Suspected Egg Yolk peritonitis

[steve0923]

Hi all,

First time poster here and owner of the sweetest little black hen who, unfortunately, is rather poorly.

She has been off her food, laying down pretty much all the time, and has diarrhoea. She’s been wormed recently so it’s not that. I’ve also treated her for coccidiosis just in case it’s that.

However, today I noticed what looks like a small amount of yolk in her otherwise mostly clear poop (my wife said she saw the same a few days ago).

We got a local vet to look at her but they were next to useless. They did prescribe an antibiotic at our request but it’s Denagard, which, having done some research, isn’t appropriate for peritonitis apparently. Can anyone confirm this? I see Baytril is commonly used for this condition, would that be a better choice?

Breaks my heart seeing her like this. She was such a little force of nature until now (jumps up on my lap and enjoys being stroked, flies in and out of the enclosure at will, hangs out with our cats etc etc!).

Hope someone can advise.

Thanks

 

[Eggcessive]

Denagard is usually prescribed to treat mycoplasma gallisepticum in chickens. Baytril (enrofloxacin) is banned for chickens, but some vets may still quietly prescribe it as long as eggs or meat are never eaten. It is available online in 10% liquid from jedds.com and other stores. The dosage for chickens is 0.05 ml per pound twice a day given orally for 5 days. Amoxicillin is sometimes used as well, but Baytril is probably a better choice. Baytril was banned many years ago in chickens because of antibiotic resistance in campylobacter, a bacteria commonly found in chickens. However it is still used by veterinarians in other animals.

 

[steve0923]

Thanks so much. I forgot to say, I’m actually in the UK so not sure how viable ordering from jedds.com is.

 

[ChknMama50]

Denagard is usually prescribed to treat mycoplasma gallisepticum in chickens. Baytril (enrofloxacin) is banned for chickens, but some vets may still quietly prescribe it as long as eggs or meat are never eaten. It is available online in 10% liquid from jedds.com and other stores. The dosage for chickens is 0.05 ml per pound twice a day given orally for 5 days. Amoxicillin is sometimes used as well, but Baytril is probably a better choice. Baytril was banned many years ago in chickens because of antibiotic resistance in campylobacter, a bacteria commonly found in chickens. However it is still used by veterinarians in other animals.

@Eggcessive
Know this is an old post but wanted to clarify this dosage for this issue (EYP) using Oral Baytril 10%…
Keep seeing such conflicting info and have looked so many times now over last couple months I’m starting to doubt myself
Your quote above is closest to what I had written down from prev research- but today I guess I went by what’s on the bottle as it’s actually labeled for chickens (for once!)
So rounding down to 5 lbs, I went by giving 0.1ml/kg so gave them 0.23 ml (great syringe with tiniest graduations but was just shy of 0.25ml for these eyes that are getting bad even w/ readers )

Your recommendation is differently written but got us to a very similar dose-almost exactly.
SO:
I was just checking to be sure this was the correct dose for twice a day dosing and if 5 days was correct?
There is such conflicting info on here… “never give Baytril longer than 3 days or they’ll def get candida infection” -assume they are referring to sour crop- but that’s the price you pay even as humans with a broad spectrum antibiotic- kills it all- not just the bad ones you’re aiming for .

I just want to give these two troopers the best shot at feeling better… one has already been thru it- worse that time symptom wise.. really gained fluid wt in belly but she responded astoundingly quick/well to the Liwuamycin LA-200 (long acting oxytetracycline) that I gave her SQ every 3 days for 4 doses. Astounded actually at how she responded after even one dose… got a couple doses of Meloxicam in her too but she became anorexic and I didn’t want her to lose more strength so have been trying to instead give them Turmeric (in form of “golden paste” per an online vet’s recipe-to increase absorption.)

Holding out a bit more hope for second one who’s instead been dealing w/ sour crop that damn near killed her (got down to like barely 2lbs!) but had just gotten back to her old sunny self with a full floppy red comb and laying again-Finally!…
but they went from 3 not “quite” right eggs (kinda chalky and paler) that I’ve seen before- to a sudden super bizarre bright dark TEAL egg that had a pretty solid normal shell but was more long and narrow than normal- then she stopped laying again and started to look sick for a few days not long after and got a very firm belly…

Gave her liquid calcium and checked to be sure she wasn’t egg bound based on a few of her symptoms but then she started to show some of the dreaded yellow in her poop as well…
Had the Baytril on order as I’ve read it is possibly the best choice for this.

SORRY- I’m so tired and sick myself again I’m rambling and getting off topic & way into the problems instead of my original goal of simply trying to clarify that:
*giving these (approx) 5lb chickens 0.25ml twice a day for a total of 5 days is an appropriate treatment using Baytril 10% orally to treat suspected EYP.

I’m open to suggestions to give it for say 4 days instead or if you think a larger once a day dose is better?!

THANK YOU!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Enrofloxacin (Baytril) 10% liquid dose is 0.05 ml per pound, so that is 0.25 ml for a 5 pound chicken given orally twice a day for 5 days. Most pharmacies, especially Walmart, can give you a 1 ml syringe without a needle used to give very small amounts to babies and animals. I would wait a month to use any eggs from the hen after antibiotics. Using some plain yogurt with cultures or probiotics after antibiotics can help get the beneficial intestinal bacteria back to normal.

 

[ChknMama50]

@Eggcessive - THANK you so much for your answer and help!!! Gave her her first "soak" as well in an Epsom Salt bath and she seemed to love it more than the others I'd had to do it for ;-) Found her yesterday IN the box below their roosts- and when I went to sit down with her, she vomited up more than I'd think possible- guess I leaned over a bit too far to sit down .... Ironically I refused to do this for her when she was dealing with crop issues for over a month I think it was before she finally started to see all better.... even laid some eggs... but then came the dreaded symptoms her sister has been dealing with... thus the Baytril...
She seemed so uncomfortable and am thinking she may have leaned over herself on the roost as there was a large volume of liquid in the sand but no idea what happened or how she ended up down there... SO after she did that and seemed to still have SUCH a full crop and not having any respiratory problems... I went ahead and leaned over again a bit and massaged her crop a bit- and Lord- she let out SO much stuff second time- thick and green/brownish- nasty- but I left it on my boot/floor and focused on her- tolerated it great thankfully and seemed to feel SO much better and relaxed... Gave her the bath and offered some scrambled eggs a bit later not wanting to give her antibiotics on an empty upset "stomach"...

WHICH finally brings me to my next biggest question ;-) ....do chickens have intestinal upset with oral antibiotics like humans do?? I know everyone mentions probiotic supplementation afterwards so I'm assuming they can...
I've only given antibiotics once before- and was SQ to her sister for EYP- did GREAT with it!
Oh guess I did give antifungal to the Chicken in question for her sour crop-for full week- ended up needing ACS for 10 days TWO separate times as well- took the suggested time off in between and FINALLY she stopped having a doughy crop and started to look better! (was "impacted" briefly in middle there- think she ate some long weed as I saw bits in her poo when she finally had a solid one after many massages and oils... Good times, I'm telling 'ya!! )

ANYWAY-
We ended up after all that and your sweet quick answer- going with once daily dosing as it was soo late in afternoon by this point (w/above and bathing her and her sister who was days past needing it-butt FULL of dried on poo.. but had been unseasonably cool)

BTW- she has been eating OK- and her poop had FINALLY stopped having the yellow in it again, but when they were in the shed with me yesterday, she pooped like 3 times and was quite 'explosive' and liquid...but brown and o/w normally digested.

SO I gave approx 0.35-38ml-to each after weighing them both once they'd had time to dry off a good amount (snuggled both in towels which they seem to love- fall asleep while stroking their little heads in a portable chair that rocks!)
KNEW I'd be super happy I built my new coop with an enclosed "shed" side for me to do things like this with plenty of room! They ironically weighed exactly the same- checked sev. times- but both down a bit at 4.5lbs so went with lower end of the amount I'd seen for daily dosing- (0.15-0.2ml/kg) since I had no time to ask again...Hubby helped, so able to easily give it without question they got it!

Anyway- they both seemed fine when I finally went in last night- they had walked around together for a bit picking at seed heads in the yard etc. but didn't see either of them eat a whole lot afterwards....
I know I SHOULD have been out right away this am to check her crop- since she had undigested stuff in there from day prior yesterday and had crop issues in pretty recent past but unfortunately- I myself am pretty sick AND nursing a VERY painful shoulder injury!? (esp after yesterday) not to mention my normal back/other chronic stuff! (AND In-laws coming in 2 days!!) Feel just awful- but will get out as soon as I finish this and get my own meds in with some food...also didn't isolate her as she did so poorly before and got quite anorexic until I put her back with her flock...like 4 days in.

that she's Ok... been thru So much and was doing SO good- back to bright red floppy comb as she be-bopped all over... She's a goofy sweetheart! Ugh...
It's been a REAL challenge... I'm so sorry to write yet another long post...
Can't thank you (and many others!) enough for the help! and will try to update later...