Bad Reactions to Ivermectin?

[casportpony]

The recommended dose of oral ivermectin is 200 micrograms (.2mg) per 2.2 pounds, which is .02ml of the 1% liquid, not sure how that translates to the paste.

-Kathy

Edited to fix math error. Was off by a factor of ten!

 

[casportpony]

That actually sounds like an awful lot. The most of ANY medication I have given to one of my chickens, was .3cc of an antibiotic MEANT for poultry.

But what was the reason you needed the ivermectin? Was she sick already?

It all depends on the weight of your bird and the medicine you're using. My larger birds often get 2ml of liquid Safeguard.

-Kathy

 

[LTygress]

1 ML = 1CC
So .2 mL is the same as .2cc

On the injectible liquid, it says right on the front that cows should be 1mL (1 full cc) per 110 lbs of body weight. Swine should be 1mL per 75 pounds of body weight. Chickens should be somewhere around there, but they are no where NEAR 75 or 110 lbs each. So they definitely shouldn't ever get a full cc of it. Ever.

Maybe .2cc, but not a full cc/mL. So .8 - which is close to 1 full cc - is still quite a bit for such a tiny body!


The paste has a higher concentration, so you should technically use even less paste than you do the liquid.

 

[casportpony]

According to Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook:

• Swine - 300 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Horses - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Goats - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Sheep - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Camelids - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Cattle - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Cats - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Rabbits - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Most birds - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds
• Reptiles - 200 micrograms per 2.2 pounds

200 micrograms (.2mg) is .02ml of the 1%, so an 8.8 pound (4kg) bird would get .08ml of the 1%. I'm too lazy to do the math for the 1.87% paste right now, but it is on my list of things to do, lol.

-Kathy

Edited to add: If my math is wrong, please correct me!
Edited again to fix math error. Was off by a factor of ten!

 

[LTygress]

I'm pretty sure that 200 micrograms (.2mg) is .2ml of the 1%,

-Kathy

That's where it is wrong.

http://calculator-converter.com/converter_mcg_to_ml_micrograms_to_milliliters_calculator.php
mcg = ml (mcg stands for Micrograms, mg stands for milligrams)

1.0 = 0.000001
200 = 0.0002

So a 2.2 lbs bird would technically get .0002 mL/cc.

A 8.8 lbs bird would get .0008 mL/cc

Keep in mind that it's only a 1% solution, so you can take out two more decimal points to make it .08 for an 8.8-lb bird. Yet .2cc is fine and much easier to measure. Stronger than what they recommend in that handbook, but then there's no easy way to measure .02 mL either! Even a diabetic's syringe only shows .1 mL (known as 10 units) at a time.

So a full cc is still FAR too much. It was probably the confusion in abbreviations for micrograms and milligrams (mg versus mcg) that got it though.



As for the paste, keep in mind that it is almost twice as concentrated, and you're already giving a stronger dose than the book says. So literally half the dose would be acceptable. A .1mL of the paste would be fine.

 

[RustyBulleit]

I gave them a wormer because I had heard that it is something that should be done every three months or so. Yesterday is the first time I have done such a thing and my girls are 8 and 4-5 months old. I do not know how much they weigh, but if I'm administering medication this is something I should be mindful of.

The lethargic chicken is absolutely fine this morning. Perhaps, she was just sleepy last night and I overreacted. They are my pets. Two other members of my flock were killed by dogs so I'm a bit protective of my two remaining girls.

Thanks for all of the advice.

~R

 

[cafarmgirl]

You might switch to Valbazen or liquid Safeguard for goats next time you deworm. They are much more effective for poultry then ivermectin as well as being very easy to measure and dose chickens. They also have a very wide margin of safety.

 

[dawg53]

You might switch to Valbazen or liquid Safeguard for goats next time you deworm. They are much more effective for poultry then ivermectin as well as being very easy to measure and dose chickens. They also have a very wide margin of safety.

x2

 

[casportpony]

Please ignore the the ivermectin dose amounts in my previous posts until I correct my very serious math mistakes!
So sorry!

-Kathy

 

[RustyBulleit]

I didn't see Valbazen or Safeguard at my local feed store. I only looked in the poultry section though.