Doxycycline for chickens??

[Mayazoid]

So my chickens probably have MG. it's flared up in the cold weather. I have some doxycycline pills that could be crushed up and put into water. Would this work? Or would it be dangerous??
Thank you

 

[orelsi]

It's ok to use it on chickens. Crushing it and dissolving it in water works great. I do it all the time. I use a teaspoon with some water in it, dissolve the crushed pill and give it to the chicken.

Be careful with the dosage, because it is a strong medicine. 20-30 mg/kg (depending on the severity) twice a day for 7 days.

EDIT: If you are not able to dose it correctly, you can eyeball it by using the tip of a knife for measurement.

 

[Mayazoid]

It's ok to use it on chickens. Crushing it and dissolving it in water works great. I do it all the time. I use a teaspoon with some water in it, dissolve the crushed pill and give it to the chicken.

Be careful with the dosage, because it is a strong medicine. 20-30 mg/kg (depending on the severity) twice a day for 7 days.

EDIT: If you are not able to dose it correctly, you can eyeball it by using the tip of a knife for measurement.

Does it need to be dissolved in water, or could I add it to apple mash? That way they'd eat all of it, and there would be no risk of missing some or aspiration?

 

[orelsi]

Does it need to be dissolved in water, or could I add it to apple mash? That way they'd eat all of it, and there would be no risk of missing some or aspiration?

That works as well. Whatever you are most comfortable doing. For me it's a spoon, some do it with syringes down the throat, some mix it in the food like you suggest. Make sure each one eats her own portion with the medicine, don't give it to both at the same time. A spoon of apple mash would work great.

 

[Eggcessive]

So my chickens probably have MG. it's flared up in the cold weather. I have some doxycycline pills that could be crushed up and put into water. Would this work? Or would it be dangerous??
Thank you

What symptoms have you seen? How many chickens are showing symptoms, and for how long? Respiratory diseases in chickens cannbe from a virus, bacteria or mycoplasma, and fungus. Sometimes symptoms may be caused by environmental things, such as dust, mold, wet conditions, poor ventilation, and ammonia odor from droppings. Doxycycline is harder to dose for chickens than say, Tylosin, oxytetracycline, or Denagard. If you look up dosages, they are all over the place. No antibiotic will cure MG, but may only help symptoms until the next outbreak. It stays in your flock for the life of the last bird, and it affects most all types of poultry. Close your flock. If you lose a bird, have your state vet do a necropsy where they will test, and identify which of the 8 or more respiratory diseases.

 

[Mayazoid]

That works as well. Whatever you are most comfortable doing. For me it's a spoon, some do it with syringes down the throat, some mix it in the food like you suggest. Make sure each one eats her own portion with the medicine, don't give it to both at the same time. A spoon of apple mash would work great.

Alright, thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is some reading about MG:
https://extension.umd.edu/extension... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

 

[Mayazoid]

What symptoms have you seen? How many chickens are showing symptoms, and for how long? Respiratory diseases in chickens cannbe from a virus, bacteria or mycoplasma, and fungus. Sometimes symptoms may be caused by environmental things, such as dust, mold, wet conditions, poor ventilation, and ammonia odor from droppings. Doxycycline is harder to dose for chickens than say, Tylosin, oxytetracycline, or Denagard. If you look up dosages, they are all over the place. No antibiotic will cure MG, but may only help symptoms until the next outbreak. It stays in your flock for the life of the last bird, and it affects most all types of poultry. Close your flock. If you lose a bird, have your state vet do a necropsy where they will test, and identify which of the 8 or more respiratory diseases.

I've seen sneezing, coughing, eye foam, rales, discharge from nares. It sounds like someone breathing back through phlegm when they leave the coop, I'm assuming cuz it's colder outside. 2 chickens, the first got it in November, second maybe 2 weeks after at most. I use wood shavings for their bedding, and to my understanding it's dry in their coop. I have no access to vets that will take chickens where I am either. I'm really a contemplating using doxycycline just with how long this has lasted. I appreciate the input! Thank you

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, just a guess, but it sounds like MG. MG can occur with other diseases at the same time. Hopefully your chickens will get better soon. Doxycycline has an egg withdrawal time of up to 26 days, another reason I would prefer Tylosin, which has none.

 

[pgr]

It's ok to use it on chickens. Crushing it and dissolving it in water works great. I do it all the time. I use a teaspoon with some water in it, dissolve the crushed pill and give it to the chicken.

Be careful with the dosage, because it is a strong medicine. 20-30 mg/kg (depending on the severity) twice a day for 7 days.

EDIT: If you are not able to dose it correctly, you can eyeball it by using the tip of a knife for measurement.

@Eggcessive tagging you, too...

Piggy backing on this thread as it's a clarification I'm looking for, specifically regarding doxycycline hyclate.

Do you give ~25mg/kg/dose twice daily? So if the hen is about 3kg, that would be 75mg twice a day for a total of 150mg/24hrs?

Or is 25mg/kg the daily dose, to be divided into two? In the case of the 3kg hen, 37.5mg every 12hrs?

TIA!!