How Quickly Does Albendazole Work?

[likeastar--x]

hey folks, unfortunatly another chicken caught it off willow. shes being feather pecked so shes not a happy bird at the moment! we dont have another pet cage so ive had to put her in the coop for the day (but theres a lot of poo in there, could that just be making it worse) becuase i dont need another one to catch it! she came in and drank loads, and was making gurgling sounds (i can sense people telling me its an infection any second now) and she didnt eat any pellets, (although she doesnt like them v much) and shes done some poops which were clear, bubbly and runny with hardly any poo in them.

 

her demenour is perfectly good, shes still scratching around the garden and not shying away like willow did. the vets is fully booked until saturday, when im going to have to sit it out and hope they will see her. Willow still has one day of her treatment left, should i just give it to saffron? (only 0.4 mls left!)

 

otherwise what should i do with her, let her run arond outside run/indoor run and kick the others out? can she last until saturday? her breathing is fine, its just the gurgling.

 

thankss

[Mrs AVP]

Hi there,

 

Its best to take her to the vets. Not to worry you but my hen had similar problems and had to be put to sleep as she couldn't breathe properly. The vet told me that hens hide their symptoms up to 80% until things are really bad. My hen was still eating and drinking but started looking really poorly.

 

Its best to get these things checked.

 

Hope she recovers.

[Egluntyne]

No...keep giving it to Willow.....complete her treatment.

 

Giving one dose of a medication in isolation to an animal for whom it has not been prescribed is not going to do any good.

 

Could you ring the vet and talk it through before Saturday? Maybe they would leave you another prescription for you to pick up immediately....based on the past history of the flock and the symptoms you describe.

[sandyhas3chucks]

No...keep giving it to Willow.....complete her treatment.

 

Giving one dose of a medication in isolation to an animal for whom it has not been prescribed is not going to do any good.

 

Could you ring the vet and talk it through before Saturday? Maybe they would leave you another prescription for you to pick up immediately....based on the past history of the flock and the symptoms you describe.

 

Was just scrolling down this thread to say the same. LAS I am SURE that vet would leave you some & not just for the one. I would have thought with the history the whole flock aught to be treated.

Don't the rest of you think?

 

It would be a very good idea to clean out your coop as you say there is a lot of pooh in there. You have had several poorly chooks & you must be very vigilant with your hygene.

good luck with the vet.

[likeastar--x]

Ill see if someone can go pick it up for me today, as the vet said he could prescribe me some before saturday (its a 45 minute drive) i doubt it though. even though its so far its very inconvienient in the fact that it is only open for 2 hours a day, from 10-11 and 4-5 (which are especially bad for people who have to work!)

i have yet another a level tomorrow, so im out of the house until 7 tonight. when i get home im going to kick willow out of her cat cage into my neighbours one and put saffy in it, and just chuck a load of acv down her. maybe i can get to the vets tomorrow afternoon after my exam.

im not sure about saff, because we had to stop willow going to the vets for an extended perod of time (couple of days or so) because we didnt have time, and she had far worse conditions than saffy, and has now cleared up.

and i cleaned the house out on sunday, but unfortunatly the consequenses of having 5 chickens is that poop accumulates during the week. i didnt have time this morning to clear it out.

its sad because i can sense that the whole fam is getting fed up of all this chaos, which is complete contrast to 6 months ago when we could enjoy them without worrying. we have to wake up at 6:50 to do just willow and minnie and it takes half an hour, the thought of attempting to syringe them all before work...

i do care about them and will do as much as i physically can, but i have to wait till the weekends before taking her to the vets. i imagine for most people the chickens consume most of their free time, and unfortunatly for me, i cant allow that to happen as i have a lot going on, though somehow the chickens manage to take up a good portion of my time, and though i dont mind, i am very much hoping that very soon all this illness resolves itself!

[Daphne]

Hello again,

 

You must do the best you can. You've seen that the anti-biotics work, and so you need to get some more. Try to get some today/tomorrow but if you can't then make 100% sure you get some on Saturday - this will not go away properly of its own accord. Myco and similar illnesses do transfer quite easily so don't be surprised by this. In fact given the hassle you have in getting to the vet you could try asking him/her for enough for the whole flock which live together (ONLY to be used if they actually get ill of course) but they may not be willing to do that.

 

Keep on top of your cleaning out, but really once a week for a proper clear out should be fine. I probably do mine twice a week, once poo picking and once changing bedding. Its really important with this type of infection that there isn't any damp in the house. I assume you have a cube or eglu, but if not then please check you have enough ventilation. The other thing is don't use hay for bedding, and even straw can harbour nasties if not kept clean and dry. Basically your girls are a bit more vulnerable than usual at the moment, and need every bit of extra TLC.

 

Re syringing the girls - do you have somebody to help? That makes it so much easier. There are tips on here; many people use a towel to wrap the bird. The way that works for us is that OH holds bird between his knees (on the floor) and prises beak apart, holding the birds neck/covering her eyes if necessary. I then aim and fire the syringe.

 

Finally, are there absolutely no other vets within a 45 minute drive of you? Those opening hours are really inconvenient aren't they? If not, perhaps there is a larger practice which may be slightly further afield but open longer hours.

 

Keep us informed of your progress. Sorry for the long post, but I thought it might help.

Daphne

[likeastar--x]

hey, thanks for your post.

we're going to attempt to get an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, if not just barge in and demand to be seen. there are other vets around but none that do poultry. the vets we go to isnt even a poultry specialist, she just agreed to see them to try her best.

i dont think the cleanliness of the coop had anything to do with it (woodshavings cleaned 2wice a week i winter), i think it was about when we just got the new chooks and i came out one morning a week ago to find that they had pushed one of the banties off the perch onto the floor on top of poop, where she must have been breathing in the ammonia all night. i think thats how she caught it, and it spread to saffy. it was unsuprising, we very much expected another one to catch it, as we delayed action with moving out willow and saffron already had symptoms.

there are 2 of us who do the syringing, its not the holding her down, but it takes ages because its all the running back and forth to get them out, and cleaning the kitchen after, and also when you hold them they squirm their necks or peck you and it takes a while for them to give in (especially when your having to do it in several individual doses with it until she gets the full dosage)

im trying to make as small a fuss as possible about all this, i dont want the fam to be sick to death of the chickens by the time they get better!

 

[Daphne]

Well it sounds like you have your hands full! As you say, your cleaning regime sounds absolutely fine, making sure there is no damp/spores from bedding is the main thing because as I say they are quite vulnerable at the moment. Re syringing - we had to get quite tough with our girls, holding their necks quite firmly to stop them squirming but I know the bantam was harder than the big girls. I talk to them just so they hear a constant, usual voice, no idea if it makes any difference but the idea is to try to keep them as calm as possible. We took the syringe and water to clean it with outside and dealt with them there (old trousers on!) to minimise mess. I'll keep my fingers firmly crossed that you get to see a vet and your girls pick up quickly. Let us know what happens. Good Luck. Daphne.

[quickcluck]

LAS

 

What a week you are having!!!! Sounds like you are really doing your best, and doing well to keep your chin up I've everything crossed that you can get to the vets and get some more treatment. maybe they will give you some extra to keep at home incase another one becomes unwell..... it's worth asking...

 

Keep us posted....

[Plum]

Heck, not easy is it. How did your exams go, hope you have managed to concentrate.

[sandyhas3chucks]

HEY NO NEED TO GO SO FAR ! 18 mins & 20 mins away from you.

I FOUND THESE FOR YOU AND HAVE EVEN SPOKEN TO THEM FOR YOU & BOTH have poultry vet & one even has other branches locally.

They have "normal "type of opening hours, that should fit in with most people, as most people do work & manage to get to the vets.

 

I have had a look at your lovely village & looked to see how far away and how long it will take you to get to these.

In the unlikely event you are in the oppositre direction ther are about 10 more to choose from.

 

You have had lots of experience now & should have no difficulty dosing your girls and as a reader of lots of other posts you will be able to look up for yourself lots of suggestions that the wonderfully kind caring, trusting people on this forum willingly give to new people struggling. I was wondering if you would post some photos of yor coop with the strong trelliss, & would be lovely to see your girls.

 

Toddbrook Veterinary Group

 

Address:

Todd Brook House

Harberts Road

Harlow

Essex

CM19 4DT

 

Telephone: 01279 418614

Fax: 01279 442820

Location: Click here for map

 

Animals Treated

Birds, Camelids, Cats, Cattle, Deer, Dogs, Exotic/Wild animals, Horses, Pigs, Poultry, Sheep/Goats, Small mammals

Practice Interests

Complementary medicine, Food hygiene

Practice Staff

Mr G R Oliver BVetMed MRCVS Principal

 

OPEN 11.30 1pm 5 -6.30

 

Practice Details

Name:

J A C Kew & Partners

 

Address:

11 Wych Elm

Harlow

Essex

CM20 1QR

 

Telephone: 01279 422066

Fax: 01279 454988

Location: Click here for map

 

Animals Treated

Birds, Camelids, Cats, Cattle, Dogs, Horses, Pigs, Poultry, Sheep/Goats, Small mammals

Practice Staff

Mr J A C Kew BVetMed MRCVS Partner

Mrs C E Toze BVetMed MRCVS Partner

Mrs K D Cook BA VetMB BSc MRCVS Associate

Mrs A L Beattie VN Nurse

Miss V H L Foster RVN Nurse

Mrs N J Gunter VN Nurse

Miss R V Maxwell RVN Nurse

 

open clinic 9- 9.30 Appointments 11 -1 2-7

Monday to Friday

AND Sat open clinic 9 -1

[Egluntyne]

How kind of you Sandy, to go to so much trouble for likeastar--x.

 

It will be a huge relief for her to know that there are poultry vets within very easy striking distance. It will make getting treatment so much easier.

[Groovychook]

How kind of you Sandy, to go to so much trouble for likeastar--x.

 

It will be a huge relief for her to know that there are poultry vets within very easy striking distance. It will make getting treatment so much easier.

Ditto!

Good work Sandy!

[Daphne]

yes that was very kind and useful of you Sandy-is-a-star! Thanks.

[quickcluck]

That was such a lovely thing to do!! I am sure when she reads this she will be relieved!

 

Plus we all love to see chick pics, so get them posted

[sandyhas3chucks]

I had a visitor yesterday from that neck of the woods.

We were thinking of a little trip to help poor LAS out, so would need to be a little clued up

[The Dogmother]

Let's just hope that all is well now with her chooks.

[farrowy]

Hope you got on OK at one of those new vets LAS.

Will defo make life easier and less stressy for you to have a surgery you can get to mid-week if needs be.

[quickcluck]

Sandy you really have a massive heart!! I am sure LAS would love the support!

[sandyhas3chucks]

Sandy you really have a massive heart!! I am sure LAS would love the support!

certainly needs a hand from someone, just can't bear thought of chooks suffering, just a big softee(excuse the term )

[likeastar--x]

sorrry i havent looked in a while i had my exam this morning and it went great! all over now =] so i can concentrate on making all my chicks nice and healthy!

 

thank you for your help sandy, its very kind of you. i thought i did a lot of research and couldnt find ANYTHING remotely near us that specifically did poultry. we're going to the other one this time, but its nice to know next time that there somewhere i can drive to without using a full tank of petrol (knowing my luck there will probably be a next time, but at least now im loads less stressed and i have much more free time!)

 

going to the vets in about an hour or so, looks like one of the other banties might have the beginnings of it, (sneezing like a trumpet ) so were going to buy enough for all of them, and saffy and rory will be dosed this week. so things are looking up a bit!

[sandyhas3chucks]

let us know, I am sure will be fine with medication!

well not totally, never tell but anti b got to be 4 the best!

[likeastar--x]

bleurgh, i made a little joke before i went that the vet probably diagnose some other horrible problem with them....NEVER TEMPT FATE!!

 

willow is fine now, all clear, and he took one look at saffron and was very pleased with her, saying she wasnt nearly as bad as willow was, so would be easier to treat.

 

i luckily noticed the other day that one of willow the banties toenails had grown so long it curled and almost touched her foot never really look down there, so many feathers!

 

and he noticed that she had scaly leg mites!! because both willow and minnie were bought at the same time and both have scaly mites i thought (stupidly) that their feet looked that way because feathers grew out of their feet and thats why there were little cracks etc. AND they both had it when they came home from smilers farm, so after a promise of 'guaranteed healthy chickens' they both had mycoplasma AND scaly mites. we're calling them tomorrow to make them hopefully foot the vet bill.

 

sooo now my morning list looks like this:

 

rory - baytril for mycoplasma

saffy - baytril for mycoplasma and wormer

willow - scaley leg

minnie - scaley leg and wormer

 

i guess you just have to laugh at least they all seem to be getting better, and it wasnt anything life threatening!

[Plum]

Good old Sandy. Come on are you going to do all that work for the rest of us?

[quickcluck]

LAS, I will be sending you many positive thoughts on our medicine rounds in the morning!!! But you are right, at least they are all getting better