How to give a chicken liquid medicine

[sixlittlechickens]

Thank you! All these methods worked wonderfully for my crazy Silkie! This is a great resource.

 

[bmaw]

After struggling for days to get pain med and antibiotics into our very feisty Americauna, I finally did some research. I also asked our vet to show me how. I want to post this for anyone else having trouble. First I'll give her method, then I recommend reading the following description which can be found at:
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart/baytril-for-birds
First, my vets method: Hold the chicken like the way a football player holds the ball while running for a touchdown, head towards the front. Bring the hand of that arm up and hold it beside the chicken's head. Holding the syringe in your other hand (obviously) place the tip of the syringe near the back corner of her beak (close to the head) and use the tip to pry her beak open. Push the syringe in and point it way back in the mouth and aim towards the left right side of the throat. Empty syringe. Comfort freaked out chicken.

From the website:

1. Open the medicine bottle & insert the (needle-less) syringe. Pull the plunger back to draw the appropriate amount of medicine into the syringe. Remove syringe from bottle.
2. Place the bird on your lap and restrain it in your arms.
3. [These suggestions on how to position your hands are approximate. Experiment with what works best for you.] Put your left hand to the side of the chicken's head, with the thumb behind its head/neck. Be careful that you don't press against the bird's eyes.
4. Take your right forefinger, and push it against the side of the bird's beak until it opens its mouth. If you're right-handed, when the bird opens its mouth, push the forefinger of your left hand in across the mouth from side to side inside the beak and keep it there so your finger acts as a wedge to keep the mouth open.
5. The bird will STRONGLY resist this. Patiently persist. Once you have your finger put in place, within a few seconds the bird will suddenly stop squirming & sit still.

• Birds mostly try to open their mouths to get away from your finger. They rarely bite hard while you do this, and they can't bite as hard with their beak in this wide open position.

1. Tilt the bird's head back so the beak almost points skyward; then the throat passage will be straight & it will be easy to insert the syringe.
2. Hold the syringe in your right hand and gently slide it past the breathing hole (that is on the floor of the mouth on the back part of the tongue area) and on down the very back of the throat (which is the passage for swallowing). Slide the syringe far in (almost halfway down the throat) to be sure no medicine ends up going down the air hole. Be gentle so you don't scrape the sides of the throat.
3. This sounds intimidatingly risky, but it is actually VERY EASY to see and slide in the right area safely.
4. Depress the plunger on the syringe to dispense the medicine.
5. Withdraw the syringe from the bird's throat & take your finger out of the bird's beak.
6. Hold the bird so its side is close against your body so it can feel secure & burrow its head into your arm. With one hand, hold your fingers flat & pat the bird's outside wing/side in a gentle thumping way to reassure & comfort it.
7. You can tell the bird is feeling more relaxed when it closes its eyes, makes chewing motions, and then makes gentle exhaling noises each time it breathes out. (Note: This is different that the open-mouth breathing a bird may do when in pain, or panting it may do when overheated.)

I have used this method lots, however it’s happened that some got in the airway. The bird made sneezing noised and breathed beak slightly open for a few seconds then went about her business. Does that mean the meds that went down the wrong pipe were expelled or went into her lungs?

 

[Jackiesranch]

After struggling for days to get pain med and antibiotics into our very feisty Americauna, I finally did some research. I also asked our vet to show me how. I want to post this for anyone else having trouble. First I'll give her method, then I recommend reading the following description which can be found at:
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart/baytril-for-birds
First, my vets method: Hold the chicken like the way a football player holds the ball while running for a touchdown, head towards the front. Bring the hand of that arm up and hold it beside the chicken's head. Holding the syringe in your other hand (obviously) place the tip of the syringe near the back corner of her beak (close to the head) and use the tip to pry her beak open. Push the syringe in and point it way back in the mouth and aim towards the left right side of the throat. Empty syringe. Comfort freaked out chicken.

From the website:

1. Open the medicine bottle & insert the (needle-less) syringe. Pull the plunger back to draw the appropriate amount of medicine into the syringe. Remove syringe from bottle.
2. Place the bird on your lap and restrain it in your arms.
3. [These suggestions on how to position your hands are approximate. Experiment with what works best for you.] Put your left hand to the side of the chicken's head, with the thumb behind its head/neck. Be careful that you don't press against the bird's eyes.
4. Take your right forefinger, and push it against the side of the bird's beak until it opens its mouth. If you're right-handed, when the bird opens its mouth, push the forefinger of your left hand in across the mouth from side to side inside the beak and keep it there so your finger acts as a wedge to keep the mouth open.
5. The bird will STRONGLY resist this. Patiently persist. Once you have your finger put in place, within a few seconds the bird will suddenly stop squirming & sit still.

• Birds mostly try to open their mouths to get away from your finger. They rarely bite hard while you do this, and they can't bite as hard with their beak in this wide open position.

1. Tilt the bird's head back so the beak almost points skyward; then the throat passage will be straight & it will be easy to insert the syringe.
2. Hold the syringe in your right hand and gently slide it past the breathing hole (that is on the floor of the mouth on the back part of the tongue area) and on down the very back of the throat (which is the passage for swallowing). Slide the syringe far in (almost halfway down the throat) to be sure no medicine ends up going down the air hole. Be gentle so you don't scrape the sides of the throat.
3. This sounds intimidatingly risky, but it is actually VERY EASY to see and slide in the right area safely.
4. Depress the plunger on the syringe to dispense the medicine.
5. Withdraw the syringe from the bird's throat & take your finger out of the bird's beak.
6. Hold the bird so its side is close against your body so it can feel secure & burrow its head into your arm. With one hand, hold your fingers flat & pat the bird's outside wing/side in a gentle thumping way to reassure & comfort it.
7. You can tell the bird is feeling more relaxed when it closes its eyes, makes chewing motions, and then makes gentle exhaling noises each time it breathes out. (Note: This is different that the open-mouth breathing a bird may do when in pain, or panting it may do when overheated.)

I'm so afraid to even try this, I have to give meds to my 2 pound chicken, she is tiny and the syringe is pretty big, how hard is this really??

 

[Jackiesranch]

For birds with small wattles, I take my left hand and pinch the beak open with my index and thumb. I can hold the lower mandible with my thumb and index finger, and my index finger in between the upper and lower mandible. I can then place the syringe to the right of the back of the bird's throat as to avoid the opening of the trachea. The other option is to feed small amounts, giving the bird time to swallow each amount

 

[Jackiesranch]

so I am assuming the chicken RIGHT SIDE IS THEIR RIGHT side so while facing them, You aim for the left side, which is their right side, just want to make damn sure I do this right

 

[Debbie292d]

so I am assuming the chicken RIGHT SIDE IS THEIR RIGHT side so while facing them, You aim for the left side, which is their right side, just want to make damn sure I do this right

Yes. Chicken's right side is the chicken's right side. The main point is to avoid sticking it into their airway.

Here's a YouTube I had watched when I had to give antibiotics.

 

[casportpony]

so I am assuming the chicken RIGHT SIDE IS THEIR RIGHT side so while facing them, You aim for the left side, which is their right side, just want to make damn sure I do this right

Have you seen this?

Safely Administering Oral Medications to All Poultry and Waterfowl

How to Safely Administer Oral Medications to Poultry and Waterfowl Many medications are more effective when given orally instead of in the water, especially when a bird is ill because an ill bird is unlikely to drink enough medicated water. The oral administration of liquid medications in...

• casportpony
• Nov 12, 2017
• 5.00 star(s) 45 ratings
• Comments: 21
• Reviews: 29
• Category: Injuries, Diseases, & Cures

 

[Jackiesranch]

Yes. Chicken's right side is the chicken's right side. The main point is to avoid sticking it into their airway.

Here's a YouTube I had watched when I had to give antibiotics.

Thank you, I was able to give it to her via the side of her mouth, a little at a time, and she just drank it down, so much less stressful, I watch a video that Dr. Pol posted on you tube and it worked perfect and she is a REALLY hard chicken to handle, but she is very tiny. Thank you again this will help if I every need it