Oral antibiotic aspiration

[Carolrich]

Dear friends,
It has been some time since I last posted. Some of you may recall Stanley, our one-eyed rooster. He is now about 32 weeks old. 3 weeks ago he began limping and we could not determine anything apparently wrong with his leg or foot. He kept on limping but was eating and pooping just fine but he lost his newly acquired cock-a-doodle-do. I finally took him to our vet where he found an abscess deep in his right foot. He gave him a round of antibiotics for 10 days. We are on day 6. He has become more feisty and getting the oral med into the right spot has become more challenging. This morning, I proceeded as usual inserting the syringe to the right side of his tracheal opening at the base of his tongue. I pushed a small amount in to be sure I was in the right place. Then gradually pushed the rest in. He was squirmy. Afterward he coughed, shook his head and sounded a little gurgling. I really think he aspirated some of the antibiotics. I am worried and watching. Any thoughts?

 

[Folly's place]

Crossing fingers and hoping for the best! He'll be okay, or not. More rest, and keep him eating if possible.
Mary

 

[Col1948]

I gave my chickens liquid vitamins but what I did was mix it in with some yogurt, that way they eat it all up plus the vitamins, you could try something like that.

 

[casportpony]

Afterward he coughed, shook his head and sounded a little gurgling. I really think he aspirated some of the antibiotics. I am worried and watching. Any thoughts?

I think he'll be okay. Do you have anyone helping you hold him? Or have you tried wrapping him in a towel?

 

[Carolrich]

I think he'll be okay. Do you have anyone helping you hold him? Or have you tried wrapping him in a towel?

Thank you for your encouraging words. My husband is not very skilled at holding him and a bit squeamish. So I have developed a method of holding him securely under my left arm and using my left hand to open his beak. I did this through two 10day rounds of antibiotics when he lost his eye. But he was smaller then and the syringe was smaller. For this time, the vet gave me a 5cc syringe because the dose is 2.2 ml. I think I will divide the dose in half and use a 1 cc syringe going forward. Putting that huge syringe down his throat and crop makes ME want to choke!
I appreciate the towel suggestion and will try next time to wrap him in one before tucking him under my arm.

 

[Carolrich]

I gave my chickens liquid vitamins but what I did was mix it in with some yogurt, that way they eat it all up plus the vitamins, you could try something like that.

Wow! What a great thought! I will try this next round!

 

[casportpony]

I think I will divide the dose in half and use a 1 cc syringe going forward.

This makes a huge difference! A 5 ml syringe is too big even for very large fowl. If the gurgling continues, please do call the vet. FWIW, I've had a couple do this and it always resolves on it's own.

 

[Carolrich]

Crossing fingers and hoping for the best! He'll be okay, or not. More rest, and keep him eating if possible.
Mary

Thank you Mary! He has lost some weight during this foot illness and so we began isolating him so he could get to his food and water without the hens pestering him. Chickens certainly know when one of their group is vulnerable and they have picked on him mercilessly.

 

[casportpony]

Wow! What a great thought! I will try this next round!

You do need to be careful because some antibiotics should not be mixed with food that are high in calcium.

 

[casportpony]

@Carolrich, sounds like you got it figured out, but you might find some helpful tips here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/