Effective Treatments for Common Conditions of Chickens by Owners

[TwoCrows]

So I was hoping that "Acidified Copper Sulfate" would be as effective as everyone says it is, but I recently had a pigeon with canker that I used it on and it did not make a difference.

Perhaps this is just a really stubborn case?

-Kathy

Hmmm.....actually I learned about using Copper Sulfate for Canker from a Pigeon forum long ago. LOL Not all birds can be saved from what ails them. If they are too far gone, nothing in the world will bring them back. If that were the case, we could save them all!

Sorry about your bird Kathy.

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh and Kathy, they also recommend adding Metronidazole along with Copper Sulfate for bad cases of Canker. The two combined are supposed to kick Canker's butt.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: He's still alive, so but has a nasty little patch of canker pus. Had another that I treated with metronidazole and he go better, but this one doesn't get better no matter what I throw at it...

This is the one that I treated successfully:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1059859/trying-to-treat-canker-pictures

Oh and Kathy, they also recommend adding Metronadazole along with Copper Sulfate for bad cases of Canker. The two combined are supposed to kick Canker's butt.

Been there, done that...
-Kathy

 

[TwoCrows]

Canker is brutal. I had a bird that didn't respond to Metronidazole either. I didn't know about Copper Sulfate at the time, the bird did pass on. Canker is stubborn sometimes.

 

[TwoCrows]

I learned my lesson around here and routinely use the Copper Sulfate to keep ahead of the endless Canker I have in my yard.

 

[casportpony]

@Lady of McCamley , do you think you will start doing your own fecals?

-Kathy

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Never had them, never seen any indication in live birds nor in checking inside of intestines during slaughter.
But I live in a cold climate which helps I think, and never bring in adult birds only hatchery chicks or hatch from my stock.
If I did suspect them I would probably send out a fecal, then decide on a course of action.

I keep a small flock of chickens for food, eggs and eating the meat of extras and/or older birds.
No show, sales, or pure breeds. If a bird is not healthy and hardy, it's euthanized or slaughtered rather than treated.

Same here. Never seen indication of worms and believe my Northern climate aids in a lot of minor maladies the Southerners are frequented by. My stance on other maladies is akin to Aart, I'd immediately cull any unhealthy bird.

Preventative care for both internal and external parasites is simply wood ash dust baths. Others use DE.

 

[KsKingBee]

@KsKingBee has been doing his own fecals for quite some time now, and I think he has found Sulfadimethoxine (SulfaMed G, DiMethox, Albon, etc) to be the most effective in treating the strains of coccidiosis at his place. Of course Sulfadimethoxine powder is one of those that will be harder to get now since it is on the list of OTC to Rx meds, but I have heard about people giving the injectable orally, so that might be an option.

-Kathy

Ok, Kathy, I heard ya. For those of you who don't know me my main passion is peafowl. I have about 75 breeders and ship all over the country. the hardest part of raising peachicks enmass is keeping them alive for the first four months, it does not take much to bring them down and some of the ones I raise run into the hundreds of dollars each so I go to a lot of expense to raise them in the most healthy environment as possible. Even then outbreaks hit hard and all too often.

All too often we hear about one problem or another and the good intentions come out with all kinds of ideas and the poor folks with sick birds start throwing everything in the book at the sick birds and in that effort the birds die because the 'right' treatment was not discovered until too late. I am a firm believer of knowing what the problem is before treating by doing fecal exams first and in my case often.

There are many benefits to learning to do your own exams at home, expense, time, travel, when you have to go to the vet, and the urgent time wasted not treating with the proper drug when the bird is critical. When I can rule out worms or cocci I can give the correct meds right away and not run the bird down using the shotgun approach.

Another benefit that Kathy alluded to is not just knowing what to treat with, but knowing if treatment is needed at all. I do not want to give medications when they are not needed. Just today a lady PM'ed me asking when her birds she got in the mail were last treated. I was able to give her a three-month history of fecal exams and treatments or no treatments because they did not have a need for any. It is peace of mind to me knowing the status of my birds. I also do FF after treatments to confirm that the meds are effective.

I am not one to dilute meds in water when we know that the drug is meant to be given at a specific rate. I recently traded some birds with @barkerg who had been treating his flock with 7ml per gallon and letting the birds drink from the waterer and then moving it to another pen. I was surprised that they had zero worms as confirmed with my FF exam. I now also add Valbazen to water but a bit differently, I will add .50 ml of Valbazen per bird in the pen to an amount of water I know they will drink in less than a day. This way I know that they have taken in the prescribed amount and not thrown out with the unconsumed water. If my vet prescribes 0.25 ml of Safeguard per pound of bird I want it in my bird and not laying in the bottom of the water dish to be thrown away.

Now onto OTC drugs. When I needed metronidazole right now I had to go to the local vet as the only place to have it within a two-hour drive, I found that her price was 60% of what I could get it on-line. Ever since that is where I get all my meds. Today I stopped by the vet to talk about doing a surgery on a pet peas eye and asked for Sulfa-Med-G as I didn't see it on the shelf, only SMZ which I had bought before when they were out thinking it was the same thing, it is not. The SMZ would knock the cocci down but I kept having recurring issues with it whereas with the Sulfa-Med-G knocked the cocci right out the first time. Corid in game birds is not very effective for cocci as proven in my exams.

My advice is to not get worried about getting your meds from TSC and develop a relationship with a vet and buy your meds from them. The advice you get from vets when buying from them is usually much better than the 'wives tails' you get from the "well, it seemed to work for me" crowd.

Sorry you had to read all this, it's Kathys fault.

 

[KsKingBee]

Oh, almost forgot... @KsKingBee has also confirmed via fecal tests that Valbazen (albendazole) @ 7.5 ml per gallon of water for one day, repeat in 10 days, will treat large round worms.

-Kathy

And cecal worms.

 

[casportpony]

Quote:
That's good to know. What I really need to know is what amount will treat capillary worms!