Can Human Sulfa be used in an 'emergency'?

[aznewmom]

Hi all.
Been reading and reading today.
Love this web site.
ANYWAY...........My family got me 4 more chicks this year for my b-day. We went and picked them out last weekend. Two buffs and two 'mutley' bantams. The buffs had a bit of an issue w/pasty butt, right off the bat. I cleaned them up, read stuff here, trimmed a bit of the fuzz away, and the problem went away after a couple of days. "Buffy" ( I know......super original) seemed fine, but still was a bit 'lazier' then the rest. Well, today, she is just standing under the light, eyes closed. I am afraid for her. We did not originally get medicated starter (sadly, I am now learning that organic was not the best choice for babies.

)
I had my DH stop at the feed store on the way back to town this afternoon. He got medicated started feed and electrolytes. He had already left the store when I hit upon a thread about antibiotics.

I cleaned up the cage again and have tried to get her to drink. She gets fiesty and will drink a tad, if I dip her beak. She is not eating. She had a bit of a pinkish tinge on two poops earlier today. I have checked the photo chart on here and it is not the nasty, bloody type, but just a bit pink. I am hopeful but worried that this may be the beginning of something bad.

I have been reading that maybe I need to get her on some antibiotics......on top of the electrolytes & other things. I have some Sulfa, Septra DS, tabs here that were never taken. Would it be possible to give her some of this in water? Might it help 'til I can get back to the feed store? I don't want to her to OD, so is there a chart somewhere that might help me figure out a dosage? I really am sad and want to help this cutie!!!

Thanks for any help.
Cheers,
Stacy

 

[dawg53]

I dont know the dosages for the meds you mentioned. It sounds like she might have coccidia. I wouldnt recommend sulmet or any type of sulfa drugs, only as a last resort. There are 9 types of cocci that chickens can get. Sulmet and other sulfa drugs only treat 2 types of cocci. You'd be better off purchasing Corid 9.6 % liquid solution found in the cattle section at a feed store. Dosage is 9.5cc's per gallon of water for 5 days. Corid treats all 9 types of cocci that chickens can get. Give it to all your chicks.

 

[aznewmom]

Thank you.
I wonder if I need to go NOW. The others are acting just fine and dandy!
*sigh* It figures that this all happens on a Sunday afternoon.
I don't know how I will get her to take it if she is not eating or drinking.
Any tips?

Thanks again
Stacy

 

[dawg53]

Thank you.
I wonder if I need to go NOW. The others are acting just fine and dandy!
*sigh* It figures that this all happens on a Sunday afternoon.
I don't know how I will get her to take it if she is not eating or drinking.
Any tips?

Thanks again
Stacy

You will have to use an eyedropperful of the mixture, put a drop or two on the side of the chicks beak and let her drink it in that manner. It'll be time consuming. Dont try and squirt in down her throat, she could aspirate. Do this at least 4-5 times a day to be effective. Hopefully you should see improvement by the 3rd day, then she'll be able to drink the mixture on her own, but continue to the 5th day. The other chicks should drink it as well. Cocci can easily spread. It wont hurt them to drink it.

 

[aznewmom]

Thanks again.
All the feed stores I called were closed. The regular pet store had no such thing ( I had a feeling).
I feel horrible.
I will have to get to the store in the morning.
I hope she can last that long.

 

[aznewmom]

Oh ..........
and OMT.
Do I need to treat my other girls prophylacticly? (sp?)
I have three hens who are around 4 or so years old.
These chicks were outside, in the back garden, but in their cage, last week, when the weather was about 80F.
No direct contact, but the birds were in the vicinity. Also, when the chicks get old enough to go outside, do I need to
worry about my older girls at all?
Once again, thanks!

Stacy

 

[Lacy Blues]

Something I do when I have chicks, I take some of their food out of their feeder and cluck at them like a mama hen. You'd be surprised how many come running. In their early days I crush the crumbles between my fingers. I'd do it close to the sick chick. Sometimes just the other chicks eating happily will spur the sick one to try. How old are they?

 

[dawg53]

Oh ..........
and OMT.
Do I need to treat my other girls prophylacticly? (sp?)
I have three hens who are around 4 or so years old.
These chicks were outside, in the back garden, but in their cage, last week, when the weather was about 80F.
No direct contact, but the birds were in the vicinity. Also, when the chicks get old enough to go outside, do I need to
worry about my older girls at all?
Once again, thanks!

Stacy

It wont be necessary to treat your older hens. They should have enough resistance to fend it off.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Oh ..........
and OMT.
Do I need to treat my other girls prophylacticly? (sp?)
I have three hens who are around 4 or so years old.
These chicks were outside, in the back garden, but in their cage, last week, when the weather was about 80F.
No direct contact, but the birds were in the vicinity. Also, when the chicks get old enough to go outside, do I need to
worry about my older girls at all?
Once again, thanks!

Stacy

Older hens will have immunity built up to cocci unless they are immunocompromised. I would treat all chicks that were in the brooder/pen with the sick one, as they will need it. Coccidiosis can affect their future health and productivity as it causes its intestinal damage silently sometimes.

I personally don't treat older chickens (> 8 weeks ) that are nearby but not on the same ground as the chicks with coccidiosis.
Corid is the best- I agree with Dawg53. Only two of the strains of cocci cause bloody poos. Lethargy is a major concern.

http://www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/disease_links/images/coccidia.pdf

 

[aznewmom]

Hi Lacy -- Gosh, thanks for your input. I crushed up a bit of feed in the water I was giving her, dripy-drop. Don't know if any really got into her, but she was getting the water.
I will try crushing it up and see what she does. She seems completely uninterested in eating.

Dawg -- Thanks! That is a relief to read.
I saw, after reading all over this site, that this stuff is very common............seems like all birds get exposed to this at some point.
Just that some birds are more susceptible to it and suffer the damaging effects of it. Kind of reminds me of EBV (Epstein Barr), or here in Tucson, Valley Fever, in humans.
Some people get VERY ill, while others never even know they have had the disease. Is this a correct understanding?

Cheers,
Stacy