medicating 12 hours apart

[Dhkoenig]

Hello Chicken Friends - my hen was just prescribed antibiotics every 12 hours. My hens are usually not awake that long! When the sun still sets early, I would have to wake her up inside her coop off he roost to medicate her. Do people do this?

 

[Eggcessive]

Certain drugs, especially antibiotics are best given at measured times so that the blood levels of the drug stay the same. If you chickens go to roost at a certain time in the evening, you can give one of the every 12 hour doses during the early morning or late at night while they are roosting. For instance, mine are going in at 6 pm, so I would get out at 6 am and give the first dose and the second at 6 pm. Or if you give the morning dose at 9 am, you can go out and give the 9 pm dose by just picking her off the roost. It is much more easy to give medicines that way when they are asleep. In most cases a medicine can be given 30 minutes on either side of the ordered time as well.

 

[Dhkoenig]

Certain drugs, especially antibiotics are best given at measured times so that the blood levels of the drug stay the same. If you chickens go to roost at a certain time in the evening, you can give one of the every 12 hour doses during the early morning or late at night while they are roosting. For instance, mine are going in at 6 pm, so I would get out at 6 am and give the first dose and the second at 6 pm. Or if you give the morning dose at 9 am, you can go out and give the 9 pm dose by just picking her off the roost. It is much more easy to give medicines that way when they are asleep. In most cases a medicine can be given 30 minutes on either side of the ordered time as well.

Whoa that would be ideal. Do the other chickens make a fuss when you take the one out? And when you are done do you just stick them back huddled against the other ones? They all huddle together when they sleep

 

[Eggcessive]

I use a headlamp with the red light switched on to sneak up on my birds and pick them off the roost. It startles the chicken, but if I have the syringe and medicine ready, it just takes a second to medicate them and put them back. The others may wake up and move about, but they go back to sleep once the light is gone.