Dog attack on duck. Antibiotics?

[TheBeardie]

Three of our dogs decided to attack one of our muscovy hens. Wounds down to breast muscle. Got cleaned and iodine got put on. Wrapped up with an abdominal pad and wrap. Staying inside in a clean pen. should she be given anything to starve off an infection? Something that could be bought at a tractor supply? Is there anything else I can do for her? I haven't got any pictures of her wounds yet.

 

[sylviethecochin]

You can buy penicillin, which is what I usually use. It's ten-fifteen bucks for one of the smaller bottles, and a bottle lasts a year or longer in the refrigerator. You'll also need syringes if you go that route.

Dosage for standard chickens is .25 cc once a day for four successive days. Injecting under the skin (SQ) is slower release. Injecting into the muscle is faster release, but more painful for the animal.

We usually buy medium-sized needles so that we can re-use them, but we're cheapskates.

You can also give aspirin for pain--in chickens, the dose is one quarter of a standard (325 mg) aspirin. I'd crush it into water and divide the water. She should drink it.

Keep her in a warm, dark place. It helps their recovery. I'd also trim the feathers around the wound a bit for easy access, and make sure it's completely clean with a saline rinse--1 tsp salt to a pint of water, I think.

Personally, I use Blu-kote for everything, but there's a sticky disinfectant product called red-kote that's far less painful. It's a disinfectant coating, and you may want to invest in some. But iodine may work well enough on its own.

Good luck!

 

[TheBeardie]

I have a can of blu-kote already, I can't remember what it was bought for, but I have it. I also have syringes and needles. Would this work? https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/durvet-dura-pen-100cc-100-ml?cm_vc=-10005
While my town doesn't have any kind of feed store, or any type of store actually, one about a half an hour over does. One's a tractor supply and the other is locally owned, and doesn't have a website, otherwise I would check online there too.

 

[TheBeardie]

She's quite beat up she's walking and drinking as of now.

 

[sylviethecochin]

I have a can of blu-kote already, I can't remember what it was bought for, but I have it. I also have syringes and needles. Would this work? https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/durvet-dura-pen-100cc-100-ml?cm_vc=-10005
While my town doesn't have any kind of feed store, or any type of store actually, one about a half an hour over does. One's a tractor supply and the other is locally owned, and doesn't have a website, otherwise I would check online there too.

I use durvet penicillin injectable of the "multi-animal" variety. No dura-pen.

You might be able to use it. From looking at the tags, it seems to be slightly weaker, and also slower-absorbing. Apparently, you shouldn't administer it more than once every two days, but you can use up to 0.5 cc. {EDT: to be on the safe side, I would still use only .25 cc} See this BYC link and also the pdf "medication chart for sick chickens ICBH" (not sure if I can link a pdf. Just select and search google)

Note that it says "for use only in Beef cattle" so it's an off-label usage and you can't sue if something goes wrong. Try to poke through the resealable cap in different places each time--this cuts down on the sealant not being able to re-seal. I also like to sterilise my needles both before and after useage, with alcohol.

Since penicillin needs to be stored in a refrigerator, it's unlikely that your other feed store has it.

EDT: you could always call and check to see what the feed store (either of them) recommends, if the store has anyone who knows what he's talking about.

 

[casportpony]

The penicillin dose for a duck or chicken is 0.15 ml per pound. A six pound Muscovy hen should get 0.9 ml per day.

The dose listed on the bottle is for mammals, not poultry. Poultry get more than mammals.