To dose or not to dose, that is the question...

[CaptainSamH]

What was the diagnosis that they prescribed that particular antibiotic for?

Well, that's the thing... they ruled out coccidosis, but the tests for other issues were way more expensive - more than the check-up, coccidosis test and medication put together. So she gave the disclaimer about the eggs (which they said technically we should never eat, but that was because of legal issues in the state) and wrote a prescription for this multi-coverage antibiotic.

 

[CaptainSamH]

SMZ-TMP is a sulfa antibiotic, the same as Bactrim used in humans, and treats a variety of infections, including coccidiosis, coryza, fowl cholera, and E.coli. It also is good for skin infections. It is not approved for poultry (and almost no drugs are,) but is routinely prescribed by vets for many different reasons. If I were using it, I would wait until a month afterward to use the eggs.

So I caught her pooping today and it was very watery with blob of dark green, grassy bits in it (other poops also look similar with watery urates and what would look like small slugs - posted on another thread). When looking at photos of poop online, came across something similar that the poster said could be worms (we came back negative for coccidosis) or egg peritonitis - any idea if the SMZ-TMP might work for that?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post a picture of the poop?

 

[CaptainSamH]

Can you post a picture of the poop?

Why, yes I can...so many poop pictures lately...

 

[CaptainSamH]

Perhaps you can separate her and put her in a cage away from the others where she can eat in peace. Do whatever you can to get the meds in her, it's the only way she'll recover.
Boil plain white rice, let it cool. Then add the liquid meds to the rice and mealworms. She should scoff it up since rice looks like maggots and birds cant resist mealworms. The rice will settle her digestive tract and make absorption of the meds easier on her.

Ugh, gave that a try and it worked...once. Now she's onto me and walks away even when there's mealworms and some baby chick food that she seemed keen on before. I might just have to syringe it into her beak...solo. Wish me luck!

 

[CaptainSamH]

Ugh, gave that a try and it worked...once. Now she's onto me and walks away even when there's mealworms and some baby chick food that she seemed keen on before. I might just have to syringe it into her beak...solo. Wish me luck!

I did it! Wrapped her in a towel, sat down next to the coop away from the rest of the flock, opened her beak with one hand and dosed with the other - took two shots for the full dose. She didn't like it but had a moment where she seemed to give in when I got her beak open for the second squirt. I'm glad I know I can do it...

 

[CaptainSamH]

So I've got a couple days of getting the prescribed dosage in her, but she's not eating much and I can feel her losing weight as her keel is more pronounced. She's also pooping liquid. Recognizing that all chickens are different, is there a point at which I might expect to see the antibiotic have an effect? I'm also concerned that her crop was a little squishy this morning - not big, but a little soft and not totally empty. So now am I giving antibiotic to a chicken who's growing yeast in her crop?

 

[Eggcessive]

Just wondering, what dosage of Bactrim did your vet prescribe, for how long, and how much roughly does your chicken weigh?

Sorry that she is not eating much. Have you tried offering a variety of foods where one might strike her? Has she eaten any cooked rice and buttermilk? I usually try wet chicken feed—just a small amount in a cereal bowl with a lot of water. Then scrambled egg, tuna, chopped meat, or Friskies pate canned cat food. I tried to vary it on one very sick hen, so that she would not starve.

She may have a reproductive disorder that is slowing her crop from emptying. Some people will tube feed chickens who won’t eat.

 

[CaptainSamH]

Just wondering, what dosage of Bactrim did your vet prescribe, for how long, and how much roughly does your chicken weigh?"
When we brought her into the vet ahe was just under 4 lbs and we could just start to feel her keel. I'm sure she is less that than now, but TSC didn't have a scale and I haven't had chance the to get one at Target. The vet prescribed SMZ-TMP at 165cc 2x daily and I had a rough start getting her going on it...she fought the syringe so I tried to sneak it in with some white rice and mealworms. She fell for that once. Im moatly here by myself at dosing time, but I've finally manage to work out the coordination to do it myself - though I throw a little extra in the syringe to account for the amount that gets flung on me .
I think I read about Bactrim in an article here about egg peritonitis, combined with glucosonate (?), but I think that was given by needle. Not to sidetrack the convo, but newbie question: what causes egg peritonitis and could it go from one chicken to another?

"Sorry that she is not eating much. Have you tried offering a variety of foods where one might strike her? Has she eaten any cooked rice and buttermilk? I usually try wet chicken feed—just a small amount in a cereal bowl with a lot of water. Then scrambled egg, tuna, chopped meat, or Friskies pate canned cat food. I tried to vary it on one very sick hen, so that she would not starve.

She may have a reproductive disorder that is slowing her crop from emptying. Some people will tube feed chickens who won’t eat.

This is REALLY helpful. It gives me a sense of what to do next. We've brought her inside now (quarantined in a room in the house) and I've given her yogurt and apples, which she liked. Then she gobbled up about a 1/2 cup of soft, cooked squash that I had made for our dinner. I will try some rice and tuna tomorrow. I've been checking her crop regularly since she started showing lethargic symptoms last week and this is the first time it's felt problematic (could it be the antibiotic?) - will check again in the am.
Thanks so much for your help!

 

[CaptainSamH]

Just wondering, what dosage of Bactrim did your vet prescribe, for how long, and how much roughly does your chicken weigh?

Sorry that she is not eating much. Have you tried offering a variety of foods where one might strike her? Has she eaten any cooked rice and buttermilk? I usually try wet chicken feed—just a small amount in a cereal bowl with a lot of water. Then scrambled egg, tuna, chopped meat, or Friskies pate canned cat food. I tried to vary it on one very sick hen, so that she would not starve.

She may have a reproductive disorder that is slowing her crop from emptying. Some people will tube feed chickens who won’t eat.

To answer the first part...
When we brought her into the vet she was just under 4 lbs and we could just start to feel her keel. I'm sure she is less that than now, but TSC didn't have a scale and I haven't had the chance to get one at Target. The vet prescribed SMZ-TMP at 165cc 2x daily and I had a rough start getting her going on it...she fought the syringe so I tried to sneak it in with some white rice and mealworms. She fell for that once. I'm mostly here by myself at dosing time, but I've finally managed to work out the coordination to do it with the syringe myself - though I throw a little extra in the syringe to account for the amount that gets flung on me .