invermectin overdose?

[carolinasculpture]

Hi All! In reading through other threads and receiving advise from some here (THANK YOU!) I wormed my chickens today, with invermectin paste. Everything went smoothly as all of my hens are really tame and I can pick them up and hand feed them the wormer hidden in a hole in a piece of cheese. My roo, on the other hand was hen raised and isn't aggressive yet, but not one I can just pick up. So, I got him by himself and handed him the treat. I was so relieved when he took it ...and then I'll be darned if that bugger didn't call over his favorite hen and feed it to her!!! So, I did finally manage to get him his dose, but am worried about the hen. Anyone have any experience with a double dose? Anything I can do? Anything I should look for? I know which hen it is if that helps at all, she is a BR and a good sized bird, 3 1/2 years old.
Thanks again!

 

[dawg53]

Here's a link for you to read regarding ivermectin overdosing in poultry:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7631491
My recommendation is to monitor your overdosed hen and provide comfort support as best as you can IF necessary.

 

[KnobbyOaks]

I know this is a serious matter and you're truly concerned. My first mental image was of a king who had an official taster. The king would call over his appointed "Taster" to taste it first to make sure what he was going to be eating didn't contain poison. Wise ole roo.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Thanks Dawg53! I was hoping you would chime in. It was because of you that I wanted to use the valbazen, but couldn't find it here anywhere. I will order some for next time. Should I put out extra water? They have nipple drinkers now. Would just a good old waterer make it easier to get hydrated? Should I add electrolytes? So far she seems fine, but it has only been about 2 hours. The article was helpful, at least I know what to look for. I will keep an eye on her! I can be home all day for the next couple of days.

Knobby Oaks...he really does need a crown, but if I had trouble getting to take his medicine, what are the chances I could get a crown on his head? He is black with gold in his hackles...kinda regale! Poor Denise, of all of them, she is the least likely to be a food tester as she is kind of a queen bee! Thanks for the laugh!

I'll keep you posted! Thanks!

 

[carolinasculpture]

Hi! Of course roo didn't start to crow until after 6:30 this morning instead of the usual 5am wake up call. So I worried that I managed to kill off the whole lot of them. But they are all fine, even Denise! There didn't seem to be any diarrhea....yeah! Hope all continues well. Did re-fill all waterers and added one in the coop. So far so good!

 

[KnobbyOaks]

So glad to hear it. Just wait, next week with daylight savings time going away, roo will be crowing at 4:00.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Hah! Can't wait. I am sure it won't sound as good to me as it did today!
As for the update, Denise seemed a little lethargic when I went down to check her around 10ish. Didn't eat any scratch, just stood there and took a long time to blink...kinda like me when I am reading and really tired. Anyway, as I cleaned the poop board, she meandered in and hung out for a bit, usually she follows every move and lets me know if I am doing any of it wrong. Quite this morning. She finally made her way to a nest box. I just let her rest there. Came back around 2, she came running for scratch, but was still a bit quiet. By 6pm she seems back to normal. Hope she is fine overnight and from now on. Now all I gotta worry about is getting one and only one dose in each chicken for the "10 days later dose".

 

[dawg53]

Instead of using ivermectin, why dont you use safeguard liquid goat wormer, it's very safe and fairly inexpensive. It's a better wormer for chickens than ivermectin as well. It is administered orally undiluted using a syringe without a needle. Dosage is 1cc for giants, 3/4cc for large fowl, 1/2cc for standards, 1/4cc for smaller birds. Pull the wattles down and the hens mouth will open. Squirt it in her mouth and immediately let go of the wattles so's the hen can swallow it on her own and not aspirate.