Need advice on medication dosage and treatment

[crazychick26201]

I have a four-year-old hen who has basically stopped eating and has had dark diarrhea. I took her to the vet and she did an x-ray and fecal sample And couldn’t come up with any conclusive diagnosis. She prescribed 7.5 mg meloxicam tablet divided into four and to give that once a day and she wormed her. I also had her tested for avian flu and Newcastle. These tests were negative. She seemed to get better after about a week and then start acting the same again so I spoke to my other Vet that I have sometimes taken my chickens to she gave me amoxicillin tablets 250 MG twice a day. I I keep going back-and-forth as to whether or not to give her an antibiotic. I have a liquid meloxicam and have given her 2.5 ml once a day as this vet prescribed. When I dosed her with meloxicam this morning and gave her 125 MG of amoxicillin which is half a tablet. She just acts so lethargic and hasn’t really moved and I wonder if I’m overdosing her I really can’t take her back to the vet because I’ve already spent almost $500 on her can you give me some advice?? I’m thinking that she’s got some digestive problem because nothing else has shown up when when she has been examined by a vet. Thank you ahead of time for your advice and help.

 

[alinas2010]

Sorry to hear about your chicken. It’s frustrating when we can’t figure out what is going on. What kind of hen is she and is or was she still laying eggs prior to being sick? How does her abdomen feel? Could it be something reproductive going on?

Which medication are you worried about overdosing her on? I don’t know much about it meloxicam, but here is a link about using it for poultry:

https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/meloxicam

I can tell you for the amoxicillin, 250mg twice a day is a pretty typical amount seen on this site for a 5lb hen. When my hen was sick all I had were 500mg aquamox capsules and so that is what she got once a day and she got better and did not overdose on those. Here is more info on amoxicillin use in poultry, including dosage:

https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/amoxicillin

If this were my hen and I was at a loss as to what else could be wrong with her, I might shoot in the dark and give her the course of antibiotics. It will either help or not. If you can add probiotics to her water while treating her with antibiotics, that could help with any potential crop issues that could creep up during treatment, though.

Could you try to get her to drink some sugar water or water some scrambled egg to perk up a bit this morning?

 

[crazychick26201]

Thank you for the encouragement and links. I started her on amoxicillin two days ago and she has perked up a good bit. Still not out of the woods though. She is a four year old Buff Orpington. She has not laid an egg since she first got sick in mid March. I think the meloxicam is making her sick. So I may stop it tomorrow. She has had about 5 days of it. I think the amoxicillin is giving her diarrhea. I found quite a bit of it in the run this morning. Not cecal. But her nighttime droppings are firm. I will scramble her an egg tomorrow. Thanks for your experiential advise on amoxicillin . I have used it successfully on different hens in the past. It’s just that this time I did not have a vet examine her when she got sick the second time. So I am not sure what is causing this. I will try to keep you updated!

 

[alinas2010]

Ah I see. I don’t know much about meloxicam, I’m sorry. Sometimes it’s just so hard to tell what’s going on, they hide things so well. If she isn’t eating much but is drinking still, could the diarrhea be from just a liquid diet pretty much?

I hope she keeps on improving. It’s possible that an antibiotic such as amoxicillin could cause GI issues, starting her on probiotics could help with those. I think if she is showing signs of improvement after starting, it’d be a good idea to finish the course of treatment and see how she does, even if it gives her some GI issues. Provided that they don’t get too bad, of course.

I know it’s probably a moot point, but going back to what caused her to become ill initially, were her eggs ever wonky at all? I realize she isn’t exactly a hybrid breed or anything, but my mind always goes to reproductive infections when another reason for a hen acting ill can’t be found. Is her abdomen bulgy at all?