sick chickie

[casportpony]

I've no certain number to throw as the ideal, but ... there's bound to be a study for that ~'-)

As our good ol' family doctor puts it, there's a tendency to 'shoot rabbits w/ cannons' where meds are concerned, but using dosages under certain minimums can ultimately do far greater harm -- not just to the one living creature, but to all: That's where the resistant forms of everything are comin' from.

Recommended dose rates for metronidazole in dogs are 44 mg/kg, PO, followed by 22 mg/kg, qid for anaerobic infections; 25 mg/kg, PO, bid for giardiasis; and 66 mg/kg, PO, sid for trichomoniasis. Courses of therapy are generally 5-7 days. Both PO and IV preparations are available.

Here is some info on doses for birds.

Source: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam/09_therapeutic_agents.pdf

 

[casportpony]

More info:

Metronidazole, (Nitroimidazole) (Flagyl) an oral or IV injectable bacteriocidal antibiotic/antiprotozoal agent, an amebicide; treats anaerobic bacteria (such as Clostridium), hexamita, Giardia and other GI protozoal flagellates; caution in renal or hepatic impairment; may cause seizures, peripheral neurophathies, anorexia or GI upset; may enhance candidiasis; toxic in finches; seems not as effective in eradicating Giardia since many isolates seem to be resistant now, so for treating Giardia, Ronidazole may be a better choice.

Source:http://www.avianweb.com/medicationsexotics.html

 

[casportpony]

And my 7th Edition Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook says that birds get 10-50mg/kg every 12 hours.



The 6th Edition says "50 mg/kg PO once daily for 5 days (Bauck and Hoefer 1993)"

 

[cowcreekgeek]

yikes i don't even know what to do with ANY of that....

Lot's of heavy reading, I know ... and, this lengthy post was mostly aimed at folks like casportpony and dawg53, so as to hopefully find alternative treatments, now that many effective choices are no longer available.

Boiling it down a bit, and based upon clearly proven clinical studies as to efficacy of treatment:

Worming your flock w/ albendazole or fenbendazole immediately eliminates cecal worms, which are responsible for the protozoans that are responsible for blackhead. There are alternatives that might eliminate both, but ... first things first: Get rid of the worms, but in a way that sheds them completely, but w/o creating another threat by havin' too many die too quickly.

fenbendazole at the rate of 20 mg/kg of body weight for three consecutive days is just enough to get the job done completely, when it comes to any worms (other than tapeworms, which you'd easily see evidence of w/in the droppings). I prefer this alternative, as it's been proven safe all the way up to 1,000 mg/kg (that's a full gram, or 50 times the dosage I've suggested ~'-)

Likewise, a single dosage of albendazole, and at this same rate of 20 mg/kg of body weight, has been proven to effectively eliminate all worms. Many suggest following this one up a week to ten days later w/ a second dosage.

This may still leave your bird w/ blackhead, but -- that may not even be an issue, as it's not confirmed, and was based upon nothing more than my own suspicion, and we've heard good opinion to the contrary. So, I'd cross that bridge if/when you come to it.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Here is some info on doses for birds.

Source: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam/09_therapeutic_agents.pdf

:: right-clicks link, and selects "save as" w/ a most satisfied grin ::

Thank you *very* much for that (some powerfully handy tools you got there ~'-)

​

In absence of findin' a 'B' in that 'C.I. **' column, I'd suggest still doin' a bit of diggin' around (there's almost always a study for that ~'-)

Sorta like what I've found on fenbendazole -- repeated efficacy studies that prove the ideal dosage to be 20 mg/kg of bw for three consecutive days. Still figure there'd be better ways to more slowly/gently shed off the worms, so as to prevent the certain/sudden death some w/ major infestations face.

Speaking of further study? Please review this post ... although I hate that you've had to battle blackhead, you're the ideal person to take the ball 'n run w/ it, when it comes to findin' ideal methods of prevention/treatment, now that we've all been further disarmed.

 

[jkulp00]

Got about 100 cc into her of mash, electrolytes, probiotics.... she pooped twice today and they are more normal looking. Formed normally and while still somewhat yellow in color there is also some normal brown and no stringy white or gross black/green solids.... keeping my fingers crossed. She seems to be fighting me more when handling her too, lol.

 

[casportpony]

 

[jkulp00]

Ok today i administered the Tylan, wormed her with safeguard and administered about 80-100 cc of mash/electrolytes/probiotics. I also gave her about a half hour long bath and cleaned her vent up and cut away the feathers around her vent as they were very pasty again, white and yellow. She fell asleep in the tub. She pooped a mostly brown poop this morning but it was still somewhat runny and had some yellow and white in it. I am very concerned at this point because she is no longer eating mealworms for me - just syringe feedings, and her abdomen is very enlarged and hard. I tried to massage it as much as possible while she was in the hot water in case we were dealing with a blockage/egg bound issue. I couldn't feel anything distinguishable to be an egg or mass just the whole abdomen is large and hard (sort of like a softball in size). I felt some of my other hens for comparison and its definitely an issue. I tried to feel around in her vent for something but couldn't get my finger in very far and felt nothing. Sigh. I guess only time will tell.

 

[casportpony]

Does her abdomen feel like it's full of fluid?

 

[jkulp00]

Maybe? I am not sure. It's so hard I can't really even feel around much... but I don't feel any solids or lumps. I have a feeling this is going a bad way. Now I am wondering about her being and internal layer or that other issue (starts with an "a") where the body cavity just fills with fluid.