Hen with Vent Infection??

[Detail2107]

She does not have diarrhea, but her vent seems constantly moist and goosing a little. I cut away the feathers from her vent while I was cleaning her the first time as well as the other chickens thinking that this would help but it did not. The droppings are still sticking, but they do not have diarrhea. I checked her today and the gargling noises are defiantly louder and she is sneezing a lot more. Her respiratory system defiantly got worse real fast, so I think the Betryl was helping. I think I am just going to take her to the vet this weekend, but in the meantime I will be giving her milk mixed with her layer food, some molasses in her water, and some dry feed with Epsom salt mixed in with it. Should I be giving her yogurt too? All I have right now is Activia yogurt (no one seems to want to eat this here). Is this okay for her?
I was reading about the wormers and I was all ready to buy the Wazine but: "Do not use in chickens producing eggs for human consumption" This is an issue. Does anyone know more about these wormers? I was reading through the vent gleet symptoms and she does not really fit in except for the soiled vent feathers part. She looks absolutely fine and acts super healthy (aside from the breathing problems) with really glossy healthy feathers, but her butt is just so disgusting. I also read through the chicken respiratory infections website and there were just too many so I am just going to take her to the vet.

 

[Detail2107]

I took her to the vet and they did a fecal exam. She has tape worms and a sinus infection... I don't know how she got tape worms, but I have been doing a lot of research on this and apparently there is no way of preventing this with a backyard free ranged flock. They get it from the bugs they eat if the bugs have eaten the droppings of another animal that has tape worms. So now I have to de-worm the whole flock and the medication that he prescribed is really expensive. Around $80 for a small bottle of Drontal and I have over 40 chickens so that's about 4 bottles! He also said that I need to soak their chicken coops with bleach and water to get rid of the eggs that they lay.
I am treating the sinus infection with Betryl.
Does anyone have any cheaper advice on here? Thanx!

 

[keljonma]

I am not familiar with Drontal. Is that a generic or did he sell you the top of the line drug?

 

[Detail2107]

I wasn't familiar with it either. You can only get it through a prescription from the vet. Is there another option for tapeworms that is cheaper and obtained over the counter?

 

[keljonma]

We use a preventative approach, and haven't had to worm our flock, so I cannot say.

According to Gail Damerow, the wormer to use for tapeworms is Albendazole (trade name Valbazen). However, only piperazine is approved for poultry. All others are "extra label" requiring the approval of a vet. She writes:

To ensure a wormer's effectiveness (especially if you're battling tapeworm), withhold feed for 18 hours before worming. About an hour after worming, feed a moist mash so the hungry chickens can't eat too fast.

 

[Pagemaker]

Valbazen / Albenazole is completely safe to use in chickens. I use it with no problems.

John

 

[miwin1000]

could you provide your treatment ideas so the rest of us might be able to utilize them? I am having same problem, but have seen a website that had pictures of eggs that look like mine....off color, odd shaped, and weird markings on the eggs (like bands around the egg with a light colored dot on the small end). It was stated it was a bacterial infection. I have purchased Duramycin 10 as the antibiotic, but will use other if deemed necessary.
Thanks.