Broad Spectrum Antibiotic when you don't know what's wrong

[Whiskey Bay]

Penicillin is the oldest in the book.It is a broad spectrum antibiotic used for just about everything. However like Speckled said, regular antibiotics are pretty much useless.They may treat secondary infections which may seem to help,but still does nothing for the underlying cause...

 

[kuntrygirl]

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Thank you. I'm trying to compile information and this is a question that I know that other people have and are not asking. I kinda thought penicillin but needed confirmation.

Thank you.

 

[mama dixie]

I have a silkie with a bad joint on it right leg. I posted a note to see what I should do and got a reply that I should use a broad spec antibiotic. I am just wondering if it is just a bad joint why is the bird not eating or drinking much. I am new to this site so I hope it is ok that I posted a reply when I dont really know alot here. I was going to take it to the bird vet and my husbend made the oh no another couple hundred dollers out the window look. I understand why he is iratated we probly have spent more than we should on the birds with the vets and all but I do want to take good care of them. my silkie has heat in the joint and it is aparent that it hurts it. I have it on duramiacin in its water but it does not want to eat or drink much. I have gave it coxi meds and wormed it, so now I am just at a loss any ideas it is getting thin and I am worried it will not make it though the night.

 

[Niss]

I culled it. The "shot on the dark" did NOT work.
I put up a post, but can't aford a vet bill at this time and didn't get much help here this time. Thanks kuntrygirl.

 

[kuntrygirl]

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I'm so sorry to hear that.

 

[edselpdx]

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x2

 

[Dr SAM]

when you dont know whats wrong its best to contact your veterinarian. antibiotics have withdrawal periods and unguided administration may pose a serious public health threat.

 

[troub]

I agree with your comment about antibiotic causing a possible health threat. I have a girl right now that is acting like she has more neurological problems than anything, but was fine 5 days ago. She developed diarrhea 3 days ago. My concern was her spreading any type of infection to the rest of the flock, so I separated her into a wire dog crate and brought her inside to monitor her and keep her warm. After treating her with electrolytes in the water and making sure she had plenty of fresh water and food, she did not seem to improve. My first instinct was that I was not going to pay an avian vet and would try an over the counter antibiotic, but after rethinking, I realized that wouldn't tell me what was really wrong so I took her to the vet. Unfortunately, she came up with really nothing either. The stool was negative and her physical exam was negative other than the unsteadiness and lethargy and pale comb. She did prescribe an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory as a hail mary approach, and I believe in this case it was appropriate because she was going down fast and it was worth the last ditch effort. The point is that I would not have known that if she started laying eggs again that they shouldn't be eaten for 6 weeks after her taking the medication which is important to know and I also wouldn't have known her stool was ok which would have lead me to treat all the other girls prophylactically and unnecessarily. The only other thought the vet had was that it could be lead poisoning, since the other girls didn't have any symptoms and although there aren't any old homes in my area for lead paint for example, she said my chicken could have digested a small piece of metal or something that could cause that. I know it is just a guess. I wasn't willing to pay the 70 dollars to test for lead and then the added expense of treatment with injections every 2 days on top of what I already spent because if that was the case, the other girls wouldn't "catch" it and I don't believe this little one will survive so to me it wasn't worth the added expense. I woke the next day to gentle clucking and she was still eating and drinking, but hadn't improved. Again she was still alive this morning and eating and drinking, but visibly worse. I still gave her the antibiotic and the anti-inflammatory and will continue for the full course but don't believe she will last that long. She isn't in pain from what I can see and I think if she were that the anti-inflammatory should help. I'm in the medical field and have seen miracles before so I'll just keep my fingers crossed! oh, the antibiotic she gave is a broad spectrum antibiotic called clavamox in pill form. I believe that is similar to augmentin? in people med. and the anti-inflammatory for comfort is called metacam with a dose of 0.25ml for a 2 and a half pound bird so roughly 0.1 ml per pound. she seems to do more after having it so it must make her feel a little better.

 

[troub]

Just thought I would mention that you are right about penicillin, it does work for a lot of infections such as upper respiratory ear etc., but it really isn't considered as much of a broad spectrum antibiotic. There are other antibiotics for specific things such as sulfa antibiotics for urinary problems like Bactrim and Keflex for wound infections along with many others. But as you mentioned, I notice that penicillin seems to be the drug of choice for a lot of chicken illnesses and I wonder if that is because their usual bacterial infections are upper respiratory.

 

[troub]

I need to eat my words! Penicillin does treat wounds as well, so it does have broad spectrum capabilities, but with that said, because different antibiotics are aimed at different bacteria, it doesn't have the ability to cover as many infections as a combination drug such as augmentin would which has a broader range of coverage. Sorry Whiskey Bay for the last post