How do I administer a penicillin shot to a chicken?

[bathologist]

Hello,
I recently found my 5 year old hen isolating herself from her fellow flockmates. She stood apart from the others with her back turned. She appeared uninterested in food, only picking at corn and feed I offered her, and then to drop it on the ground. She was excessively thirsty and drank from the waterer multiple times. I noticed she had loose yellowy green droppings, more bright green the next day, I presume from not eating. I gave her a quarter of a diuretic from another hen who passed (supposedly of heart trouble, according to the fluid exam by the vet). She seemed slightly better today, but the still had loose green droppings. I tried yogurt and feed mixed into mash, but she would not eat it. I researched several posts on your site. A member recommended Tylan 50 -8 units for an adult hen 3-5 days. I injected her with 8 units in the thigh and massaged the area. There was no blood. I was afraid of puncturing something and she was squirming. Others have reported using this as an oral medication. What are your thoughts?

 

[donnavee]

Very interested to see any replies. I have a chicken sort of doing the same - she sort of picks at food, but mostly takes it out of the bowl and lays it on the ground. Her comb is still red & she spends some time with the others but mostly wanders off on her own.

 

[bathologist]

My girl's comb is still red also. It is hard to tell if shes lost weight, but she used to be one of my more vigorous eaters, so I noticed that first. Some posts I read thought the symptoms might be caused by ecoli. I have 5 youngsters who tend to fill the waterer with bedding and dirt, so thought that was possible. The only vet who treats chickens is not far away, but treats them more like livestock. Mine are pets. I eat the eggs, but don't process them for meat. I lost 3 in one month during the long cold Michigan weather, it about broke my heart. This is my first time with chicks. My first hen was a rescue and lived indoors for 2 1/2 years and I built her a coop and adopted 4 unwanted hens. I am anxious about many things now. Hopefully someone will have some practical advise.

 

[donnavee]

Mine are all pets too and she is a BO so a big fluffy chicken, but she feels a little lighter. I've checked for mites & find no problem & did see her eat a little cantaloupe yesterday & actually peck another chicken. But still, she's not quite herself.

 

[Spero]

could be egg bind if she still lays. if not she might have an impacted crop thus why she is not interested in eating. check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats. if it feels hard and full then she has an impacted crop. unfortunately, if it is egg bind, then there really isn't a whole lot you can do for her. it will either pass on its own or she will die from the infection of the egg being stuck. I'd say bring her in the house or in a separate 'hospital' section of the coop away from the other chickens for a while. if she is egg bound, you will notice her lower abdomen area start to swell up between her legs after a few days. make sure she has a nice, comfy, clean spot to nest and try to lay. If it is impacted crop, you can try giving her just liquids for a day or two and periodically massage the crop in a downward motion towards her stomach to try to gently move the food down so it can be digested. give her scrambled egg (raw) with olive oil in it to coat the area and push it down. if shes not drinking on her own, you can try putting water in a cup and either dip your fingers in it and let the water drop onto her beak or pour the water in the front of her mouth so its almost impossible for her not to open her mouth and get some in. if she doesn't get better after a couple days of just liquids, the last option would be to hold her upside down and force her to puke up the food so it doesn't go sour an she doesn't get that pendulum crop look. I don't think penicillin would really be of any help in your case good luck. if you need more help or if she gets worse or a new symptom shows up let me know.

 

[bathologist]

She (Lucy)seemed to respond favorably to the Tylan 50 for a few days I gave her 8 units in 1/2 cc insulin syringe. She was eating, socializing and acting normally for a few days. Now it is very warm and humid, I have brought her in for the evening. She eats corn and some things for me, but not with the other birds. She is usually dominant. She is exhibiting an increase in head shaking, but I see no signs of mites. Her abdomen seems firm, but not puffy with fluid build-up. Her poo is normal. Grey and white, not green and runny. She does not appear depressed. No labored breathing or visible signs????

Any ideas? She is about 5-5 1/2 years old . Someone got tired of her and her 3 'sisters' 2 passed during the cold winter along with my bantam. Feeling like a bad mom.

 

[Fancychooklady]

She (Lucy)seemed to respond favorably to the Tylan 50 for a few days I gave her  8 units in 1/2 cc insulin syringe. She was eating, socializing and acting normally for a few days. Now it is very warm and humid, I have brought her in for the evening. She eats corn and some things for me, but not with the other birds. She is usually dominant. She is exhibiting an increase in head shaking, but I see no signs of mites. Her abdomen seems  firm, but not puffy with fluid build-up. Her poo is normal. Grey and white, not green and runny. She does not appear depressed. No labored breathing or visible signs???? Any ideas? She is about 5-5 1/2 years old . Someone got tired of her and her 3 'sisters' 2 passed during the cold winter along with my bantam. Feeling like a bad mom.

When was the last time she was wormed?

 

[PoultryPedia]

If anyone is later looking for more details on giving a Penicillin injection (in reference to original thread subject), there are also detailed instructions for this at http://sites.google.com/a/poultrype...oultry-podiatry#chickens_penicillin_injection on the Poultry Podiatry page on the website linked below.

 

[Fluffychicky]

So I need to give a sick hen some penicillin I tried using 22g needles and the medicine was too thick to inject into her slowly so I read that with penicillin a 16g needle is best so I went out and bought 4, I get home and my gosh this needle is huge! Is it going to be ok to inject her with this? Is she going to freak out when I stab her with it, she didn't seem to mind the 22 gauge but this is like double the thickness of that so I'm really concerned.

 

[mary5412]

"everything that finishes in Caine is toxic for poultry."

I wish that sentence made sense..... what is "finishes in Caine"?
I trying to find antibiotics for a goose but don't understand that sentence...... might have been helpful if I understood it.....