Actually, I would remove all plaque first, but either way, I don't think it's an issue. The bird has plaque, the bird has saliva. When it swallows, I'm sure some of those plaque microbes get swallowed too.Do you want to ramrod it down the esophagus?
Yes, but I replied anyway, lol.You know I'm messing with you!
this is such a wealth of information, I thank you so much for all of it! Great pics and diagrams, super helpful!!!!
Yes, you are correct. Do not mix more than 1/4tsp per gallon. More is not better and it can burn them internally.
and always great to hear the outcome of a thread here, it's so helpful for so many people, thank you for updating!
Hey there may be dealing with the same thing. We treated for 1 week with metronidazole. 30 mg twice a day, she was only 2 pounds at that point. Wondering if the diagnosis ended up being canker? Also did the vet mention an egg withdrawal period? Or that her eggs were no longer able to be eaten due to metronidazole use? Thanks so much for sharing!Hi all,
I wanted to update this thread in case people are searching for help. It's a good news story!
So Marilyn started to get worse and eventually she had not eaten for a couple of days. I had tried to give her the Metronidazole in food but it tastes so bad she would not eat it. I cut 250mg tablets into quarters, coated them in lard so she couldn't taste it and managed to force them into her beak. As soon as I let her go she would flick the medicine out again. I decided to get serious with her. I crushed the tablet and slurried it up with veg oil, then caught her and used a plastic pastette to squirt it into the right side of her throat. She did not like it but had no choice but to swallow it. I did the crazy pigeon thing (desperation...) and she was getting about 100mg each day. The vet had said to treat for 3 weeks: I managed 20 days during which she had a poor appetite as metronidazole apparently makes everything taste horrible. On the 10th day she went into moult and lost her tail/neck feathers so looked awful. She was still gurgling and shaking her head throughout so I really thought it was not working. But her appetite came back OK; I fed her alone so the others couldn't dominate and scoff it all.
It's now three weeks since I finished the treatment. I have not seen her shake her head for at least a week and her breathing is clear. She would appear to be better! The vet had said it takes a while to shift the plaques so I guess that was it. She's still getting her own special breakfast (sweet corn, pomegranate, BOSS, grain porridge and yoghurt), feathers have almost grown back in and looking lovely. I was worried the medication/lack of appetite might ruin her moult but looks fine. She's not laying but that's normal for this time of year. After almost a year of violent head shaking, the chicken is cured. And if it recurs, I have plenty more Flagyl and a delivery system!
Thank you everyone for your help/support; it's really so helpful that you are there.
Love from Marilyn too!
