Please, can someone do math for me? Meloxicam 1.5mg/kg.

[Kpegg]

I know this has been asked before and yes I have gone through the other threads discussing the same question and my dumbass is still not comprehending the math. I have a 3.8lb chicken who was prescribed meloxicam. My vet says to give 1ml but I feel like that is way too much. I think she was having an off day because that same day she prescribed antibiotics and didn't give me enough, so im trying to verify the dosage before i give it. Could she have meant .1ml or could it really be 1ml? I can math when it comes to baking but I lose it when it comes to medication math. It may as well be quantum physics.

The syringe with the bottle comes with a syringe with lbs on it but I know this medication is technically for dogs so not sure if the lbs on the syringe translate over to poultry. I have plenty other syringes so not concerned about that, just seeing if anyone is familiar with using the syringe that comes with it.

 

[Kpegg]

To clarify i had 2 questions. 1. What would be the correct dose? 2. Is anyone familiar with the syringe that comes with the medicine and if that translates to chicken weight.

 

[RoyalChick]

I looked for the correct dose for Meloxicam in chickens and found a couple of sources that give it as 0.5-1.0mg/kg given every 12 or 24 hours.
The low end of the range is from Poultry DVM, the high end from a study published by the AVMA.
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/ajvr/78/8/ajvr.78.8.965.xml

Your chicken is 3.8 pounds which is 1.72kg.
Taking the AVMA dosage that would be 1.72mg given once or twice a day.

Your bottle says 1.5mg per ml.
So giving your chicken 1ml of the product is roughly right (a tad lower than the high end of the dose range) and has the benefit of being what the vet said to give!

I have no idea about the syringe for dogs that comes with the product (though it does look like a 1ml syringe), but it should be easy to source a 1ml syringe - they are usually available in the pharmacy.

Hope that helps.
I am not a vet and have never used Meloxicam, so I am purely doing math here - cannot advise you on what to actually give your chicken.
Hope she gets better.

 

[coach723]

I believe the correct dosing would be 0.1 mg/kg. One of my sources is linked here:
https://www.justanswer.com/veterinary/rv4z5-give-chicken-pain.html
When given for a long period of time, for something chronic, the dose would be at the low end. I've seen 0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg recommended.
I've never used meloxicam personally, so don't have a personal recommendation based on that.
Worst case, call your vet and ask for clarification. Since they know the condition that it's prescribed for, that may affect the amount they are recommending. I personally, when there is no vet advice available, will often start at the low end of a recommendation to see if it's effective and to minimize side effects. I use Plumbs Veterinary Drug Handbook most of the time, and my edition does not have dosing for birds for that medication.

 

[RoyalChick]

I believe the correct dosing would be 0.1 mg/kg. One of my sources is linked here:
https://www.justanswer.com/veterinary/rv4z5-give-chicken-pain.html
When given for a long period of time, for something chronic, the dose would be at the low end. I've seen 0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg recommended.
I've never used meloxicam personally, so don't have a personal recommendation based on that.
Worst case, call your vet and ask for clarification. Since they know the condition that it's prescribed for, that may affect the amount they are recommending. I personally, when there is no vet advice available, will often start at the low end of a recommendation to see if it's effective and to minimize side effects. I use Plumbs Veterinary Drug Handbook most of the time, and my edition does not have dosing for birds for that medication.

Interesting. The low dose (0.1mg/kg) as you say is for chronic usage so I would ignore that if it is not chronic.
The 0.5mg/kg matches what Poultry DVM says.
And the 1mg/kg is the AVMA.
A 10X range is quite something!

I agree - call the vet back and get a hold of a 1ml syringe.

 

[Kpegg]

I believe the correct dosing would be 0.1 mg/kg. One of my sources is linked here:
https://www.justanswer.com/veterinary/rv4z5-give-chicken-pain.html
When given for a long period of time, for something chronic, the dose would be at the low end. I've seen 0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg recommended.
I've never used meloxicam personally, so don't have a personal recommendation based on that.
Worst case, call your vet and ask for clarification. Since they know the condition that it's prescribed for, that may affect the amount they are recommending. I personally, when there is no vet advice available, will often start at the low end of a recommendation to see if it's effective and to minimize side effects. I use Plumbs Veterinary Drug Handbook most of the time, and my edition does not have dosing for birds for that medication.

@coach @RoyalChick so the consensus is 1ml is correct? It's for bumblefoot, only supposed to give for 3 days so not a chronic condition. I have a ml syringe so im OK there, it just seemed like a lot to me. The vet is off today or I would have clarified.

 

[RoyalChick]

@coach @RoyalChick so the consensus is 1ml is correct? It's for bumblefoot, only supposed to give for 3 days so not a chronic condition. I have a ml syringe so im OK there, it just seemed like a lot to me. The vet is off today or I would have clarified.

Personally, given the range of dose, I would give a bit less than 1ml - but that is just me. The vet said 1ml and we have at least one source that is legit that supports 1ml. I might play it safe and give three-quarters of a ml.

 

[coach723]

I would trust the AVMA as a source, they are certainly in a position to know. Since your vet said 1ml, and that is backed up by another source, it would probably be fine. You can either give that and just make sure she handles it well, or give a bit less and see if it's effective.
Personally, I've never given pain meds for bumblefoot, but I certainly haven't seen your bird or know the reasons it was prescribed, so not judging.

 

[casportpony]

I have a 3.8lb chicken who was prescribed meloxicam. My vet says to give 1ml but I feel like that is way too much.

Call your vet and ask how many mg per kg (mg/kg).

The math is:
Weigh of bird in pounds, divide by 2.2 (converts to kg), times the dose (mg/kg), divide by the number of mg/ml.

https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/09_therapeutic_agents.pdf

When my vet prescribed it, she prescribed 0.7 ml of the stuff you have (1.5 mg/ml) for a nine-pound peahen. That dose works out to about 0.25 mg/kg.

Your vet prescribed 1 ml of the 1.5 mg/ml product for a 3.8-pound hen. That dose works out to about 0.9 mg/kg, which does seem like a lot to me.

Does that help?

Regarding the syringe, I have no idea. I looked at a picture, and it looks like it's marked for pounds?