NewFLChickenMama
Chirping
Hi All- We've been battling with a case of bumblefoot in my sweet rooster, who is a year and a half or so, easter egger, and a beloved pet. I found a vet in my area that would see a chicken. I explained how we'd been treating his foot, and it just wasn't getting better, but seemed to be controlled. I've seen far worse pics - the ball at his foot was swollen primarily, and he has a nominal limp. We'd been removing the plug, keeping it clean, packing the wound with neosporin, covering with gauze, and wrapping his foot- all of which I think bothered the humans more than my boy..
The vet gave us 100mg capsules of Doxycycline, told us to dilute one capsule in a minimal amount of water, and use a syringe to admin orally, once per day for 21 days. That was it with the instructions.
Thank god for the internet. It would have been nice for the instructions to include -how to not drown your bird- I mean, I've given meds to my dogs orally dozens of times, but chicken physiology apparently is quite different.
So we administered the antibiotics as instructed, but only a little at a time (a few drops) to the tongue area (bitter and unpleasant for us all, but he's a sweet, if incredibly agile-necked bird.) We have been at this for 3 days, partial success at best- usually he slings/snots a good portion of it back out again later.
The last time- last night- is different. He is making a rattling, almost like a coffee-percolating in a machine kind of noise, that started after last night's dosing. He's still making it this morning. He's not in overt distress- just walking around, and showing some small interest in food (never was a chow hound like his ladies) but seems incredibly subdued. He's making the normal communication noises with his girls, but that percolating rattle sound has me very concerned. And no crowing this morning. Usually he would have started hours ago, and not a single crow. I did just get a strangled sounding attempt, but clearly it's not normal.
Advice please? I'm going to reach out to my dog's vet and see if I can get a topical antibiotic instead, I understand there are versions of doxycycline that can be packed in the bumblefoot area, and I'm far more comfortable with that than potentially doing damage to my sweet rooster. Is there anything I can do if he's rattling because some of the antibiotics made it into his lungs? Could his throat just be irritated, but then why the rattle? I'm at a loss here- advice much appreciated.
The vet gave us 100mg capsules of Doxycycline, told us to dilute one capsule in a minimal amount of water, and use a syringe to admin orally, once per day for 21 days. That was it with the instructions.
Thank god for the internet. It would have been nice for the instructions to include -how to not drown your bird- I mean, I've given meds to my dogs orally dozens of times, but chicken physiology apparently is quite different.
So we administered the antibiotics as instructed, but only a little at a time (a few drops) to the tongue area (bitter and unpleasant for us all, but he's a sweet, if incredibly agile-necked bird.) We have been at this for 3 days, partial success at best- usually he slings/snots a good portion of it back out again later.
The last time- last night- is different. He is making a rattling, almost like a coffee-percolating in a machine kind of noise, that started after last night's dosing. He's still making it this morning. He's not in overt distress- just walking around, and showing some small interest in food (never was a chow hound like his ladies) but seems incredibly subdued. He's making the normal communication noises with his girls, but that percolating rattle sound has me very concerned. And no crowing this morning. Usually he would have started hours ago, and not a single crow. I did just get a strangled sounding attempt, but clearly it's not normal.
Advice please? I'm going to reach out to my dog's vet and see if I can get a topical antibiotic instead, I understand there are versions of doxycycline that can be packed in the bumblefoot area, and I'm far more comfortable with that than potentially doing damage to my sweet rooster. Is there anything I can do if he's rattling because some of the antibiotics made it into his lungs? Could his throat just be irritated, but then why the rattle? I'm at a loss here- advice much appreciated.
