feed store guys said not to medicate?!??

[blueberrychickens]

So I went in search of some Tylan for my hen who I suspect has some sort of respiratory thing going on. They for one, don't carry it. Haven't had it in years. Then they tell me that if I give any sort of medication to the hens, that I can no longer eat their eggs since the meds get in the eggs & is there forever. Now this makes no sense to me since it seems that alot of you give meds to sick birds & no one has ever mentions not to ever eat their eggs again. Are these feed store guys just full of it???
I need to help this poor hen w/ something. She definately looks like shes having a hard time breathing, you can see her feathers on her throat just under her beak moving when shes trying to breathe. I want to medicate her w/ something but what??? The feed store guy sold me a pkg of electrolytes but no medicine for her.
Guess I need to go to another feed store to find some meds!

 

[KrisH]

Yep, FULL of it. there is a withdrawl period for consumption, but unless you are selling your eggs as organic you are goot to go. do what you know is right

RobertH

 

[groundpecker]

You can give her tylan, but i would wait 10-12 days after the last dose before eating the eggs. 1/2 cc per bird for 3-4 days injected into the breast or give by mouth.
I have no personal experience with respiratory disease, but i did treat a hen with tylan after bumblefoot surgery early last spring.
Maybe someone with more respiratory disease experience can jump in and give more information.

Most local farm supply stores should carry tylan, you just have to look for it yourself. There are so many drugs in a farm store, they might not even know they have it in stock.

 

[silkiechicken]

Feed store guys, members here, myself, we are all full of it depending on beliefs. LOL

For the most part, if the issue is viral, meds to kill bacteria can only fight secondary infections. As for not eating eggs again, usually there is a withdrawl time. However, companies will say not to give their drugs to production animals if they have not tested it on that specific animal to cover their butts in the case where someone might get sick if the meds passed to the eggs gives them issues.

That said, I don't know anything about giving oral drugs to chickens. I choose not to give systemic antibiotics to my flock in general unless I know for certain what is causing the issue at hand.

Good luck with your birds! Hope you can find the meds you are looking for.

 

[blueberrychickens]

I have caught her & gave her a good check. Her eyes & nostrils are clear, no discharge. I put my ear on her back to listen to her lungs, they do not sound congested or rattle-y. We checked down her throat, didn't see anything but her tongue, but while she was wrapped in the towel, she was doing the "gape" thing, so I treated her w/ the ivermectin I have on hand, separated her from the rest of the flock, gave her her own food & water w/ DURVET electrolytes & vitamins. I hope she'll be ok. How long do you think I need to keep her separated from the flock?? The rest of the girls are looking for their friend & have been raising a ruckus!
She hasn't been laying eggs for a while, most of the flock has taken the winter months off, so I don't need to pitch her eggs, since she has none!

 

[blueberrychickens]

She is now chilling out in the dining room for the night. I gave her some of her favorite treats, grapes, cottage cheese, & a few zitis. She ate the zitis & nothing else. Figures, the least nutritious thing she goes for, just like my human kids. When do you think it might be ok to send her back to join the flock? I hope she starts eating good food soon!