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*** Poultry - How To Syringe Liquids and Meds Orally? ***
We often get asked how to syringe liquids or meds orally to poultry without causing them any harm? Sadly poultry get ill which requires us keepers to syringe liquids or meds orally, but there is a right way and a wrong way and the wrong way can lead to death through aspiration, so here we look at the right way and give you guidance on how to.
*** Why give liquids or meds orally ***
When your bird is ill and needs medication, it may be administered in several ways. Your vet may inject your bird with medication. Alternatively, you may be sent home with medication that you will have to administer to the bird yourself. These medications are generally administered either in the water or orally. For medications that need to be given at home, oral administration is usually the best way to go. While your vet may offer you the opportunity to administer the medication in the water, you will give your bird a much better chance of recovery and survival if you can manage to administer the medication orally. When you put medications in the water, you lose all control over dosage, since you don't know how much your bird drinks. Sick birds drink less water than healthy birds. In addition, many medications change the taste of the water, which may result in your bird avoiding the water and therefore the medication. Combine all of these factors and you have a bird that is sick, dehydrated and on top of all that, not getting its meds!!! This can be a recipe for disaster. The thought of orally medicating your bird may seem intimidating, especially if he/she is not tame. However, learning this valuable skill can save your bird's life. It's worth a try, and you may find that it is not as challenging as you expected.
*** What you need to know before you begin ***
Before you begin medicating your bird, make sure that you are up to the task, if not then get someone who is. Make sure the medication instructions are 100% clear to you. Make sure you know your cc's from your ml's.
*** Tips for medicating orally ***
Shake any meds or liquids well before use
Make sure you finish the full course
Make sure there an no bubbles in the prepared syringe
Make sure there is no needle on the syringe
Peahen
*** How To ***
Here is a photo example of how to syringe liquids or meds into poultry orally. This photo shows you an example of syringing meds into a peahen.
You will ALWAYS need to...
Wrap your chicken/poultry in a towel to avoid movement and wriggling.
Get a helper (if required)
Syringe down the left hand side of the beak (as shown), this avoids the lungs and the danger of aspiration, (the bird's left, not your left).
Make sure the tongue needs is flat and not raised in the air.
Syringe small amounts allowing the bird to swallow by itself.
*** TOP TIP *** If you cannot get anyone to help and you struggle open the beak then give the wattles a gentle pull as this will help open the beak.
*** After Syringing ***
If your bird's face is covered in medicine, you can use a cloth dipped in warm water to gently wipe the feathers, if this is not too upsetting to the bird. Try not to get the bird too wet, and make sure that the room is nice and warm if you do, so that your bird does not catch a chill from being wet. If your bird's feathers are really sticky and bothersome to him/her (as they can become after a few days or weeks of meds), you can use an extra syringe to gently and quickly squirt warm water into the sticky feathers. This may help to clean them up.
Offer your good bird a treat, if he/she is interested for being good, they are more likely to be accepting next time round.
Spend time with your bird. Don't leave things on a bad note. Not only will this comfort his/her current miserable mood, but it may make it easier to medicate your bird the next time if the medication session ended on a good note.
Talk to your bird to calm, relax and reassure.
Rinse out the syringe several times in hot water. Push the plunger in and out of the syringe to get out any water that is inside. Remove the plunger and let the two pieces dry separately. Keep them in a clean place until the next time you need them.
*** Preventing stress during restraint and administration of liquids or meds ***
Giving your bird oral medication can really help to ensure proper dosage and good recovery from illness. But if your bird is so stressed by this procedure that it has a heart attack, then that obviously defeats the purpose of medicating your bird orally. Only you can determine whether or not your bird can handle the procedure. Throughout the restraint and administration of the medication, remain calm, and try not to let the bird see if you are stressed, as this will only stress your bird further. Watch for the following signs of stress, and stop if you think that your bird cannot handle what is going on.
Excessive struggling
Panting / Gasping for air
Overheating
Loss of feathers
Weakness of Limpness (stop immediately if your bird goes limp or stops moving altogether).
Most birds will struggle when being medicated, but some will have high levels of stress, and some will have relatively low levels. If you are concerned that your bird's stress level is too high, you may want to ease your hold, give the bird a moment to rest, stop panting and cool down a bit, and then try again. Or you may want to put the bird back in its cage/coop for a few minutes or even an hour, and then try again later. This may give your bird the break it needs, or it may make the bird even more stressed due to repeatedly being restrained and dragging the whole thing out. You need to determine how much force to use. This is where you need to use your own best judgment, and trust your instinct. If you're reading this (and especially if you've read this far!), it's because you care about your bird, and if you care about your bird, then you are the best judge of what he/she can handle. I really believe that the majority of birds can successfully be medicated orally, but if you've given it your best shot and it really isn't working out for you or the bird, then you should look at other ways of getting the medication into your bird. If you are lucky, then maybe you can soak the correct dosage into a little piece of bread that your bird might eat in its entirety (not so likely, but it's worth a try).
*** Ask your vet for advice ***
If you really have to go to water meds, ask the veterinary clinic to prepare a new batch of meds to be administered in the water, and make sure you know the correct dosage for your drinker. You may not even have to bring the bird in again, since the illness has already been diagnosed, and you just need a new way to get the medication into your bird. If you do go to water meds, watch your bird's water consumption. If the water tastes strange and your bird avoids it, he/she may end up in worse shape - dehydrated and sick, as mentioned above.
Soft shelled eggs a quite common with new layers as their body starts to adjust to laying life and is also common in older birds coming towards the end of their laying life. Soft shelled eggs can also occur throughout a chickens laying life as well, so in this article we look at the reasons why and what we can do as poultry keepers to help.
Understand Shell Structure Eggshell main ingredients are calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and calcium phosphate, as well as soluble and insoluble proteins. 95% of the eggshell is calcium carbonate, the same sturdy substance that makes up coral, limestone and seashells. It takes approximately 2 grams of calcium carbonate for a backyard hen to form each egg and to come up with the necessary calcium each day, the hen borrows it directly from its own bones, wings and rib bones to contribute the calcium without impacting its health so that's why it's SO important feeding a balanced diet and foods containing calcium. An eggshell has an inner and outer membrane, a mammillary layer (a spongy layer) and (a cuticle layer) that is finished with calcium carbonate. A chicken is porous and the porous nature of the egg allows for gas transport between the interior and exterior of the egg and the eggshell can release carbon dioxide build-up inside while absorbing atmospheric air into the interior. If your chicken isn’t laying a structurally sound eggshell, its hormones, physiology and nutrition might not be working efficiently to support the egg-development process. If a hen isn’t consuming enough calcium for its for eggshell production, it may need more nutritional support.
Find Nutritional Balance When a chick grows on, to egg laying maturity then it’s time to switch from a grower feed to a layer feed, however our advice is to wean from one to the other not make a direct switch as the chickens may not eat it, use a 50/50 mix for approximately 1 to 2 weeks before making the switch. Layers feed has a higher level of calcium in it than that of a grower feed, whilst a grower feed as more protein in than that of a layer feed. Most commercial feeds now days are a complete feed (includes everything a chicken needs) however, just like some humans some need more or less of certain nutrients in their diets and so do some chickens. Some chickens won’t get enough calcium from layer feed and they will need a supplement to support healthy egg production. Many people feed different types of greens, such as cabbage, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens, asparagus, okra, green beans which are all high in calcium. Chickens will also eat banana, watermelon, strawberries and even tomatoes, basically these birds like to eat and have a high motabilism and therefore will eat nearly anything. Free-range chickens will also eat grass, insects, earthworms, grubs and whatever else they may scratch up from flowerbeds and lawns. This variety can be good, but it’s important to keep an eye on the consumption of the balanced feed diet. Just like some people who might choose to eat too many pizza's over a naturally balanced diet.
Feed Nutritious Treats and Supplements
So here we look at what we can do to help chickens that are laying soft shelled eggs and what "stuffs" and "supplements" we can give to support egg laying chickens and the egg laying process.
Oyster Shell
The traditional calcium supplement for a layer diet is oyster shells. Oyster shells look a bit like grit and are ground to the point that hens don’t have to work to eat them. It is recommended that ALL chickens have their own ad-lib access to oyster shell, putting it out a separate dishes or pots, which the chickens will eat it when they need it. “If it’s available to them, the hens will consume enough to keep their own shells hard.”
Rock Phosphate Phosphorus isn’t as big a deal as calcium, but it’s also important and interrelated. Chickens need a ratio of 1 part phosphorus to 2 parts calcium. You can purchase defluorinated rock phosphate in grit or powder form and put it out in a bowl for free-feeding just as you would oyster shell.
Crushed Eggshells Many, many chicken keepers use crushed eggshells, yes egg shells can also be fed back to chickens in a separate bowl. It is recommended baking the eggshells for approximately 30 minutes at around gas mark 4/5 to draw out the moisture and kill any lingering bacteria. Once the moisture is gone, the shell will be easier to crush down. The risk of feeding eggshells back to the flock is that they may become egg eaters, but this is more likely when feeding back whole or half eggshell's rather than crushed so by baking and crushing the egg shell and then feeding back will be no different to that of feeding oyster shell, if you feed back whole or half egg shell and your chickens become egg eaters (breaking into and consuming their own eggs) before they can be collected, then this is something that's really hard to break.
Liquid supplements like "Agrivite Enhance" and "Shell Aid" can be used within your chickens water to help supplement calcium and vitamin D3, however it is only recommended you use these products when you have "ongoing" problems with soft shelled eggs, please note that soft shelled eggs can just be a blip and usually righten a day or two after but for sustained or ongoing problems you will be best using something like these. These products are an intensive calcium and vitamin D3 liquid supplement for the development of bone strength, egg shell quality and to support feathering. Vitamin D3 enables the chickens body to absorb the calcium, the micro element Magnesium is essential for the bone and eggshell quality matrix. You will need to add 5ml per 1 litre drinking for for a period of 3-7 days and it's recommended to replace the water daily, so if you use these products then only make up enough that you need therefore none goes to waste.
My Chicken Looks ill/poorly
Chickens that are laying soft shelled eggs may give an appearance of looking ill or poorly (hunched, withdrawn, not moving, tail down) or even look egg bound, the reason for this is because it is extremely difficult for a chicken to lay a soft shelled egg as it can get stuck or sometimes even break being like rubber or so thin shell. Another reason why they can become ill or poorly is because if a chicken lays soft shelled eggs for a sustained period of time the chicken will naturally take calcium from it's own bones, ribs and wings which can make the chicken malnourished and weak and often can lead to death. This is why it is SO important feeding a well balanced diet and if you see any soft shelled eggs you try and correct this as soon as you can. Chicken keepers can also bring this on themselves though by feeding too many treats or foods that aren't good for the chickens or not within it's natural diet, yes the odd treat won't hurt but sustained treats will, it's like egg Mcdonalds every day as apposed to a salad, you get the gist.
Other Factors To Consider/Reasons For Soft Shelled Eggs
Hot days
Thin egg shells or shell-less eggs can occur more frequently on hot days. This is associated with a lower food intake and shell thickness / shell will return to normal when the temperature drops again and your chicken’s food intake returns to normal. There have been some mentions of this in commercial farming where they see lower intakes of food on hot days and lower shell quality.
Overweight hens
Chickens that are over weight can stop producing eggs altogether or produce lower quality eggs, sometimes with missing shells. Take a look at the breast of your birds, when the feathers are parted, you should see the skin is thin (almost like tracing paper) where the breast bone protrudes forward. If there is a thick skin, or you can’t see the breast bone clearly, the chances are your birds are carrying too much fat.
Other reasons for soft-shelled eggs
If the above doesn’t seem to be the cause in your case or soft-shelled eggs are being laid regularly, then there could be a number of other reasons:
Inflamation of the oviduct (and there isn’t anything that can be done about this as far as I know).
Stress. The problem usually goes away once the cause of stress is removed. Keep an eye out for bullying / feather picking, especially if it is occurring around the nest boxes and you are finding the soft-shelled eggs outside of the nest boxes. Apple Cider Vinegar is good to help hens with stress.
Soft shelled eggs laid once in a while are nothing to worry about. Hens that are at the start of their laying period, or have come to the end of it, often lay a soft-shelled egg.
Video
Here's a video taken from Poultrykeeper about soft shelled egg's.
The suprelorin implant was originally designed to induce temporary infertility in male dogs but strangely also stops chickens laying for anything up to six months and has an average price of £80 including consultation fee at UK poultry vets and avian specialists, but today still remains unlicensed but can be used as off-label.
It is ideal to be used for chickens suffering with egg laying issues, such as prolapses, peritonitis, egg binding and stuck eggs, giving your girl a rest from laying and so that her body a chance to recover.
The suprelorin implant is an injection and easy to perform during a normal consultation. The needle quite big so be prepared! It is injected under the wing and as chickens preen and flap their wings quite often you need to make sure it stays in as it can come out although it shouldn't if installed correctly but it maybe worth while asking your vet or avian specialist to pop some gauzing over it. The implant once fitted may induce a small moult and your girl may be a little off colour for 24-48hrs but this usually rightens itself. It takes 24-48 hours to kick in so if you are dealing with a prolapse still keep your hen isolated and carry on popping the prolapse back in, cleaning and applying your germoloids cream until you are sure she is not laying so then prolapse will stay put.
Ex-battery hens are particularly subject to laying problems due to them being intensively farmed and many people who rescue ex-battery hens from cages and barns through rescue organisations such as BWHT (British Hen Welfare Trust) and LHR (Lucky Hens Rescue) often encounter prolapses, stuck eggs or egg binding so the suprelorin implant to stop them laying maybe of interest.
A word of warning though, the suprelorin implant is not a magic cure-all thing. It is best used in the early stages of a prolapse or egg peritonitis to be most effective and have the best chance of success. Also bare in mind that it wears off (lasts approx 6 months), so you may need to have another one installed if your hen is still having egg / prolapse issues. If you would like to know more about egg issues, concerns and other oddities then visit our LINK.
*** QUIET COCKERELS - An Option For Chicken Fanciers Without The Noise Problems ***
Many chicken fanciers dream of keeping cockerels, but in reality unless you live out in the sticks or not surrounded by neighbours sadly for many chicken fanciers keeping a cockerel is just not an option. For those who decide to run the risk and keep a cockerel in a built up area or where they are prohibited usually end up getting served noise abatement orders. But is there a way around this??? Many chicken fanciers advise to use different things to tone down the noise of a cockerel, these range from...
A cockerel box
Being put in a darkened cage until a more appropriate hour
Fitting a cockerel collar
Sound proofing the coop
But these options in our opinion are temporary measure at best and do not always work. SO..., is there a more permanent option??? YES there is and this involves surgery which we recommend that you research first and consult a vet or avian specialist to carry this out and DO NOT try this at home.
THE PROCEDURE
Here I will briefly describe the anatomy, sound production, the procedure itself, after care and the desired results.
Anatomy
In birds, the syrinx or voice box is located within the chest. It is represented above with the red arrows. The syrinx is a small, flexible piece of the trachea. It does not have the cartilage rings found throughout the trachea. All of this is contained within the clavicular air sac. Birds have many air sacs that help lighten the bird and serve as storage for air. It is possible for birds to exchange air through any of these air sacs. If you would like a more in-depth explanation on bird respiration follow this LINK. The yellow triangle is the beak and the pink ovals represents the lungs.
Sound Production
I like to compare the syrinx to a balloon. If you have stretched the neck of a balloon and it make that whistling sound, you can understand how the syrinx works. There are muscles attached to the syrinx that will stretch it and the abdominal muscles force air through it, creating the sound. The way this procedure works is to create an opening on either side of the syrinx to allow the air to escape into the air sac instead of through it, out of the mouth. The blue oval represents this artificial opening.
Procedure
The cockerel is anesthetised using injectable drugs. Gas anesthesia cannot be used because the surgery is taking place within the respiratory system and always is a risk to birds. Anesthesia is one of the risks of this procedure, as it is with any other surgery and can result in death. The area around the thoracic inlet (where the neck joins the body) is plucked and a small incision is made. Then the clavicular air sac is entered, exposing the trachea, heart, lungs etc within the chest. The syrinx is entered and the split is created. I have built some very specific instrument to create the opening in syrinx that have increased the success of the surgery substantially. The skin is closed with 2-3 small, dissolvable stitches and a piece of gauze is stitched over the closed incision.
After Care
The gauze that is stitched in place is removed after 1 day. It seems that the end results are better if the cockerel crowing is minimized. This may be accomplished by keeping him away from the other birds and/or placed in a short cage inside away from the sounds of the flock. The short cage discourages him from stretching his neck out to crow. The stitches dissolve after a couple of weeks. The feathers grow back quickly and it leaves them looking like before the surgery.
Desired Results
The goal of this procedure is to leave a permanent opening in either side of the syrinx to allow the air to pass into the air sac. This does not seem to cause any pain or discomfort to the cockerel. The cockerel still crows, cackles, fights, mates etc. There is no clinical evidence of pain for this procedure but with any type of surgery there maybe and a pain killer (metacam/loxicom) is recommended to be used for 1-2 days following the procedure and 'if' this was painful then the cockerel would not try to crow and this procedure does not seem to impact life in anyway just make the cockerel quieter but with a more permanent solution. We believe this procedure is better than putting a cockerel in a cockerel box, darkened room, fitting a crow collar and such like. A young, pre-crowing cockerel will have a higher success rate because they have less inflammation to the syrinx which may lead to scar tissue build up, that is why it is recommended to try and reduce the amount of crowing post surgery.
*** ALWAYS CONSULT A VET OR AVIAN SPECIALIST *** To carry out any such surgery, please DONOT try this at home even 'if' you have the equipment and think you are up to the task. The Poultry Pages DOES NOT endorse or advise any chicken fancier to carry out any such procedure but this gives you another avenue to consider.
