How Quickly Does Albendazole Work?

[Cheryl]

My Naked Neck Cockeral is very very ill. It started about 6 months ago with a respiratory illness that was cured by a dose of Tylan, there were three of them that had it and the other two hens fully recovered but he never did.. he went on to get a swollen eye which I kept watching, and then suddenly he lost the sight, I treated him again with Tylan, but its gone from bad to worse, he now sits looking awfully ill.. He is on meds again but I think I will loose him.. I am very upset and feel helpless, I have segregated him and he looks sad..

[Redwing]

Has he seen a vet recently or are you using Tylan that was left over from last time?

 

Its worth taking him to a vet to see if he may respond better to another antibiotic, my poultry breeder vet prescribes Denagard and baytril as well as Tylan so I guess some are better than others at treating certain things

 

Also check him over for lice and mites, there seem to be an awful lot about at the moment and even if they arent the cause of the problem they can zoom in on a sick bird and make it much worse

 

I had red mite in my brooder shed and didnt see any signs at all of them until I lost a chick and found them on its body

[Chucky Mama]

Myco is a concern for me with the respiratory and eye involvement. Has myco been rules out? I wonder if it would be worth having swabs taken to check that the bacteria involved is sensitive to Tylan. If you are breeding from stock that had the same infection as this bird it is important that you identify whether you have stock that are myco carriers. You can't cure myco, you just have to treat the symptoms. Myco carriers will pass the infection of to their prodgeny and in turn to other flocks.

[Cheryl]

In reality if I take this poor bird to the vets, It will most definitely stress him out and if you all saw him you would see that he is very very poorly, yes I did use the same treatment from before, and these antibiotics are broad sprectrum and should be suitable for most infections that birds can get, I was advised by a poultry vet that having these medicines at home was a must because they would be suitable for almost anything poultry can get that needed treatment by antibiotics.

A vet could charge anything up to 100 pounds or perhaps more to keep him in, and do tests, I know because last time I took him in it was 50 pounds just to get the medicine and consultation.. Oh what to do now!?

[Chucky Mama]

Broad spectrum by definition treat 'most' run of the mill bacterial infections. Some bacteria are not covered by broad spectrum antibiotics hence my suggestion that a swab is taken. He shouldn't need keeping in for this. If the bacteria is not sensitive to Tylan, you are completely wasting your time giving it. Bacteria can also mutate become resistant to certain antibiotics or you may need to give an extended uninterrupted course at a different dose. Young birds that have had myco can fail to thrive whatever you do. I am quite concerned about your myco status You do really need to consult a vet to discuss this alone. With regards to your boy, he is beyond help at home and sadly I feel it has got the the 'all or nothing' stage meaning that he need veterinary attention or culling -sorry

[Cheryl]

what do you mean by my 'myco status'?..

[Chucky Mama]

I am worried that this bird and the others that were poorly as the same time that he became ill, may have been infected with mycoplasma. You can treat the symptoms but it never goes away. New birds bought in often catch it and infected birds will pass it on to their chicks which is why it would be helpful to have confirmation whether you have a mycoplasma infected flock. Birds that recover from the symptoms remain carriers and show symptoms when stressed. This is why some breeders that have infected flocks believe their birds are healthy when sold. New owners take the birds home and the stress of the move is enough for them to become unwell.

[Redwing]

If he isnt reponding to the Tylan then it oviously isnt working

 

If he has been ill for a while its probably time to be decisive and I am sorry to say it this involves either getting a proper diagnosis and treatment or consider culling him it isnt fair to keep him hanging on and wont be doing the rest of the flock any favours either

 

You could send a sample to Retfords to see if they can diagnose it for you but whatever you do please be decisive

 

People wouldnt leave a dog or cat severely ill - I dont know why its somehow acceptable for a bird

[Cheryl]

Yes you are all right.. I have set him apart from the others and so far all of my other 15 birds seem ok.. is there anything I can do now to prevent further probs?

I won't be taking him to the vets, as the vets here in London are near to useless.. and last time I went they had to ring round themselves..

When i got these birds they were already ill I think, this is most annoying, but I understand that mycoplasma is very common, and that it can be caught by wild birds so we are all at risk, in fact lots of us probably have carriers in our flocks, so I will try not to fret over it too much..

[Redwing]

Its good that you have separated him

 

the only further advice I can think of is to see to him after the other birds

[Cheryl]

This is interesting, also proving to some extent that any of our birds could be carriers

http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/health/mycoplasma-gallisepticum.html

 

Thank you everyone for the advice, its such a pity, I am going to Viratec everything in the next few days..

Edited June 6, 2011 by Guest

[Chucky Mama]

You are correct, it becomes an issue when breeders pass on infected stock that infect previously myco free flocks. Reading the threads on the forum 'help chicken with bubbly eye', 'help sneezing chicken' it unfortunately happens all too often. The only way to avoid it is by trying to buy from pathogen free flocks that supply vaccinated birds.

[Cheryl]

Hey Chucky Mama, is this at all failproof?. how could any of us have known that we are buying from myco free flocks?.. and how do I stop wild birds infecting my pure un affected birds?

And where do I find 'pathogen free flocks that supply vaccinated birds'? especially if I'm interested in owning certain breeds... even people selling hatching eggs could be passing it on.. Urgh what a nightmare!.. I think I will have to put this behind me and move on and carry on enjoying my lovely chickens, otherwise I will be catastrophising, and none of us want to get too anal over this do we?

This could put everyone off owning chickens altogether! You would have to vet everyone on here selling birds..

[The Dogmother]

In the years I've kept unvaccinated pure breeds, I've only ever had one case of myco, and with immediate segregation I prevented it being transmitted to the rest of the flock. That bird was successfully treated with Tylan... my vet did a swab in the surgery and called me later with the results.

 

It is important to remember that even with intervention and the subsequent rallying of a bird, it will then be a carrier as CM and Redwing had mentioned above. This infection will also damage their egg laying ability, often rendering female birds barren. If I had a bird with it again, I wouldn't hesitate to cull.

[Cheryl]

Well, I spoke to an expert at the head office of the company who make Tylan (Elanco), he was a vet and called me back as I called the company this afternoon, to get some info about mycoplasma. He told me that it was very common, and that lots of poultry carry it and are often immune, he said not to do anything about it unless there are symptoms, and that it is usually curable by taking the Tylan, it's only if left untreated usually that there are complications.

I don't think it would be necessary to cull..

[Chucky Mama]

Everything he said is of course quite correct and what we have told you. The symptomsare usually curable and the carriers once cured of the symptoms are immune. As carrriers though they do happily pass it on. There is not point 'treating' if there are no symptoms because you cannot eradicate the myco, just the symptoms. Culling is often carried out by those producing eggs as egg production as it is subsequently reduced and breeders to keep pathogen free flocks. How is your poorly bird?

[Cheryl]

Hello Chucky Mamma.. unfortunately my dear bird is no more, i decided to do the fairest thing he was struggling and I couldn't bear to see him like that.. thank you for your level headed advice, i think as chicken owners we have to be realistic, and just keep an eye on things as they occur within our flocks.

I keep my birds for pleasure and I love them all, having their eggs comes after that in my list of priorities, so culling a bird because it cannot lay an egg is not something that I would personally do, which is why I keep treatments for all types of illness and would sit up all night nursing them.

I have kept chickens for 4 years and I know I am doing a good job, I also breed them in the Spring . I have learned so much from this forum so I thank you all for that. Today I am disinfecting my pen and shifting chickens around a bit. Thank you all again for your solid advice it seems a bit annoying that we cannot purchase things like Tylan and Baytril online as you can in most countries, we are a bit behind really, and I think you should be able to self treat your poultry because there aren't many treatments out there so getting it too wrong would be quite hard, and of course if you weren't sure then you'd have the choice of going to the vets. Best regards to all who helped, I'm off to tend my girls and boys!

[Chucky Mama]

Sad news re your boy but I think it was really the only sensible option

[Jools]

Sorry to hear about your boy, it's horrid to see them so poorly and you know you've done the right thing by him.

 

Quarantining new stock is one of my soap box issues and it's all because of mycoplasma. As has been said already, it's inherent in most flocks and comes to the fore at times of stress - and chickens find most things stressful. I've had a couple of brushes with it and I treat once but if that doesn't work, I don't keep treating and say goodbye instead. It's in the interests of the health and well-being of the rest of my flock.

 

As an aside, I work on prevention by feeding mainly layers/breeders pellets with very minimal treats, lifeguard in drinking water at stress times (moult, broody, bad weather etc etc), herban in drinking water at the first sign of odd droppings, respite in drinking water at the first sign of a snuffle, parasite free with powders, potions and vigilence, extended quarantine for newbies etc etc. Strong stock are able to fend off threats more effectively.

[Cheryl]

Jools!.. can I be one of your chickens please?.. I am looking up the stuff you have recommended and will prob order some in... how long do you quarantine new birds?..xxxxxxxx

[Jools]

What you really want to be is one of my dogs - they're spoiled brats!! They're currently asleep in front of the aga - yes it's raining again.

 

I quarantine for at least two weeks and as far away from my others as is possible as myco is spread through the air. If there are no symptoms of anything at all, I'd begin the long process of integration. It's been a couple of years since I brought a new hen in though as hatching is much more fun.

[Cheryl]

I too have a pair of dogs I spoil rotten, you'd think i'd given birth to them!..

I spoil my three children aswell, even though they are teenagers and older... I think I was put on this planet to nurture