Canker metronidazole/ronidazole?

[dawg53]

True, but without knowing what's causing the plaques, culling seems a little extreme to me.

I understand where you're coming from. The most common "plaques" in poultry are canker and wet pox. To me especially with canker, automatic cull. Pretty much the same with wet pox. I'm big into biosecurity.

 

[casportpony]

I've saw lots of wet pox plaques in chickens in 2013, two canker plaques in pigeons, *zero* canker plaques in fowl even though my pigeons eat and drink from the same bins and waterers as my other fowl, a few bacterial plaques, and several cancer plaques.

I also talked to an avian pathologist at UC Davis and I think he said that he hadn't seen canker in fowl in ten years.

Anyway, I guess all I am trying to say is that culling because it might be something contagious might not be the best thing to do.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think it is something that is a personal decision for us all to make, whether or not to cull for a disease that might wipe out our flocks. It depends on how large the flock is, how much room we have to separate a contageous bird, how much time and money we have to spend on dealing with an illness, and of course, if the bird is a special pet to us. I have two bantams left in my main flock who I would really hate to ever cull for any reason unless they were suffering.

 

[HealingHens]

Thank you all, I appreciate it.

She’s still hanging in there. I honestly can’t even process the cost of the avian vet for this. I’m going to likely not take that route unless absolutely necessary. I’ve already spent a fortune
I’m doing thyme tincture 3x day bc I had it on hand as I read it’s as effective as the metronidazole which will be here Tuesday. Also ACV water. I’ve been using dropper to make her intake some water. She has not eaten anything probably since Wednesday. The smell of her breath isn’t as atrocious as it was Thursday but she’s still foamy with the heavy plaque and I can see her face is swollen. My local vets are awesome with my other livestock but none are really poultry educated.

As soon as I saw her acting off on Thursday I grabbed her and separated her. She’s not going near the rest. And I’m praying none of them get this, it’s just been awful!!!

Any suggestions on food offerings? Yogurt?

 

[dawg53]

You can use an eyedropper or syringe without a needle to get feed in her. Make a watery gruel with her feed and give it to her orally.

 

[HealingHens]

You can use an eyedropper or syringe without a needle to get feed in her. Make a watery gruel with her feed and give it to her orally.

Thank you @dawg53 I have a dropper and will give her some today

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have the time and want to attempt tube feeding, you could give 2 large or 3 medium feedings a day, and not have to constantly try to get small amounts into her. @casportpony is an authority on tube feeding, and has some good info. Ideally, having a real large bore feeding tube plus a catheter syringe is the best for thick feed, but one can also make a temporary feeding tube out of a length of aquarium air tubing from the fish aisle in WalMart and a 35 ml regular syringe from the feed store. The end of the tubing must be melted with a lighter to soften the sharp edges or you can damage the throat. This tyle of tube will only deliver water, plus a very thin chicken feed or yogurt and raw egg mixture. I believe KayTee baby bird feed is used or ground chicken feed with lots of water. Here are some links and videos to look at:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-supplies-and-where-to-get-them.915751/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/

 

[dawg53]

I dont recommend tubing birds with canker or wet pox. It may spread the disease to other previously uninfected organs.

 

[casportpony]

I dont recommend tubing birds with canker or wet pox. It may spread the disease to other previously uninfected organs.

I tubed mine and had no issues with it spreading. All with wet pox recovered, one pigeon with canker recovered, one I could not get the plaque to go away so I euthanized him

 

[casportpony]

If you have the time and want to attempt tube feeding, you could give 2 large or 3 medium feedings a day, and not have to constantly try to get small amounts into her.

This is what I would do. Less stressful and much safer.

an also make a temporary feeding tube out of a length of aquarium air tubing from the fish aisle in WalMart and a 35 ml regular syringe from the feed store. The end of the tubing must be melted with a lighter to soften the sharp edges or you can damage the throat. This tyle of tube will only deliver water, plus a very thin chicken feed

The aquarium line is big enough to pass the Kaytee Exact for sure, but might not be big enough for chicken food unless the chicken food is made into a puree, which can be done by soaking it in hot water, then pulverizing it with a blender.

I believe KayTee baby bird feed is used

Kaytee is what I use on almost all of mine.

The key to tube feeding is to correct hydration first by tubing ~15 ml per pound of electrolytes, Pedialyte, or Gatorade, wait 60-90 minutes and repeat, then repeat again in another two hours. Once this is done, the bird should have enough fluids on board for the intestines to function properly.

Minimum daily fluid intake is ~23 ml per pound, or 115 ml per five pounds. Let me know how much she weighs and I can help you come up with a plan.