Blu-Kote Warning

[Ese_N_Gracie]

This is safe for birds. If we followed the FDA and USDA guidelines for what we can and can't use for food animals we would have very limited access to meds without paying big money. I know regularly used meds for Trichomoniasis and Coccidia have the same warning. I know Blu Kote works in a variety of issues including helping pix and bumble foot. I choose other methods though

 

[Leihamarie]

I know regularly used meds for Trichomoniasis and Coccidia have the same warning. I know Blu Kote works in a variety of issues including helping pix and bumble foot. I choose other methods though

What methods do you use and what are the alternatives to blu-kote?

 

[iwanaplae2]

I raise chickens for eggs, and rabbits for meat.
I realize this is an old thread, but maybe someone here will know the answer or at least where I can find the info.
It's been said not to use blu kote in food animals. But it's the best thing I have found for me to use. So my question is... What is the time frame in which you can't eat the meat after using this product?
Example: 1 week old rabbit has a scratch and I use blu kote on it. Rabbit doesn't go to freezer camp for another 11 wks. Is it safe?

 

[Eggcessive]

BluKote contains rubbing alcohol and gentian violet, an older purple staining antifungal medication that has been used forever to treat many fungal infections. In the 70's we actually used it in baby's mouths for treating thrush (candida) or yeast infection. Later Nystatin came out and was the best treatment. So, I would not be too upset about using it on skin of chickens occasionally to hide red scrapes and minor wounds. Sometimes there are better products to use on wound care, but everything does have some degree of toxicity if used in excess--even neosporin and betadine. Sometimes you have to weigh the good and bad. I would say that 11 weeks would be long enough for most any medicine to clear the body.

 

[Ese_N_Gracie]

What methods do you use and what are the alternatives to blu-kote?

Not sure if you are still reading this...I haven't been on this site for years. It depends on the wound... and I work with a lot of different animals so it's kinda hard to narrow it down. But for bumblefoootI use a tincture of DMSO Banamine and Baytril. For basic wound care I clean with a very dilute mixture of Chlorhexadine and water (Chlorhex is also great to clean kennels and general surface areas with. Then use a basic triple antibiotic. I aslo cover stuff with vet wrap if it needs to be....and they have a no chew version and it muast taste bad. I don't like using blu-kote purely because they used Gentian Violet on my great grandmother before she died....she had terrible bed-sores....so it only reminds me of that time (and the stuff I use works great).

 

[paneubert]

@Ese_N_Gracie , now this is an example of commitment to answering a question, even if it is 2 years late! August 2016.....geez! Good job.

 

[Chullicken]

Every last thing commercially produced and a lot of natural things have some kind of warning, even our precious apples, and their seeds. An adult human would have to consume roughly 20lbs of apple seeds to be affected. Most topicals have a generic ingestion warning to them because it's not the intended purpose of the product. Everyone is going to have an issue with something someone else uses. I just say do the research, make an educated judgment on whether is an appropriate product for you to use.

 

[Egg-alitarian]

Not sure if you are still reading this...I haven't been on this site for years. It depends on the wound... and I work with a lot of different animals so it's kinda hard to narrow it down. But for bumblefoootI use a tincture of DMSO Banamine and Baytril. For basic wound care I clean with a very dilute mixture of Chlorhexadine and water (Chlorhex is also great to clean kennels and general surface areas with. Then use a basic triple antibiotic. I aslo cover stuff with vet wrap if it needs to be....and they have a no chew version and it muast taste bad. I don't like using blu-kote purely because they used Gentian Violet on my great grandmother before she died....she had terrible bed-sores....so it only reminds me of that time (and the stuff I use works great).

Hi- I just want to point out it is illegal to use Baytril anymore in poultry. FDA banned it as people where getting immune to fluoroquinolones used to treat Campylobacter. While unlikely- one can actually be jailed and fined for this. Blue Kote is also prohibited- and instead aluminum (Alushield is one) which works just as well.

 

[paneubert]

Hi- I just want to point out it is illegal to use Baytril anymore in poultry. FDA banned it as people where getting immune to fluoroquinolones used to treat Campylobacter. While unlikely- one can actually be jailed and fined for this. Blue Kote is also prohibited- and instead aluminum (Alushield is one) which works just as well.

Can you provide any sources that show that someone can be jailed and/or fined? Case law or any codified law on the books that lays out what the charge would be or the fine/jail ranges associated with an offense of this nature? All I have ever seen is that the FDA has banned the main ingredient in Baytril for use in poultry, which they have done for many drugs. I have never seen any evidence of any sort of punishments for disobeying that ban though. Even the FDA press releases at the time of the ban do not mention any "teeth" behind it.

Yeah, the FDA has an enforcement arm, but they seem to focus solely on things like counterfeiting, theft, tampering, etc...

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-criminal-unit-guards-public-health

Guess what I mean is, have you ever come across any case law or press releases where the FDA came after anyone for "off label" use of a drug? I haven't. And they usually like to talk about that kind of stuff to scare others from doing it as well.

 

[Egg-alitarian]

Can you provide any sources that show that someone can be jailed and/or fined? Case law or any codified law on the books that lays out what the charge would be or the fine/jail ranges associated with an offense of this nature? All I have ever seen is that the FDA has banned the main ingredient in Baytril for use in poultry, which they have done for many drugs. I have never seen any evidence of any sort of punishments for disobeying that ban though. Even the FDA press releases at the time of the ban do not mention any "teeth" behind it.

Yeah, the FDA has an enforcement arm, but they seem to focus solely on things like counterfeiting, theft, tampering, etc...

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-criminal-unit-guards-public-health

Guess what I mean is, have you ever come across any case law or press releases where the FDA came after anyone for "off label" use of a drug? I haven't. And they usually like to talk about that kind of stuff to scare others from doing it as well.

I was told this by my vet literally 2 weeks ago when I brought a chicken in who was ill -told her I gave her Baytril a few times ( ahhh!!) but I did not know what was wrong with her. She was put to sleep that day as it was not an infectious issue. I was completely ignorant of this Baytril issue- no she didn't call the cops on me but... she did say it was absolutely a no-no- for even people who keep chickens as pets as I do ( and no egg sales either). She went on to say that " food animals" is defined as any animal which can be eaten or produce edible eggs or milk etc- even if I didn't. So- I went home and found an article- not this one, but one where it was quite spelled out. I will keep looking and send it to you. With that said, I am sure it would only be a real issue for vets, and commercial poultry farms, but why do it?
Also Baytril, or the drug class fluoroquinolones is actually illegal for food animals not because it is off-label, but because the CDC determined it was causing people to have both drug resistance as well as resistant strains of Campylobacter, therefore due to a public health concern, the FDA yanked it. Off-label is just a non-FDA approved treatment. This is not the case, just to be clear- it had a labeled use- now it is off the market in the US. Anyway- I didn't mean to sound like the poultry police, but I was legit shocked about this ( and embarrassed at the vets lol)and thought others may not know- carry on though... I certainly ain't going to prosecute you!
http://www.farad.org/publications/digests/071999ProhibitedDrugs.pdf ( third para.)