Duramycin injectable - can it be given orally?

[meyerc06]

My poor Annie cannot catch a break. Now she has some foamy eyes (which I've begun to wash with MicrocynAH Pink Eye Spray) and a bit of wheezing/gaping. I wanted to give her an antibiotic because it seems like she's got a respiratory issue going on, and I ended up with Duramycin 72-200 injectable. I'm really not comfortable injecting her, though. Does anyone know if it can be administered orally? Or is there something else I should use instead?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Peppercorngal]

Yes you can. It has quite a bitter taste, but it will work when administered orally. Good Luck!

 

[meyerc06]

Oh great! Thank you! Do you have any idea of the dosage/frequency I should be using? She's about 2.5 months old and 6-7 pounds.

 

[Peppercorngal]

Oh great! Thank you! Do you have any idea of the dosage/frequency I should be using? She's about 2.5 months old and 6-7 pounds.

I have no clue on dosage. Your package may have some information on that.

 

[Isaac 0]

I believe it can be given orally, but if it is, it should be given one to two hours before a meal as it may cause regurgitation. Oxytetracycline can cause ever muscle necrosis when given intramuscularly in birds.

The dosage is in this thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dosing-of-oxytetracycline.1401080/#post-22993274 Post 5#

But first, consider that ducks are rarely affected by respiratory disease's, I don't think I would treat her just yet.

Could you upload a video of her to youtube or Vimeo and copy/paste the link here?

 

[meyerc06]

I believe it can be given orally, but if it is, it should be given on an empty crop as it may cause regurgitation. Oxytetracycline can cause ever muscle necrosis when given intramuscularly in birds.

The dosage is in this thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dosing-of-oxytetracycline.1401080/#post-22993274 Post 5#

But first, consider that ducks are rarely affected by respiratory disease's, I don't think I would treat her just yet.

Could you upload a video of her to youtube or Vimeo and copy/paste the link here?

I was worried about the muscle necrosis - sounds like a pretty harsh treatment if that's a prevalent side effect! I'd definitely prefer not to use the antibiotic at all, but I wasn't sure what I should be doing for her. I didn't realize that ducks are rarely affected by respiratory diseases...in fact, I thought I'd read that they were more susceptible to them than chickens are.

Her eyes are definitely the most noticeable issue - the worst one is wet all around it, a little weepy, and daily has foam in the corner. Looks like it's possibly a little swollen underneath as well (but it's hard to tell because her feathers are dark in that area from the wetness). She has been breathing with her mouth open on and off for a number of weeks, but stops when you put her near or in the water. It's been very humid here, so I'm not sure if that would be the reason or not, but their area is surrounded in wire so they have plenty of ventilation. I noticed the wheezing today, which really was just more of a matter of being able to hear her breathe.

If not a respiratory infection, what else could that be? Or is pretty normal? I'm quite the helicopter parent for these ducks, especially my little "special needs" girl!

 

[meyerc06]

I believe it can be given orally, but if it is, it should be given one to two hours before a meal as it may cause regurgitation. Oxytetracycline can cause ever muscle necrosis when given intramuscularly in birds.

The dosage is in this thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dosing-of-oxytetracycline.1401080/#post-22993274 Post 5#

But first, consider that ducks are rarely affected by respiratory disease's, I don't think I would treat her just yet.

Could you upload a video of her to youtube or Vimeo and copy/paste the link here?

Here is a video of her breathibg

And I’ll attach a photo of her eyes.

 

[Isaac 0]

Looks like it *could* be a combination of overheating and possibly lack of hygiene. To rule out if the panting is being caused by heat, could you set her in a dog kennel and bring her inside your house to the coolest location (Basement) and see if it stops?

For the eye, could you gently flush it with some saline, wash off any gunk present with a warm damp cloth, then apply either a triple antibiotic ointment like Neosporin or an ophthalmic ointment like Terramycin to the eye several times a day.

I notice you say you've been using Veteriycn, I've heard some vets say that stuff is 99% water, I would try Terramycin which contains actual antibiotics to fight off an infection.

 

[meyerc06]

Looks like it *could* be a combination of overheating and possibly lack of hygiene. To rule out if the panting is being caused by heat, could you set her in a dog kennel and bring her inside your house to the coolest location (Basement) and see if it stops?

For the eye, could you gently flush it with some saline, wash off any gunk present with a warm damp cloth, then apply either a triple antibiotic ointment like Neosporin or an ophthalmic ointment like Terramycin to the eye several times a day.

I notice you say you've been using Veteriycn, I've heard some vets say that stuff is 99% water, I would try Terramycin which contains actual antibiotics to fight off an infection.

She actually was in our basement up until 2 weeks ago, and it seemed like the gaping was worse then. Honestly, I thought that might be due to a lack of ventilation, though we had a fan going nearby to keep the air moving through the dog crate. She does stop when I put her near water and she get a chance to drink.

She is the one who has had lots of issues with her legs, so moving around is quite a lot of work for her and fairly stressful. I suspect that she isn’t drinking enough because she doesn’t feel like trying to walk to a water source (we have two waterers and the pool in their run, all always full and accessible). The other two ducks are always drinking, and she’s usually just laying down.

I think this might be why she had the eye infection as well, as she’s not cleaning her face as often as the others either. I place her in the pool 2-3x a day and then she swims and bathes thoroughly, but she doesn’t go in by herself.

I just got the microcyn pink eye spray, so I’ve been using it for about a day and a half to clean the eye. I can definitely get an ointment to use in conjunction with it. Is Terramycin usually available through TSC?

 

[Isaac 0]

It's hard to tell with Pekins because they tend to pant a lot due to their weight even if they're inside the house. Yes, the Terramycin can be bought at TSC, it comes in a little tub, just dab a little bit onto a q-tip and apply it to her eye, and repeat as needed.