Tips for getting hen to drink medicated water?

[TundraGhost]

So one of my hens has coccidiosis, and I talked to a vet and got Amprolium + some anti inflammatory. My problem is, she seems to have stopped drinking much water at all, and dislikes the medicine water. I've seen her peck water droplets off the chicken wire instead of her drinking bowl.

On another thread a few people mentioned adding sugar/brown sugar or Gatorade to the water to make it sweeter, like a treat. But giving chickens sugar like that feels like a bad idea to me, especially when she should have a dosage of it for about a week straight.

I am planning on calling the vet tomorrow to ask if I could possibly orally give her the Amprolium, even if its in very small amounts each day. Or another alternative if there is one. But I did want to reach out to hear what others did when their chicken turned up attempts to help them get better.

 

[nuthatched]

A syringe would be your best bet. Medicated water doesn't give accurate dosing.

 

[dawg53]

So one of my hens has coccidiosis, and I talked to a vet and got Amprolium + some anti inflammatory. My problem is, she seems to have stopped drinking much water at all, and dislikes the medicine water. I've seen her peck water droplets off the chicken wire instead of her drinking bowl.

On another thread a few people mentioned adding sugar/brown sugar or Gatorade to the water to make it sweeter, like a treat. But giving chickens sugar like that feels like a bad idea to me, especially when she should have a dosage of it for about a week straight.

I am planning on calling the vet tomorrow to ask if I could possibly orally give her the Amprolium, even if its in very small amounts each day. Or another alternative if there is one. But I did want to reach out to hear what others did when their chicken turned up attempts to help them get better.

You can direct dose your hen with Amprolium. Follow the instructions in the link provided:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/corid-amprolium-oral-drench-instructions.74391/

 

[TundraGhost]

You can direct dose your hen with Amprolium. Follow the instructions in the link provided:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/corid-amprolium-oral-drench-instructions.74391/

Thanks so much for this link! The vet will open soon so I'll get their opinion on it, but I can see myself giving this a try so my hen gets what she needs.

 

[TundraGhost]

A syringe would be your best bet. Medicated water doesn't give accurate dosing.

This was my worry when the vet initially offered water soluble meds, but I figured I'd give it a try. A few months ago I had to orally administer some meds to my rooster and it was a nightmare, so the potential of not having to annoy my hen like that was a nice thought. Going to try the direct dose though, here's hoping it helps

 

[Fowlmamabird]

So one of my hens has coccidiosis, and I talked to a vet and got Amprolium + some anti inflammatory. My problem is, she seems to have stopped drinking much water at all, and dislikes the medicine water. I've seen her peck water droplets off the chicken wire instead of her drinking bowl.

On another thread a few people mentioned adding sugar/brown sugar or Gatorade to the water to make it sweeter, like a treat. But giving chickens sugar like that feels like a bad idea to me, especially when she should have a dosage of it for about a week straight.

I am planning on calling the vet tomorrow to ask if I could possibly orally give her the Amprolium, even if its in very small amounts each day. Or another alternative if there is one. But I did want to reach out to hear what others did when their chicken turned up attempts to help them get better.

Watermelon . Had to do this with denegard. Using a water syringe draw the medicated water you want them to drink and saturate the watermelon with it. Use a fork to poke holes where it will soak it up. The red draws them in. The vitamins help from the melon and the hydration and meds are there. I buy the tiny seedless watermelon and cut the ends off and use it as a little bowl.

 

[Fowlmamabird]

So one of my hens has coccidiosis, and I talked to a vet and got Amprolium + some anti inflammatory. My problem is, she seems to have stopped drinking much water at all, and dislikes the medicine water. I've seen her peck water droplets off the chicken wire instead of her drinking bowl.

On another thread a few people mentioned adding sugar/brown sugar or Gatorade to the water to make it sweeter, like a treat. But giving chickens sugar like that feels like a bad idea to me, especially when she should have a dosage of it for about a week straight.

I am planning on calling the vet tomorrow to ask if I could possibly orally give her the Amprolium, even if it’s in very small amounts each day. Or another alternative if there is one. But I did want to reach out to hear what others did when their chicken turned up attempts to help them get better.

Learn from my mistake and don’t force water into her beak. She may asphyxiate. The watermelon will probably work. My sickest hen that would even eat egg yolk wanted the watermelon

 

[Shadrach]

So one of my hens has coccidiosis, and I talked to a vet and got Amprolium + some anti inflammatory. My problem is, she seems to have stopped drinking much water at all, and dislikes the medicine water. I've seen her peck water droplets off the chicken wire instead of her drinking bowl.

On another thread a few people mentioned adding sugar/brown sugar or Gatorade to the water to make it sweeter, like a treat. But giving chickens sugar like that feels like a bad idea to me, especially when she should have a dosage of it for about a week straight.

I am planning on calling the vet tomorrow to ask if I could possibly orally give her the Amprolium, even if its in very small amounts each day. Or another alternative if there is one. But I did want to reach out to hear what others did when their chicken turned up attempts to help them get better.

The dose for a single hen is only a couple of milli litres unless your hen is particularly heavy. I cut up small cubes of bread and soak them in the amprolium and then give it to the patient. It usually works quite well. A grape can work as can anything she'll eat that will soak up the amprolium. Give her a couple of untreated pieces first and she should swallow the treated bit before she realises you're drugging her.

 

[TundraGhost]

Learn from my mistake and don’t force water into her beak. She may asphyxiate. The watermelon will probably work. My sickest hen that would even eat egg yolk wanted the watermelon

I never thought about trying watermelon as I didn't take it as a very absorbent food. I'll definitely consider it next time I have a picky drinker. So far the most reliable method has been putting the dosage in their mouth with a syringe. We have been very careful to not put it down a chickens oddly-placed trachea. There was one or two instances where one shook their head and coughed a bit. But I understand the concern.

Unfortunately the hen I was referring to on this post did pass away last weekend, and I'm hoping to get a vet to see what the cause was. Something tells me it wasn't coccidiosis after.

 

[TundraGhost]

The dose for a single hen is only a couple of milli litres unless your hen is particularly heavy. I cut up small cubes of bread and soak them in the amprolium and then give it to the patient. It usually works quite well. A grape can work as can anything she'll eat that will soak up the amprolium. Give her a couple of untreated pieces first and she should swallow the treated bit before she realises you're drugging her.

I gave her straight doses of 0.3 milliliters for about 4 days, she was 3 and a half pounds at the time, but sadly she did not come around and passed on Saturday. I figure it wasn't coccidiosis and was another illness altogether. Grapes are another food I never considered as absorbent, but I'll add it to the list of possibilities to try if there is a next time. I did try soaked bread, but she only ate a few pieces before getting uninterested.