Help with oral medication dosage type injectable wounded chicken

[newbiechickenowner]

I am dealing with a wounded hen and need some advice. Direct advise on exactly what type of oral antibiotic you can find, all I can find are injectable. Names, dosages, length of time used. Most are for swine and can't find chicken...what to substitute, etc.
So I went to TSC and the Co-Op and ran into the same problem.....I can find the bag antibiotics and I am not able to give injections yet. Can someone tell me exactly what they use for an ORAL antibiotic, what type, how many MLs orallya and for how long? Also, does anyone have an easy way to explain how to give them an antibiotic SHOT? The problem is that almost all medications at both places only went down to SWINE and NOT chicken (or ducks - I have been fortunate so far, but I am assuming with the number that I have, I will eventually need to assist a duck).

This would also be helpful for some of the other titrations of medications...like...electrolytes....only brand I could find, didn't go down the chicken and....told you how to mix 110 gallons...Umm...I have 1-5 gallon waterers. So, any advice that you could add would be really helpful. I ended up with the put-in-the-water antibiotic as I found nothing else except injectable Tylin (I just spelled that wrong, but I did have the printout and looked at the correct thing that was recommended

)
Thanks in advance for your time

 

[ND]

Most meds that are used on chickens are labeled for cows or pigs.

Same with electrolytes... though often these can be found to include chickens on the label.


Tylan 50 injectable can be be given orally with a syringe, too. For an adult standard sized hen, I'd use a 1/2 to 3/4cc depending on size/weight. It'll still work, just not quite as quickly.

To give it by injection, use a 20 gauge needle (it's thick and needs a larger needle unfortunately). It can be given subcutaneously or in the muscle. I prefer subcutaneous, many insist that it must be in the breast muscle. Injection sites can be back of the neck (I've found that this can make them sore and make them not want to move their necks much), in the wing web area, or pinch up some skin on the breast (about an inch over from the keel bone and inject it there. Or in the muscle of the breast.

I usually will wrap the bird in a towel firmly, covering the head if I'm not giving it in the neck. (makes them struggle less when being laid down) Lay them on their side/back, select injection site...and go for it! A helper can be handy to hold the bird in their lap and help prevent them from trying to free themselves. To be honest, I've not had one so much as squawk with an injection...they don't flinch...they don't act like they feel it at all! The worst part is firmly holding them/wrapping them to get them in a position where they won't struggle. Doing it at night after being plucked off the roost makes it far less likely they struggle much with the confinement of being held/turned over.

Inject a different site eat time. Move to the other side of the breast, etc. Squeamish factor aside, it's easier to inject them than it is to get a syringe down their throat, past their trachea, making sure they don't inhale it. Sometimes it can be tricky to get their beaks open and hold them without feeling like you're going to wring their necks while they shake their heads. (once you get the syringe to the back of their throat, they usually 'submit' to it better...getting it THERE is harder!)


How long? Depends on what you're treating. A skin infection or wound infection? I'd say at least a week... you'd want to make sure it gets knocked out.
A respiratory infection? Usually 5-10 days... I go about 3 days past when there are no more symptoms.

I'm not sure if it'd be Tylan 50 or a penicillin you'd want for a wound infection... Penicillin's are usually found in a cooler in the livestock/cattle/pig area of feed and farm stores...

 

[newbiechickenowner]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of that! I appreciate it! I will print it out right now and read and get some antibiotics tomorrow. I did find both that you mentioned, the Tylan and the penicillin. Thanks again. Greatly appreciated to have it cleared up a bit more

 

[newbiechickenowner]

Also, really good point on the oral dosage...I have never had to do either so I had no idea there was more too it than squirting it in like the dog or cat! I watered a day old duckling for 3 days before he came round and he did well so I didn't realize the "past their trachea" peice .... ewww....

also, what kind of egg hold do you do after your antibiotics? any?

 

[PoultryPedia]

Quote:
ND--Thanks mucho for sharing so much helpful info on this!!! I've been giving Tylan 50 for 3 days, & your experience has really helped me in making decisions about how to administer. I just re-read the info tonight & will be making some improvements that are needed in my methods.

One small correction: Tylan 50 isn't thick & you shouldn't use a thick needle. One of my hens expressed vehement objection to a second-use-on-her 22 gauge needle I used for an injection in her breast muscle. This underscored to me the importance of especially not re-using needles for intramuscular injections, as well as that needles should be as thin as possible for the job. I switched to a 27 gauge needle & then she hardly seemed to mind getting the injection.

You can get 25 to 30 gauge needles at any regular pharmacy. They sell them for 25 cents or less for insulin shots. You will have to ask a pharmacy worker to hand you the needles from behind the register, but you don't need to have any disease or an authorization from a doctor to get them.

Also the attached syringes are also better than those sold for animals. The plunger moves more smoothly instead of in jumps & spurts. "People syringes" are best for when you are giving medicines orally to your chickens, because you are less likely to accidently squirt too much at a time (which would possibly cause some of the medicine to end up in the bird's lungs instead of correctly swallowed).

I don't recommend giving more than .6 cc Tylan 50 at a time. It makes the bird sore (even if given subcutaneously) and appears to reduce its appetite too much (which isn't good for a sick bird).

The only medicine I for certain know that you need to use a thicker needle is Penicillin, because it has particles floating in it that can have a hard time fitting through a thin needle.