Chicken with Abdominal infection

[FloridaChick88]

Yesterday I noticed my hen was acting lethargic and her comb had a slightly purple tinge. Today she showed no improvement so I took her out to put her in a hospital pen and her abdomen felt swollen like a water balloon. I got an 18 gauge needle and syringe because assumed she might have ascites. However when I withdrew the fluid instead of it being straw colored it is a dark greenish brown which I have read means she has an infection. (See photo)

There are no poultry vets in my area, is there any antibiotic I can give her?

I withdrew almost 70mls of fluid and there is still more in her abdomen but I didn’t want to drain it too fast and put her into shock.

Please help I’m very attached to this girl

 

[azygous]

Do you have any antibiotics on hand? Amoxicillin would be a good one if you are seeking to buy. Pet supply web sites will have fish antibiotics that will work fine on chickens. https://www.revivalanimal.com/product/fish-mox?sku=22150-174

 

[FloridaChick88]

The only antibiotics I have handy right now is Tylan50. I might be able to get some amoxicillin from the local fish store.

 

[FloridaChick88]

Do you have any antibiotics on hand? Amoxicillin would be a good one if you are seeking to buy. Pet supply web sites will have fish antibiotics that will work fine on chickens. https://www.revivalanimal.com/product/fish-mox?sku=22150-174

What is the correct dosage of amoxicillin?

 

[azygous]

250mg per day for an average adult chicken.

 

[FloridaChick88]

250mg per day for an average adult chicken.

I just got the meds. It is in capsule form. Do I just give her the whole 250mg at one time or do i need to divide up the dose? If so, how? Does it need to be dissolved in water?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I just got the meds. It is in capsule form. Do I just give her the whole 250mg at one time or do i need to divide up the dose? If so, how? Does it need to be dissolved in water?

Amoxicillin dosage is (125mg/kg) that translates to 57mg per 1pound of weight given 2times a day for 7days. You can mix it with a little yogurt.
(I also put this information on your other thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/amoxicillin-dosage.1250675/)

Hopefully the antibiotics will give her some short term relief and make her more comfortable.

 

[casportpony]

So sorry you're going through this. I've drained a few myself and I normally drain as much fluids as I can, which is usually about 500 ml.

You can try the amoxicillin as Wyorp Rock suggested, but something like Bayril is probably a better antibiotic for this.
http://www.allbirdproducts.com/newproductpages/baytril.html
https://ladygouldianfinch.com/product_baytril.php
http://gamebirdsupplies.com/eng/item/5/1/enroxil-10-25ml
It is banned for use in poultry, but this is what I would use if I were in your shoes.

Have you seen posts from Speckledhen? She has lots of experience with this sort of problem.

 

[FloridaChick88]

Thank you all for your recommendations. I tried the antibiotics for 4 days. She was showing no improvement and had stopped eating and drinking on her own. I decided that there was no need to prolong her suffering so my vet agreed to euthanize her for me. Have any of you ever seen/dealt with blackish green fluid draining from a hens abdomen? I’m just curious as to what might have caused this. She was laying up until the time she started acting lethargic last week.

 

[casportpony]

So sorry for your loss. I have seen that in a couple of mine and I think @speckledhen has too. I think when it's that color it means infection, but I could be wrong. Again, sorry for your loss,