Peter's Rabbit RX safe for chickens?

[JayBird+16]

I have a few hens with the sniffles. Someone on BYC said that I should get some VetRX. My agway only had Peter's Rabbit RX. It says it's for rabbits and other small animals to relieve symptom of upper respiratory distress. Do you think I can use it on my hens?

 

[beakkeeper]

I would assume it's ok, but as a warning: Vet RX isn't actually medicine, although McMurray has it in the antibiotic section, it isn't an antibiotic. It really does just relieve symptoms. You could use it, though. I would avoid any kind of antibiotic anyway until you know the cause of the sniffles.

 

[threehorses]

It's basically the same ingredient list, and I completely agree with beakkeeper.

Nice to know there might be a product that our poultry lovers can get without going to a feedstore! Thanks for the heads up.

You'd use it like you do VetRx (the instructions for which you can find online).

The way I use it is by taking q-tips and some hot water (about a half teaspoon or less) to which I add several drops of VetRx. Swish the very hot water and VetRx around so that it emulsifies in the water. The heat helps that. The swishing will cool it all to a warm temp.

Use a fresh q-tip end for each individual spot on the bird. Use a new q-tip completely for each new bird.

Clean out the nares with this mixture. You can press a soaked q-tip into the cleft in the roof of their beak (the choanal opening) to press the VetRx into the sinus opening that runs between their tear duct and their beak opening. Rub under the eyes. If the bird sleeps with a head under a wing, use some straight Vetrx there on a cotton ball, just a little.

This will help their breathing and breathing means oxygen getting into the area. Bacteria hate oxygen.

It's not a medicine, but it's a support treatment that I very strongly believe in. Honestly some days when I have allergies, I want to grab the Vetrx bottle -my birds have it better than I do!

Also, remember that the tear duct and sinuses open up into the mouth. THat means that any sinus drainage is going into the digestive tract via the choanal opening. That will make an imbalance of the good bacteria of the gut, stress them into working too hard. So replace the good bacteria of the gut - reinforce their numbers - by giving your stressed or ill birds some PRObiotics. It's not a medication, it's another support mechanism. A very important one since the digestive mechanism of birds relies very heavily on bacteria to break down what the gizzard didn't. Literally, the beneficial bacteria of your bird are the workers that nourish your bird.

So replace your birds' good bacteria. You can use plain yogurt as long as you're not medicating with something whose active ingredient ends with -mycin or -cycline. One teaspoon per adult bird. It works best if you mix that with a little water and use the yogurt-water to make a small batch of crumbles and water, a wet mash. Do that as the first meal in the morning when they're most hungry.

Do that daily every day during the illness.

If you medicate, you might want to switch to acidophilis capsules from the grocery store or pharmacy (vitamin section - usually bottom shelf, oddly). Or Probios dispersible powder from the feedstore. It's about $9 for a small bottle, but at 1/4 teaspoon per dose, you can keep it in the fridge and it ends up more economical than yogurt. Especially because you can mix that 1/4 teaspoon with just enough water to make a paste and dropper it into the side of their beak if they don't eat the yogurt. It can be used while giving mycins and cyclines.

I agree not to use antibiotics until you know more about the disease. Boost your hen's nutrition to boost her immune system and healing power. Maybe she'll jsut have slight symptoms, develop an immunity, and be done with it.

If more symptoms occur, please let us know what they are.

Also, you might consider answering the questions from the 2nd sticky in the forum here into this thread so we'll have a flock history in case your bird needs more help. That way we'll have the info ahead of time. There might be something in the history that points to what's bothering her, most importantly her bedding, whether or not it's been wet there lately, etc.

I hope this has been helpful. Good luck!