Can I give Meloxicam to my 5 month old Hen?

[Tanya22]

Hey everyone.

So, I have a hen called Snowy who was rescued froma chicken shop. She has a number of issues (blind in one eye, one foot has turned outwards and the joint is limp-ish and very watery poop with undigested seeds) that I've been trying to help her out with.

Recently, she started to poop undigested seeds. I had put her on a liver tonic course for 10 days a month or so back and that had helped improve her poop a lot. But now she's showing this problem of not digesting hard seeds. I've put her on a diet of crushed seeds and soft foods for now.

I took her to the vet today and he took a sample of her poop. We will get the reports by tomorrow. For now, he has prescribed Meloxicam (0.9 ml daily for 3 days; her weight is 2.7 kgs). He has said that it will act as an anti-inflammatory and help her gizzard where she could have digestion issues. I told him that when she drinks water, sometimes she's not able to swallow completely and it comes out of her mouth.

I've never used meloxicam for my kids before and am really worried. If anyone could please help out, I would be grateful. The meloxicam that he's prescribed has "only for dogs" written on the package which is making me even more hesitant to use it. Please help.

 

[springvalley123]

I used half this dose for two weeks on a pullet for 2 weeks, no problems. I got the info here:http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/meloxicam

However since a vet prescribed for your specific pet, whom he treated, I'd go with exactly what the vet says. He probably taped a red line on the syringe so you'll know how much to give.

I just dropped the metacam from the syringe into the pullet's food, making sure she was watching. The dripping action got her attention and she lapped it up!

edit: it's about the only "doggie" nsaid that can be used on cats and yes I was surprised to see it used on poultry. But, it is also used for humans.

 

[Tanya22]

I used half this dose for two weeks on a pullet for 2 weeks, no problems. I got the info here:http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/meloxicam

However since a vet prescribed for your specific pet, whom he treated, I'd go with exactly what the vet says. He probably taped a red line on the syringe so you'll know how much to give.

I just dropped the metacam from the syringe into the pullet's food, making sure she was watching. The dripping action got her attention and she lapped it up!

edit: it's about the only "doggie" nsaid that can be used on cats and yes I was surprised to see it used on poultry. But, it

Thank you for your reply! Actually, the vet is not an avian vet (my area doesn't have any avian vets around). I was researching on byc about meloxicam dose and they mentioned a very low dose when the dogs one is used (around 0.15 ml per 5 pounds or so).

That really alarmed me as the vet has prescribed 0.9 ml and it seems like an overdose. I could be wrong, but I don't want to take any chances with my kid.

 

[springvalley123]

yes, the reason I only used half as much, the estimated dose for my pullet would have been enough for a 34 pound dog! But I trust the poultryvet site, plus your vet probably had more resources to look up the drug and dose than we lay people.

 

[Tanya22]

yes, the reason I only used half as much, the estimated dose for my pullet would have been enough for a 34 pound dog! But I trust the poultryvet site, plus your vet probably had more resources to look up the drug and dose than we lay people.

Very true. @casportpony also helped out in confirming the dose (it's 0.5 mg per kg for chickens) and I'll start her medication tomorrow. It's after midnight in my area, so my kiddos are asleep.

Thank you again!

 

[Eyeice4u]

Hey everyone.

So, I have a hen called Snowy who was rescued froma chicken shop. She has a number of issues (blind in one eye, one foot has turned outwards and the joint is limp-ish and very watery poop with undigested seeds) that I've been trying to help her out with.

Recently, she started to poop undigested seeds. I had put her on a liver tonic course for 10 days a month or so back and that had helped improve her poop a lot. But now she's showing this problem of not digesting hard seeds. I've put her on a diet of crushed seeds and soft foods for now.

I took her to the vet today and he took a sample of her poop. We will get the reports by tomorrow. For now, he has prescribed Meloxicam (0.9 ml daily for 3 days; her weight is 2.7 kgs). He has said that it will act as an anti-inflammatory and help her gizzard where she could have digestion issues. I told him that when she drinks water, sometimes she's not able to swallow completely and it comes out of her mouth.

I've never used meloxicam for my kids before and am really worried. If anyone could please help out, I would be grateful. The meloxicam that he's prescribed has "only for dogs" written on the package which is making me even more hesitant to use it. Please help.

I use a heavy duty probiotic when my animals are sick - all animals. It has an amazing affect on many problems. For that bird I would start using like 1/3 of a human grade probiotic. I take it myself daily so just go to that. My choice Florastor. Expensive but way cheaper than the vet and a lot of problems resolve on their own. After I'm out of the dark with whoever is sick I switch to a less expensive type that goes in the water. I restrict this to a certain waterer 1x daily, we have ducks and they waste it. I switch around, different brands have different bacteria. I have 2 fairly old cats both FLV positive who are doing great because of this regime. For them since FLV is incurable I keep with the high grade stuff. It all starts in the gut - for all of us. Get rid of the bad and in with the good. Good Luck