Chicken with Suspected Cholera- not good prognosis from VET.

[haejungkim]

I took my 5 month old RIR to the vet yesterday. The vet said she most likely has fowl cholera. We have her on some antibiotics (Clavamox) and anti-immflamatory meds but the doc said that her chances of survival are only 20% She already was on a round of sulfa antibiotics but they didn't help her.

Her symptoms are:
swollen waddle, earlobes, comb
black spots on comb
swollen legs that look terrible
lethargy
sitting a lot
but is eating and drinking better

Is there anything else out there that I can try? The vet can't recommend things that are not approved for poultry but what else have people tried and worked?

Thank you.

 

[Kiki]

Oh that poor girl.
What did your vet recommend? (the things that aren't approved)

 

[haejungkim]

She couldn't advise me on drugs that are used off-brand.

 

[Eggcessive]

Personally, I would recommend putting the sweet girl out of her misery. I am so sorry. Fowl cholera (pasteurella) is very contagious to other poultry, and she is probably suffering. They tend to get bleeding into internal organs and suffer from peritonitis and massive infection. When antibiotics are stopped the disease tends to come right back. Sulfa drugs and other antibiotics used to treat it are prescription only. It is spread by rodents, wild birds, and others. Here is some reading about it:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/61/fowl-cholera-pasteurellosis/
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/fowl-cholera/overview-of-fowl-cholera
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/181/fowl-cholera/

 

[haejungkim]

That is what the vet recommends. We have her on some meds but if nothing improves by Mon or Tuesday, that's our plan. However the vet isn't 100% sure it's cholera so that's what the meds are for- in case it's something else.

It's just that I've seen other postings about people using other drugs and I'm just wondering if anyone has had success.