for them the best that I can.

-Kathy

 

[Lora Indy]

I'm hoping Casportpony's pathology paper can clear that question up.

She has considerable experience with Marek's that I don't. Reading about symptoms of someone else's birds on line is a very subjective thing . There have been plenty of posts that have left me scratching my head and others that had me wondering why people make the suggestions that they do.
My personal feeling is that anything odd gets lumped under Marek's. Bobbi's symptoms were so strange that a great many people would say Marek's. I started with wry neck or layer fatigue then went to Marek's. Thank goodness I found Dr.Peacock (yes , that really is her name) .
I'll add more here in a bit. Lora