# Sticky  Rookie Mistake



## ChrisV

Our fam has had 5 barred rocks for a year. Rock solid coop and taken great care of them...become part of the family. Our kids 6 and 9 have chickens not dogs...though I love dogs. Anyhow, its been a fun adventure. Last couple days one of our hens developed what I now believe to be vent gleet. Initially wife thought it was Cocci and purchased Corid 9.6 from tractor supply. With the dosing, I should have asked additional questions when she read the label to me but I didn't...my fault! After reading so many pesticide labels I should know better. Anyhow, she actually read the rate for a "drench" which was per 100lbs or livestock and I made the conversion which equated to 2.5ml. Problem is that the daily dosage rate should have been ~40mg of active ingredient for an 8 or so pound chicken (or about ~1/2ml). How worried should I be for this chicken we call "princess"? We did wash her bum and followed up with anti fungal cream (to treat the vent gleet). Mostly worried about the Corid overdose at this point (6x). Maybe the title of this should be "stupid mistake" but interested in anyone who might have some insight as to how concerned we should be and if there's anything else we should be doing at this moment. No chicken vets in the area that I'm aware of...


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## robin416

Your best bet would be to call the manufacturer and ask them. If anyone knows what an overdose of the product is liable to cause it would be them.

I've never heard of a corid overdose so I have no idea the threat to her in the coming days and have no idea if there would be a way to flush her system of it. Heck, it might not be a problem at all. 

We all do dumb things. The fact that you recognized it and reached out is what is important.

I'm going to do some digging to see if I can come up with any information for overdose complications. I'll let you know if I find anything.


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## robin416

Get some thiamine, vitamin B1, and start dosing her heavily right away. If they have children's liquid B1 (doubt they will) get that. Or get human B1 and dissolve it in water and start dosing her.

You really can't overdose her on B1.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/amprolium

Important: Amprolium has a very narrow margin for error and overdoses can lead to hemorrhagic diathesis and death. Should not be given to chickens concurrently with any B Vitamins. Long-term administration of amprolium in high doses may result in thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in the bird. To treat amprolium overdose, thiamine should be administered parenterally or orally. Can cause cause polyneuritis.

See more at: http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/amprolium


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## ChrisV

Thanks for your reply! We've just been trying to get some gatorade in her for hydration. No issues on this end with liability. Its just a weekend and the only thing I can get is practical advice...no chicken vets in our area to my understanding. We love our chickens but at the end of the day they're not in the same category as our kids! But our kids do love them...any advice is helpful. I think we have our filters appropriately set. Regardless it is our sole responsibility for what happens. At some point our kids will have to experience the loss of a pet so I don't have a problem with that....that's life. I just love my kids and like this chicken by extension...


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## robin416

Gatorade won't do anything good for her. She needs the B1. Her electrolytes are not out of balance but giving it to her when she doesn't need it can cause heart issues.

You don't need a vet at this point. You need to hit a drug store or Walmart and pick up the B1 for humans.


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## robin416

Just to make you feel a little more secure in what I'm telling you. I have a medical background so I understand a lot of the gobbly **** when it comes to talking medical stuff. I've found a lot of what works for us humans also works for our animals.


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## ChrisV

Gotcha now. I read the first part of that link about not giving VitB to assist the medication (due to its mode of operation). Later on it says to give VitB in case of an overdose. I got it! I'll let you know where we end up...


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## robin416

Please do, I'm really hoping for a good outcome if you can get her B1 replenished quickly enough before permanent damage is done.


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## ChrisV

Wife is picking some B1 up now so we will have it in her within 3 hours of the misinterpretation. Any practical idea or even guess of how much B1? This is totally on me regarding the outcome but curious if you have even a guess on B1 amount to give... Otherwise I'm going to default to assuming its hard to overdose on B1


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## robin416

It's pretty hard to overdose on it because it's excreted through the kidneys. Not knowing the milligrams or micrograms your wife is getting it's hard to know what to suggest. At this stage I'd just give her a full tablet of whatever she brings home. 

Is there a treat she really likes? Something that the vitamin can be mixed in? That's about the easiest way to dose them with tablets. If you've got some yoghurt, plain is best. Or cook up some oatmeal with a little natural sweetener. 

Because this is a new one on me, I'm going to say give her one each day for the next week. If you don't see decline then it's probably an adequate dose.


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## ChrisV

Sorry I haven't gotten back but we made it through. I followed up with the B1 and started her on some Nystatin that we already had - to treat the severe vent gleet. The vet gave us a script for animax (ironically also nystatin plus some other stuff). She's doing much better so thank you very much for your help in the conversation!

We came very close to losing her but definitely learned a few things about keeping chickens healthy and happy. Now we have a great farm vet...


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## robin416

Cherish that farm vet, they are hard to come by when it comes to our birds. I've had a couple over the years, they were worth every penny I paid them.

For education purposes, what else did the vet say? It's how we all learn about different health issues. What did he/she have to say about the B1?

Huge congratulations on her recovery and your dedication to pulling her out of it.


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## ChrisV

The vet just said it was a nasty infection in the abdomen which in my opinion appeared to be vent gleet based on the pics and symptoms I read online - red butt, loss of feathers, pasty discharge which was locked up on the remaining feathers and fueled the infection and irritation. It made her extremely uncomfortable and lethargic to the point of not eating and drinking. Once we started treating her rear by rubbing in the ointment twice daily she started to improve within a day and gradually got her strength back. We also bathed her once a day in warm water with epson salt to get everything clean. Plus after bathing we let her dry herself in the sun for an hour and then applied betadine as a disinfectant and then after that dried applied the ointment. Basically we treated it as a very nasty yeast infection...cleanse, disinfect, treat. First two nights we force fed her fluids in a small syringe since she was severely dehydrated at that point. In about 3 days she totally turned the corner.


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## robin416

I'm thinking about how to make this topic one that is easily found. It would be helpful for others that could be dealing with vent gleet.

Was there an odor?

Kudos to you and the family for going the extra mile to help her. Nice job.


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## TomC

Awesome Job! That's some serious intensive care. I applaud you for the effort, unfortunately, a lot of folks wouldn't go through that much trouble. Glad to hear she's made a turn-around and feeling better.


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## ChrisV

robin416 said:


> I'm thinking about how to make this topic one that is easily found. It would be helpful for others that could be dealing with vent gleet.
> 
> Was there an odor?
> 
> Kudos to you and the family for going the extra mile to help her. Nice job.


Yes, there was an odor but I'm trying to forget it!


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## robin416

It's one of the signs that it is vent gleet. So, now you know from first hand experience.


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## JohnTheChickenMan

ChrisV said:


> Our fam has had 5 barred rocks for a year. Rock solid coop and taken great care of them...become part of the family. Our kids 6 and 9 have chickens not dogs...though I love dogs. Anyhow, its been a fun adventure. Last couple days one of our hens developed what I now believe to be vent gleet. Initially wife thought it was Cocci and purchased Corid 9.6 from tractor supply. With the dosing, I should have asked additional questions when she read the label to me but I didn't...my fault! After reading so many pesticide labels I should know better. Anyhow, she actually read the rate for a "drench" which was per 100lbs or livestock and I made the conversion which equated to 2.5ml. Problem is that the daily dosage rate should have been ~40mg of active ingredient for an 8 or so pound chicken (or about ~1/2ml). How worried should I be for this chicken we call "princess"? We did wash her bum and followed up with anti fungal cream (to treat the vent gleet). Mostly worried about the Corid overdose at this point (6x). Maybe the title of this should be "stupid mistake" but interested in anyone who might have some insight as to how concerned we should be and if there's anything else we should be doing at this moment. No chicken vets in the area that I'm aware of...


You don't have to worry about the Corid dose. Its almost impossible to overdose a chicken on Corid. But you do need to treat the vent-gleet... most likely with a sulfa drug


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## robin416

JohnTheChickenMan said:


> You don't have to worry about the Corid dose. Its almost impossible to overdose a chicken on Corid. But you do need to treat the vent-gleet... most likely with a sulfa drug


It's possible to overdose on anything. The amount he dosed her with was an overdose and needed to be addressed. B1 is a simple fix and one that is safe.


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## vssxvzxvv

Our fam has had 5 banished rocks for a year. Unshakable coop and taken incredible consideration of them...become part of the family. Our children 6 and 9 have chickens not dogs...though I love canines. At any rate, its been a tomfoolery experience.


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