Baytril or Cipro?

[AmyJane725]

Hey, so my other topics haven't gotten much attention, so I'm gonna try again with a different angle.

My hen is sick. We've been to the vet 5 times now. None of the antibiotics they've been giving me seem to help.

Baytril or Ciprofloxacin seem to be the best options at this point, but vets are no longer allowed to prescribe them.

I have some cipro eardrops left over from when I had an ear infection. I'd have to find the bottle, but would that be better than Baytril? If not, does anyone know of a good source for baytril? I guess it used to be the go-to med for pet birds back before it became illegal to give it.

 

[AmyJane725]

Well, I think the metacam is working at least. I caught her holding her holding her left eye open for a minute.

 

[azygous]

I euthanized the old girl this morning.

 

[Banana01]

You may be dealing with a viral sickness, but I agree it is worth a try and applaud your thinking outside of the box for medicines. The vets and regulations are nonsense to me, i live outside the us and can buy any farm meds without paying hundreds of dollars to get someones permission.

But what are the sickness symptoms you are seeing? Are you up to date with deworming and coccidiosis treatment? Are there any signs of mites on the face or head? If those are yes, then antibiotics should be the next treatment.

I have enrofloxacin liquid drops, and several other antibiotics i have mixed together that offer relief. You have to just make sure the drug interactions and side effects arent negative, and mixing antibiotics is common.

So for

Enrofloxin (baytril)
Ciprofloxacin

They are both Fluoroquinolone. I dont think it would be recommended to give both, because it may not even broaden the scope of the medicine. If you have enrofloxacin, i would give that one. It is even sold where i live for treating chickens.

Ciorofloxacin on the other hand has some horrendous side effects and the directions are extremely strict and you would have to be very careful and monitor for side effects to stop immediately. Even exposure to sunlight on the medicine has possible bad effects.

 

[AmyJane725]

I am no help but wanted to follow this and comment on your care. You're doing an amazing job in caring for your beautiful hen and she sure is a beauty. It's obvious how much you care for her. I'll be over here cheering both of you on. We're all hoping for a full recovery for her. Does she have a name?

Her name is Ildi (Ill-dee).

Thank you so much for the kind words. I was starting to feel like maybe I made a mistake by trying to have her abscess treated since she was still eating and acting normal. Glad to know someone thinks I'm doing the right thing/at least trying my best.

 

[azygous]

About the only time you'd want the gram stain test is if the antibiotic isn't working. Then you'd want to find out the nature of the bacteria's cell walls so you can then select an appropriate antibiotic to target it. Most of the time, a broad spectrum antibiotic works well, and it's not necessary to become familiar with the bacteria on a first name basis.

 

[AmyJane725]

I know it's a little early to celebrate and we're not out of the woods yet, but there is something to be said for not giving up. I think a lot of people would have culled her if they had seen her in the condition I did, but I believe in giving every chance and I'm so glad I did.

 

[azygous]

Good plan. As long as she's inclined to eat on her own, don't tube. Prolonged tubing fills the crop and prevents the normal hunger signals reaching the brain, and soon hunger is forgotten and so is interest in eating. Tubing fluids is a better alternative as that actually works in favor of the crop emptying and triggering hunger.

When deciding to cull a sick chicken, it's good to tap into your own intuition about your chicken and let her behavior tell you if she still wants to fight or not. You can tell when a chicken has given up.

Also, not every chicken keeper has time and knowledge to treat a sick chicken, especially in a large flock. There is no shame in culling a sick chicken in this case. It all goes to you own individual management of your flock. It boils down to what's right for each flock keeper.

 

[AmyJane725]

For cats and dogs, it's best to give Baytril on an empty stomach--I assume it's the same for chickens.

The Baytril has landed!
Her crop still had some food in it, but I wanted to just get the meds onboard.
I gave the first dose. I'll wait until her crop is empty to do the next one.
Thanks for the info @Peas4Ducks

 

[AmyJane725]

Here's our girl today. Sorry the lighting is poop. Also, since I'm posting chicken pictures, I might as well include Limpy Jr. (my permanent indoor chicken) who is keeping her company. I call him The Little Prince, as he is quite spoiled, lol. And she's sitting tilted forward like that because her diaper is on and it feels weird, so don't worry.