Griffin Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Hello! I've lurked for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages but after seeing my vet tonight I had to join just to be sure in my mind that the woman is insane Five POL hybrids joined us at the start of August. Within days Pancake had a snotty beak. She didn't seem ill with it and I just put it down to the stress of moving. It didn't improve with the use of Poultry Spice or Citricidal. Gradually all the others started to lay but Pancake just remained the same, she wasn't developing at all, hadn't gained weight and just generally wasn't doing as well. I took her to the vets and was prescribed Baytril. My vet couldn't stress enough the point that we mustn't consume Pancake (as if!) or her eggs (which were non-existant as she hadn't started laying) while she was on Baytril. Within two days her snottiness had cleared up and about three weeks later she laid her first egg. Alls well that ends well. Or so I thought. Tonight I was at the vets with my foster kittens and we saw the same vet. She remembered Pancake and asked how she was. I explained that she was fine and since being in the fullest of health had jumped to the top of the pack and was also laying. She said "but you're not eating the eggs?" I said of course we were, she wasn't on Baytril any more so there wasn't a problem. She insisted that once a chicken has Baytril their eggs can never be eaten. Never ever ever! As far as I was aware, eggs should be withdrawn while on Baytril and for a week after. I said that myself and the children had all eaten Pancakes eggs with no ill effects, to which she replied "well you might be ok but it's not fair on the children". So now not only does she think I'm mental for not just culling Pancake in the first place, I'm putting my children at risk too Please tell me she's wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joybelle Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 One of my chooks had a course of baytril,my vet didn`t tell me not to eat the eggs while giving it and I didn`t think to ask him, didn`t get any side effects from eating her eggs!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 I've heard of a few people whose chooks needed baytril and had a short withdrawal, but I've never heard of it being permanant. Might be worth contacting the manufacturers direct for reassurance (and to give evidence to your vet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruth1 Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 My vet said not to eat eggs while on it and to give a week after the course to let it completely out of her system, not that shes laid yet anyway so not a prob for me. Theres a FAQ about various antibiotics somewhere- sorry havent mastered the link bit yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 **here it is** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think your vet is wrong, as far as I was aware it was for the duration and a week after, otherwise why would anyone ever use Baytril on hens? LOVE the name Mrs Pants - my son would also LOVE it. Everything is PANTS to him, he is super pants (Sorry Kate!) I'm Mummy pants, anyone he speaks to is pants and if he says goodbye it's always "Bye PANTS!!" (well, he is only three!) Oh, and welcome to the forum by the way! Mrs B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 The egg withdrawal period for enrofloxacin (Baytril) is six days after cessation of treatment. The drug has no veterinary licence for poultry but quite a lot of research has been done on it and the related ciprofloxacin. Residues persist longer in the body tissues so meat withdrawal is longer by two weeks. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Actually, technically your vet is correct. As of this year my vet says he has to say that eggs should not be eaten ever again if your hens (or any other animal with a food connection) has been given ANY medication. He says this is new guidance for this year and last year the withdrawal period for things like Baytril was a fortnight, or a month to be sure. My vet also says that this is a case of health and safety gone mad and lets me make up my own mind - so after a suitable withdrawal period we still eat the eggs just as we always have and are all still here without any side effects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I shall check with my poultry vet when I take the new hound next week. I have always been told to withdraw the eggs for 7 days after the last dose, the same for Tylan too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Thank goodness for this forum and others like it. I think there is enough INFORMED info here for us now to be able to make up our minds what we can use, how and when. "Elf 'n' Safety" has indeed gone mad in line with litigation, or is one the mother to the other? What your vet should do is to get you to sign an informed disclaimer, these are used all the time as there are a lot of off-label treatments going on . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Thanks for all the replies, really appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinkychick Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 yay... thanks for answering the question people. Im glad i stopped by the forum tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I shall check with my poultry vet when I take the new hound next week. I have always been told to withdraw the eggs for 7 days after the last dose, the same for Tylan too. Egg withdrawal period for Tylosin is zero and meat withdrawal 1 day according to the veterinary medicines directorate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milly Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 As of this year my vet says he has to say that eggs should not be eaten ever again if your hens (or any other animal with a food connection) has been given ANY medication. That doesn't quite fit with meat animals being given regular courses of antibiotics in factory farming, does it? Or do they work to different rules? Milly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve. Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 For the love of all things sacred please don't tell your Vet that eggs come out of Chicken's bottoms or they'll say we can't eat those too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Do they? Oh No! How unhygienic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 For the love of all things sacred please don't tell your Vet that eggs come out of Chicken's bottoms or they'll say we can't eat those too! Well that has put me right off my poached eggs and onion bagel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 For the love of all things sacred please don't tell your Vet that eggs come out of Chicken's bottoms or they'll say we can't eat those too! The world has gone mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 As of this year my vet says he has to say that eggs should not be eaten ever again if your hens (or any other animal with a food connection) has been given ANY medication. That doesn't quite fit with meat animals being given regular courses of antibiotics in factory farming, does it? Or do they work to different rules? Farmers aren't allowed to use preventative or growth promoting antibiotics for farm animals anymore (in the UK) - as of about 4 years ago it was banned and antibiotics are now only allowed for sick animals when a vet has authorised it. In theory the vet is supposed to actually see the animal before antibiotics can be given. But they can still be eaten afterwards after the specified withdrawal period (or twice as long for organic meat/milk/eggs etc) as long as the medicine is licensed for use in that species. Other medications can still be given routinely eg wormers again according to withdrawal periods. The withdrawal periods for licensed drugs have been set after testing to see how long drug residues remain in the meat/milk/eggs. But for unlicensed medicines eg Baytril in hens they are supposed to never go into the human food chain, as the possible effects have never officially been tested. (this is what the vet above must have meant. If you ate a Baytril egg and died he would be liable if he had not warned you not to eat it! although this would be highly unlikely of course) This is also the reason for horse passports. I would disagree about 'health and safety gone mad'. We don't know what effects these drugs may have especially on children, pregnant women or sick people. It's all very well choosing to eat a few of your own hen's eggs which you know have had Baytril, but would you be happy to eat eggs from the shop not knowing whether the hens had been given drugs the effects of which were not known? My feeling is that residues of drugs may well build up in animals bodies over time and the full effects may not be known yet. People blame the rise of allergies and ADHD on chemicals in food. Eating untested drugs must surely increase the risk. In horses some drugs are allowed only for horses that definitely will not go into the food chain as it has been shown that drug residues can last for years in the horse's tissues and cause problems in people who subsequently eat them. Having said this I would still eat the eggs 7 days after treatment with Baytril! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Thanks, Alfred, for that very informative reply. It all makes sense now. It is often hard to remember that as "backyard chicken keepers" we have dipped a toe into the world of farming and it is just not the same as taking the dog/cat to the vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saronne Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I know this is an old thread and that there is a medication link to refer to, but thought I'd share my experience of being at the vet's today. Two of my hens suddenly developed a very gurgly rattle in their little throats yesterday. I took them to the vet this afternoon and was told it was an upper respiratory tract infection (they took their tempurature which they did NOT like ) which confirmed an infection. (OH, yes, she also said my hens felt 'thin'. I explained that they were egg layers not meat birds and all their energy was put into egg production. She nodded in agreement and apologized stating she did not know that much about chickens! ) Baytril was prescribed for 7 days. The vet did not know the withdrawl period for eggs, but asked the assisstant to ring the manufacturer for advice. The advice was..... 6 WEEKS! She felt that they were erring on the side of caution as Baytril is not licensed for poultry. Having read other bits of this thread, I am going to consume their eggs after one week after the end of their course of treatment, but will avoid selling those eggs for a couple of weeks there after. Should be easy to identify as one is a blue egg layer and one lays pale cream-coloured eggs. Would anyone else out there do the same as me, or am I being foolish? Saronne x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I withdrew the eggs for 28 days in july till august 5th then I've only used the eggs for my self up until now which is a pain as my other layer is prone to laying doubles and my only two 'customers' for eggs in that time didn't want doubles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I withdrew the eggs for 28 days in july till august 5th then I've only used the eggs for my self up until now which is a pain as my other layer is prone to laying doubles and my only two 'customers' for eggs in that time didn't want doubles You have fussy customers then, my customers take whatever my little girls can churn out for them ! My Buffie had baytril in the summer, but as she was a new mum I didn't have the shall I/ shan't I eat the eggs problem...thought I think I'd go the duration of the course plus one week route for us & 2 weeks for selling.......would they be ok to feed back to the chooks or would that just extend the time the baytril is in the system? Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saronne Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Good point, Sha. Just seems a shame to throw out eggs, doesn't it? Saronne x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Certainly does after all the trouble they've gone to to lay them, seems rude to bin them Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
