How to give a chicken liquid medicine

[Wol1]

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.)

 

[dawg53]

There's an easier way: Cradle her in your arm, pull the wattles down and her mouth will open. Dont let go if she struggles, she will tire. Use your free hand to grab the preloaded syringe and squirt no more than 1/2cc into her mouth and IMMEDIATELY let go of the wattles so's she can swallow the liquid on her own and not aspirate.

 

[Wol1]

There's an easier way: Cradle her in your arm, pull the wattles down and her mouth will open. Dont let go if she struggles, she will tire. Use your free hand to grab the preloaded syringe and squirt no more than 1/2cc into her mouth and IMMEDIATELY let go of the wattles so's she can swallow the liquid on her own and not aspirate.

Believe me, if it were that easy, I wouldn't have posted the above. Your method is what I used with our Golden Comet when she needed meds. Worked like a charm. It didn't work with this bird. She is much more feisty. She is an Americauna who has almost NO wattles. She's got a shorter neck.... Even my experienced vet struggled while demonstrating to me.

So, I guess this thread should be titled "How to give liquid meds to recalcitrant chickens"

 

[CarolinaSkies]

Believe me, if it were that easy, I wouldn't have posted the above. Your method is what I used with our Golden Comet when she needed meds. Worked like a charm. It didn't work with this bird. She is much more feisty. She is an Americauna who has almost NO wattles. She's got a shorter neck.... Even my experienced vet struggled while demonstrating to me.

So, I guess this thread should be titled "How to give liquid meds to recalcitrant chickens"

For the feisty ones, I wrap them in an old bath towel like a tortilla and go from there.

 

[Wol1]

For the feisty ones, I wrap them in an old bath towel like a tortilla and go from there.

Tried that too... She must be superbird.

 

[dawg53]

Quote: Birds with no wattles have chin feathers (under their lower beak,) or enough skin under their lower beak to pull down. I've done that with pullets and EE's. Sometimes it helps if someone holds them while dosing. I've had a few struggle real hard too, I just hang on tight until they get tired and stop struggling lol.

 

[Michael Apple]

Believe me, if it were that easy, I wouldn't have posted the above. Your method is what I used with our Golden Comet when she needed meds. Worked like a charm. It didn't work with this bird. She is much more feisty. She is an Americauna who has almost NO wattles. She's got a shorter neck.... Even my experienced vet struggled while demonstrating to me.

So, I guess this thread should be titled "How to give liquid meds to recalcitrant chickens"

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.

 

[Wol1]

Thanks, I'll try that.
The right from the bird's perspective or yours?

What to do about the disappearing head? I didn't know a living thing could wiggle its head so fast.

 

[Michael Apple]

Thanks, I'll try that.
The right from the bird's perspective or yours?

What to do about the disappearing head? I didn't know a living thing could wiggle its head so fast.

From the bird's perspective. The more time you take to let the bird settle down and be comfortable, the less they wiggle.

 

[Wol1]

Wonderful drawing! A picture speaks a thousand words.