Blu kote question

[Clay In Iowa]

I have a 4 week old Orpington with a nasty deep 1 inch long gash on the back of her neck. No Idea how she got it. I've checked, checked again and rechecked the brooder for nails/ sharp corners/ etc. I can only guess another chick did it.

Anyway the other chicks seeing red pecked it bare and bloody/nasty in no time. I check my bird twice a day and didn't see it during the AM check. I removed the chick and isolated her till she gets better. It was suggested by a vet friend I hit it with some bl-kote. Antiseptic/anti fungal and will color it blue so the other chicks won't peck at it. So I did.... THEN I read the precautions... duh.. "do not use on animals intended for food". Did I just screw up ??? I don't plan to eat her but I do plan to eat her eggs in a few months. Why the precautions (what compound) and how long does it persist in the bird?

On a side note the blu-kote did an AMAZING job of healing the wound. It scabbed over in less than 6 hours and has almost healed in 4 days.

 

[chickeepoo]

I've had success in healing my hen with the blu-kote, although it didn't always keep the others from trying to going after her…but it did make a nice natural shield. And the eggs are supposed to be OK to eat after 3 weeks according to some other BYC'ers (I used my hen's eggs 2 weeks after treatment and I didn't have any problems, at least not beyond the normal lunacy in life). It'll be months before you even get eggs from your chick, so you'll be fine.

 

[Clay In Iowa]

I contacted the company and was told

"The active ingredient is Gentian Violet. We have never done the tissue residue studies required by the FDA to obtain a claim to use in Food Producing animals, therefore we cannot tell you if it is safe or not safe to consume products from these birds. The product has been on the market a very long time and we have never had a complaint concerning residue issues.

We have many large operations that use the product, extensively.
Thank you for your inquiry."


Then I did a quick literature search for Gentian Violet. It's used in humans orally for oral hairy leukoplakia (a common oral manifestation of HIV infection) and in lactating mothers and orally in infants for both oral and nipple yeast.

I don't think it will be a problem.

 

[Jenski]

Hi, Clay! The active ingredient in Blu Kote is gentian violet, an antifungal.

I would not worry about it one bit for external applications in the amounts normally used for wound care. The only carcinogenic and renal issue risks I have read of were linked to internal consumption of large amounts of gentian violet (with the sort of exaggerated volume often used for studies).

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Ummmm... just a note for those that have never used blukote before-

IT STAINS LIKE CRAZY!!!!!!!! Seriously, this stuff gets on you and you will just have to live with being purple for a day or so. Gloves are a good choice.
(Not that I have personal experience with this or anything...

)

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Quote:
Yes ... yes it does. You can't see it but I'm giving you a purple thumbs up.

 

[Jenski]

Quote:
Yes ... yes it does. You can't see it but I'm giving you a purple thumbs up.

Oh yeah, THAT. . . I have come in to work once or twice with purple hands too . . . but at least I did not get the freckle job poor equibling did a couple of months ago! She was certainly a good sport to share the picture of her little accident.

At least you know your thumbs will be fungus-free.

 

[texaschickmama]

I just got the purple spots off of my face from that chicken shaking right after I sprayed him.....................

That was fun to explain for a few days.

 

[MissPrissy]

I use blu kote on my hens.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I was trying to dab some on the torn comb of one of my younger hens. She sat quietly long enough for me to unscrew the lid (foolishly held in the hand attached to the arm wrapped around the hen). About the time I got the darn thing open and dabbed on her head she freaked and jostled my arm. Pretty much my entire hand was purple. Sigh. I tried to scrub it off with fingernail polish remover (sorta works). Mostly I just ran around humming "Oompa Loompa" all day. Ahhh, the things you learn...