What to do???

[casportpony]

Package weighs 181.5 grams and has 10 grams oxytetracycline.
10 ÷ 181.5 = 0.055, which means it's 5.5% oxytetracycline, 94.5% filler
One gram = 55mg
One teaspoon weighs about 3 grams which = 165mg x 5 teaspoons = 825 mg
The 800 mg dose for one gallon = 5 teaspoons (825mg is close enough)

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

Can I just say that you seem to be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at an unknown illness in your chickens and it may not be necessary. There are side effects to most medicines and resistance developing to some wormers and antibiotics as a result of inappropriate or over/under dosing. Using medicines that are not necessary can also cause problems for your chickens.... antibiotics can kill good gut bacteria and result in digestive tract problems for instance.
Here in the UK, we can't buy antibiotics over the counter without a prescription from a doctor or vet, so we have to stop and think "is a veterinary visit necessary and can I afford it" before we can give our chickens antibiotics. I think this is a beneficial situation as it means we have to be pretty sure our chickens need to be treated before they get those restricted medications. Yes it can be frustrating when we read that you guys can just go out and buy these things, but on the whole I think it is for the best that we can't, because it prevents us from getting into the situation that you seem to find yourself, where you don't know what is wrong so you throw the full armoury of chemicals at it all in one go.
My advice would be to take a breath and give your chickens a chance to recover, not only from whatever it is they have, but also from the medicines you have given them.

I have a respiratory infection in my flock which I suspect is IB. It comes and goes with the seasons. Some chickens get it worse than others and I had a welsummer recently that was gaping and wheezing like a death rattle for weeks, but she was still free ranging with the flock although at a slower pace. She has eventually overcome it and I haven't treated them with anything. Others in the flock are sneezing and some are wheezing a bit but it will run it's course. I have a reasonably large mixed flock of 60ish chickens and I haven't lost one to the respiratory infection in 2 years.

I can't advise on withdrawal period for eggs after treatment with antibiotics but I'm pretty sure there is one, so that would be another incentive not to use them unless essential.

Egg laying drops at this time of year anyway so it seems a shame to have to ditch the eggs that you are getting.

I know there will be many who disagree with this post, but I just feel that I should point out that there is another option...ie not treating.... or perhaps using something like Vet RX rather than dosing your hens again with antibiotics and wormer.

I hope your flock are fully recovered soon.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[casportpony]

Some drug withdrawal info here:
http://www.usfarad.org/drug-wdi-faqs.html

Quote:

Oxytetracycline is approved for laying hens inCanada. Soluble powders labelled for

use in the drinking water at doses of 190mg/gallon to 424 mg/gallon have a 60
hour to 5 dayegg withdrawal respectively. Since there is no tolerance for
oxytetracycline in eggs in the US, a longer withdrawal interval than Canada’s
recommendation would need to be observed for extra label drug use of
oxytetracycline in laying hens.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Hi

Can I just say that you seem to be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at an unknown illness in your chickens and it may not be necessary. There are side effects to most medicines and resistance developing to some wormers and antibiotics as a result of inappropriate or over/under dosing. Using medicines that are not necessary can also cause problems for your chickens.... antibiotics can kill good gut bacteria and result in digestive tract problems for instance.
Here in the UK, we can't buy antibiotics over the counter without a prescription from a doctor or vet, so we have to stop and think "is a veterinary visit necessary and can I afford it" before we can give our chickens antibiotics. I think this is a beneficial situation as it means we have to be pretty sure our chickens need to be treated before they get those restricted medications. Yes it can be frustrating when we read that you guys can just go out and buy these things, but on the whole I think it is for the best that we can't, because it prevents us from getting into the situation that you seem to find yourself, where you don't know what is wrong so you throw the full armoury of chemicals at it all in one go.
My advice would be to take a breath and give your chickens a chance to recover, not only from whatever it is they have, but also from the medicines you have given them.

I have a respiratory infection in my flock which I suspect is IB. It comes and goes with the seasons. Some chickens get it worse than others and I had a welsummer recently that was gaping and wheezing like a death rattle for weeks, but she was still free ranging with the flock although at a slower pace. She has eventually overcome it and I haven't treated them with anything. Others in the flock are sneezing and some are wheezing a bit but it will run it's course. I have a reasonably large mixed flock of 60ish chickens and I haven't lost one to the respiratory infection in 2 years.

I can't advise on withdrawal period for eggs after treatment with antibiotics but I'm pretty sure there is one, so that would be another incentive not to use them unless essential.

Egg laying drops at this time of year anyway so it seems a shame to have to ditch the eggs that you are getting.

I know there will be many who disagree with this post, but I just feel that I should point out that there is another option...ie not treating.... or perhaps using something like Vet RX rather than dosing your hens again with antibiotics and wormer.

I hope your flock are fully recovered soon.

Best wishes

Barbara

Most of the antibiotics sold "OTC" here in the US aren't gonna be effective, so I think it's best to A) treat them with better drugs that one has to order from online sites, or B) Consult with a vet. Depending on what they have, doing nothing could cause more harm than good.

I do agree that the majority of people are not dosing correctly, so that is something that everyone needs to learn how to do.

@cruml , are you planning on re-treating with the wormer and/or oxytetracyline?


-Kathy

 

[rebrascora]

Treating with antibiotics could also cause more harm than good and not just for the chickens involved.... antibiotic resistance is a growing problem for people, not just animals!

 

[casportpony]

Treating with antibiotics could also cause more harm than good and not just for the chickens involved.... antibiotic resistance is a growing problem for people, not just animals!

I know it's a problem, but what should someone do when their beloved bird is on deaths door?

-Kathy

 

[cruml]

So from what everyone is saying I pretty much should not of done a thing and let it run its course and if it any died they died! Well i guess I will do that from now on and hope for the best and that the disease is not one that transfers to use humans

 

[casportpony]

So from what everyone is saying I pretty much should not of done a thing and let it run its course and if it any died they died! Well i guess I will do that from now on and hope for the best and that the disease is not one that transfers to use humans

That is not what I said!. You treated the best you could with medications you could find locally. Oxytetracycline would not have been my first antibiotic choice, but I guess I would try it if I didn't have something better. I also would have given Corid and Safeguard, but I would have given them at an effective dose, and I would have given both orally.

The 3 cc Safeguard in the water thing is a common misinformation, and it's likely going to be around for a long time because there are hundreds of posts and websites that say it's an effective way to de-worm, but it is not. Below is a picture of one that had been de-wormed with the 3 cc per gallon method.



-Kathy

 

[rebrascora]

I know it's a problem, but what should someone do when their beloved bird is on deaths door?

-Kathy

My point is that you need to only use antibiotics when the beloved bird is at death's door and you have covered all the other bases, rather than make them the "go to" medicine, which unfortunately a lot of people seem to. The mentality of...."I'll give them antibiotics because that might fix it"....almost as thoughtlessly as taking a paracetamol for us, seems to be a common occurrence when you read posts here on BYC.

The question is.... "were these birds at deaths door?" I didn't get that impression from reading the original post....just that they had a respiratory problem and the OP was advised by other "lay people" to treat with corid for cocci and to treat with antibiotics and to worm, in case it was gape worm. Treating with all those things all at once and then contemplating treating them a second time with the same medication perhaps at a higher dose, because they are not all completely better, is what I am concerned about.

I currently have a common cold.... I'm coughing and wheezing and sneezing and snotty nosed and have been like this for 10 days..... but I'm not going to die and I don't need antibiotics. There is no reason to believe that chickens are any different in that they can also get similar viruses that go in phases. It's very easy to panic the moment you have a sick animal and assume the worst. Sadly, chickens do die all too easily, but they can also recover from some pretty serious injuries and ailments. The important thing is to figure out what the problem is and treat it appropriately and start low level and work upwards, keeping the big guns (antibiotics) as the last resort.

@cruml

I understand that you want to do the best for your chickens, as we all do and it can be quite nail biting, seeing them sick.
I would try some Vet RX on your birds. Respiratory disease in chickens is much more common than gape worm and I've never heard of coccidiosis causing sneezing and wheezing, so those must also be very uncommon symptoms. The logical assumption would therefore be, that your hens have a respiratory problem and the first thing to try would be something to help open their airways and make breathing easier. Vet RX should help but will not cure them and the virus will need to run it's course, just like my cold will. If they deteriorate, then perhaps treat with the appropriate antibiotic at the correct dose, but research it thoroughly and make sure it really is a last resort. Or better still, have a vet examine your chicken and decide what medication is needed.

That is just my opinion, but it is based on concern for our future. If we continue to misuse antibiotics, we will be left with infections that do not respond to them and it will not just be our "beloved chickens" that are dying!

 

[cruml]

Ok now I came home and had 1 dead one that had its head tucked under it self and when you nudged it to get up it shakes its head profusely and laid back down. Found another one that was laying their and she got up and walked away a took three breaths and died. All the rest are fine. Had one hen lay a soft shell as she was walking outside just Ike she didn't know she had to lay. Before this sickness I was get 24-30 eggs now I am lucky if I get 7 which I am still tossing. The first two birds the one that I found dead and the one shaking its head never had the respiratory symptoms the last nine did. I am totally lost and about ready to give up!