cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

jane alexander — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:45:15 GMT

24hrs for meat but contraindicated for egg producers of any age

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Vikki Moran — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:37:35 GMT

withdrawal for co-trimoxazole?

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Richard Carter — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:15:58 GMT

part of the problem I have is that one is now straying from small animal into farm animal when the eggs in particular are either sold on the road verge or even given away to another person - does anyone know what the DEFRA requirements are when treating poultry? Do we have to keep and audit treatment registers for one bird?

Also the books available tend to refer to large scale commercial where as mentioned previously one starts with post mortem and drugs are administered by the bucket or banned by the EU. What do you do about avian TB for example now that birds are living longer as pets and eating earthworms? Then there is the organic movement where anything stronger than a natural pyrethroid is a no-no against mites (which I would say is probably the most common presentation for me - both red mite and Cnemidocoptes)

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Ian Mostyn — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:50:25 GMT

[quote user="jane alexander"]

Sadly Tylan soluble must not be used in layers producing eggs for human consumption, although it is licienced for use in broilers. in theory this means all hens that might produce eggs that may be eaten during that hen's life. Aureomycin has a 1 day withdrawl

[/quote] The data sheet has changed but not the bottle yet. The up-to-date version on the NOAH website and confirmed by the manufacturer is that Tylan Soluble has a zero egg withdrawal period now.

The only other drugs are various poultry vaccines given before point-of-lay and a few versions of Flubendazole - Flubenvet and Solubenol. I couldn't find Terramycin listed with a poultry license.

Ian

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

jane alexander — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:00:03 GMT

presume different licience for terramycin, which gives 24hrs for eggs and 7 days for meat (pigs, chickens and turkeys). still, better something than nothing!

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Gillian Mostyn — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:30:33 GMT

[quote user="jane alexander"]Aureomycin has a 1 day withdrawl[/quote]

24hrs is for meat. Zero for eggs.

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

jane alexander — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:09:52 GMT

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Martin Jones — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:59:21 GMT

[quote user="Robert Whiteford"]

What method do you use to "dispatch" them? Is it a physical method or a chemical one?

[/quote]

Sorry, Robert - I missed this one. In answer, I arrange a log-splitting block, with a brush hook, a staffordshire hook and an axe.

Sit quietly with bird in my arms, stroking till very relaxed - and often in a trance. Very quick neck pull, followed immediately by decapitation. I'm pretty sure this would work equally well for a full throughput abattoir doing 2,000 birds an hour.

Then bury with family in attendance

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Ian Mostyn — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:23:45 GMT

Auremycin Soluble & Tylan both have zero egg withdrawal

Ian

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

jane alexander — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 09:32:32 GMT

The CPD-Solutions one-day course was very useful, and the BSAVA manual is also very good. the main point to note is that Baytril is not licienced for use in birds that MAY or ARE laying eggs for human consumption - this is from hatching onwards, if the bird is destined to be the egg-producer for the family, and needs antibiotics, you are rather restricted on what you can use.

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Glen McIntosh — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:05:11 GMT

Yes, that is true.

My poultry medicine lectures are a long distant memory, and all I can vaguely recall from them is that mostly you take a flock approach and slaughter one or two birds for postmortem to establish diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Of course this approach presents some problems when dealing with pet chickens as the flock size may be one or two birds.

And, of course, the owner of my first pet chicken case, a couple of years ago, was far from impressed when I gormlessly advocated the flock approach to poultry health for her pet.

I have since changed my approach.

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Robert Whiteford — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:53:07 GMT

[quote user="Martin Jones"] I've dispatched three in the last week[/quote]

What method do you use to "dispatch" them? Is it a physical method or a chemical one?

The approach to backyard chickens has to vary a lot depending on the background of the owner and the reasons why they are keeping hens. The sentiments involved differ hugely depending on whether the owner is a farmer and his farmyard hens or the parent with the children's pet hen.

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Ian Mostyn — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:55:44 GMT

I think maybe I was being too general about backyard poultry and not just ex-battery hens. Most of the poultry we see are not ex-battery and were bought point-of-lay. Maybe that is just our area???

Ex-battery hens will have different health issues due to selective breeding or some of the pure/cross breeds eg light sussex from point-of-lay. ISA Browns (battery hens) are designed for one thing - laying eggs - and they will not have the longevity of some other breeds. I have some Black Rocks (Plymouth Barred / Rhode Island Red Cross) which should have life expectancy of 10 years, battery hens 18 months to 2 years.

Feather loss in cold weather is a problem (few ex-batts arrive fully feathered) as can cannibalism when a new pecking order is being established.

Worms can be a significant problem in back gardens - small area which chickens never leave, wild birds having free access. Worm egg counts can increase heavily over time but admittedly not immediately. A good worming strategy from the start will stop that from becoming a problem and allowing you to worry about the old-age tumours!!

They are cute little critters though, the kids love them and once you have had a truly fresh, free-range egg, you wont go back to the c@#p they sell at the supermarket.

Ian

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Martin Jones — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:02:16 GMT

I've kept my own ex-batts for about ten years, and can vouch for the lack of good training out there.

Flubenvet is a useful thing to throw, but I'd challenge the statement that 80-90% of disease is down to worms, particularly for those that are new to chicken keeping: the horror of the battery cage does at least spare the chickens problems with worms, and if they come into a fresh backyard then yes, there are things that they can pick up straight away, but it tends to take a while for clinical effects to come through. I generally find that my own chickens make it through a year or so with no issues, and then succumb quite often to tumours. It's a genetic predisposition. I've dispatched three in the last week with quite horrible growths (now buried with full honours outside the kitchen window).

And I still don't feel that I know enough. It's a forgotten art.

Martin

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Ian Mostyn — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:10:10 GMT

Worm them all with Flubenvet - 80 to 90% of illness will be down to worms. We also stock Aureomycin powder as both have zero egg withdrawal periods. Useful to have betadine in stock as well.

Victoria Roberts MRCVS has written a few good books, she used to be high up in the poultry world before becoming a vet later in life and the BSAVA manual of Farm pets is reasonable. Not sure of any courses but BSAVA may have some.

Ian

Re: cpd in chicken medicine for particularly ex-battery hens

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:59:25 GMT

Can't help with CPD details, but you might be interested in this latest titbit from chicken farming scientists in Malaysia.

Apparently, chickens should now have their own 62" plasma TV in the chicken shed, so they can catch up on the Christmas edition of Eastenders:

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/12/21/lifefocus/5324931&sec=lifefocus