Colloidal Silver Dosage

[Hen Pen Jem]

I would not use CS alone, as an antibiotic.

But, it works well when combined with an antibiotic like Doxycycline. The Colloidal Silver will boost the antibiotic's effectiveness.

 

[chicken vet girl]

"The application of AgNP via the drinking water in the concentration of 50 ppm reduced broiler growth, impaired immune functions and had no antibacterial effect on different intestinal bacterial groups, which may limit the applicability of AgNP against C. jejuni in broiler chickens."
"There were no differences between birds receiving AgNP and the control group (Fig. 1) with respect to the numbers of C. jejuni, lactic acid bacteria, Enterococci, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Lactose negative enterobacteria in the contents of caecum, ileum and feces of the birds."
"The average amount of AgNP which single chicken received in the drinking water was 8.26 mg/d"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5748950/

"The ASAP Solution® is an engineered silver nano-particle mineral supplement. It includes 10 parts per million (ppm) silver utilizing American Biotech Labs unique patented silver technology."
"The results revealed that ASAP colloidal silver solution has neutralizing effects on Newcastle Disease Virus by the Heamagglutination inhibition technique (HAI). Therefore Neutralization titre = 10-5.6 ND50/0.1mL. This study findings support the conclusions made that the ASAP Colloidal Silver Solution is naturally microcidal (killing harmful bacteria, yeast, fungus, and viruses)."
http://www.rroij.com/open-access/th...on-the-newcastle-disease-virus-.php?aid=34121

"Kim et al. (2008) showed that repeated oral doses of nanosilver for 28 days did induce liver toxicity"
https://academicjournals.org/article/article1380990460_Loghman et al.pdf

"Not only widespread use of nanosilver in low levels of silver ions promotes rapid development of bacterial resistance but also use of nanosilver in high levels of silver ions causes toxicity in human and animals"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3826293/#B26

"The antimicrobial activity of Ag nanoparticles was investigated against yeast, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. In these tests, Muller Hinton agar plates were used and Ag nanoparticles of various concentrations were supplemented in liquid systems. As results, yeast and E. coli were inhibited at the low concentration of Ag nanoparticles, whereas the growth-inhibitory effects on S. aureus were mild. "
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17379174/

 

[chicken vet girl]

bacterial vs viral (some virus's can weaken the immune system leaving them susceptible to other stuff), then I would look at the feed also, maybe an ingredient in your feed is giving your birds some difficulty with digestion which could contribute to the problem

Here are the ingredients in my chicken feed:

Ingredients
Grain products, plant protein products, processed grain by-products, calcium carbonate, monocalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, salt, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese oxide, copper sulfate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, sodium selenite, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, riboflavin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, niacin supplement, folic acid, choline chloride, biotin.

Crude Protein Minimum 20.00%
Lysine Minimum 1.00%
Methionine Minimum 0.35%
Crude Fat Minimum 3.00%
Crude Fiber Maximum 5.5%
Calcium Minimum 3.00%
Calcium Maximum 3.50%
Phosphorus Minimum 0.60%
Salt Minimum 0.20%
Salt Maximum 0.70%

Does anything sound unbalanced?

 

[chicken vet girl]

Can anyone recommend whether I should try the colloidal silver on my chicken?

 

[coach723]

Here is how I decide what I'm going to try. If you have exhausted all methods of treatment and nothing is working, then at that point I see no reason not to try. When I know a bird is out of other options then it seems reasonable to take the chance in case it might work. If a treatment is pretty unlikely to do any harm, or cause undo pain or discomfort, then I personally see no reason not to try.
I agree with what a previous poster said, that there may be an underlying reason that this is happening, something that is weakening the immune systems of your birds. The challenge is to figure it out. You could be dealing with a virus, antibiotic resistant bacteria, there may be an environmental component, etc. There are so many variables it's hard to say from here. If you lose one, I would highly recommend that you have a necropsy done, with labs, to get an answer to what is going on. If your vet feels that another try with a different antibiotic is warranted, then it's really up to you whether to try adding the silver in also. Please keep us updated.

 

[chicken vet girl]

Here is how I decide what I'm going to try. If you have exhausted all methods of treatment and nothing is working, then at that point I see no reason not to try. When I know a bird is out of other options then it seems reasonable to take the chance in case it might work.

good advise

 

[chicken vet girl]

Right now my hen is having trouble swallowing her food. I am supplementing her diet with a liquid food mix. Is it possible to inject the liquid food into her crop with a sterile 18 gauge needle? The liquid food can pass through the needle (I tested it). I have had experience with removing extra liquid from a chicken's crop with a needle & syringe.

@casportpony, @Hen Pen Jem

 

[casportpony]

Use a large syringe and a tube, do not use a needle.

 

[chicken vet girl]

My vet recommended against using a feeding tube, since her throat walls might be weakened by the bacteria. I'm not really sure if I could get a tube down her throat with the amount of bacteria growth that has built up. Would injecting the food into her crop be more stressful?

 

[casportpony]

Did your vet really say not to tube her?