Poultry & Game Bird Medicine Cabinet
By customer request, I have assembled some first-aid
items that are good to have on hand before you notice any problems with
your birds, as an inexpensive insurance policy, so to speak.
First - rubber, vinyl or nitrile gloves that fit you are a very
important item for your safety as well as the safety of your birds. We
now routinely use nitrile gloves while feeding, gathering eggs, or
caring for our birds.
Disinfectants - bleach is like water. Lysol is expensive. The best
disinfectant that I have found is TekTrol, and I prefer to buy it from
Valley Vet. It kills far more bacteria and 'germs' in general than
bleach or other household-type cleaners, and for a fraction of the cost!
Injuries:
Anti-Peck Blue-Kote, find it at Cutler Supply.
Helps heal & soothe wounds, tastes bad to prevent picking or
cannibalism. The downside: watch where/how you spray it, will make you
look like a Smurf through repeated showers and make people wonder what
type of horrific infection YOU have! Good stuff, use with caution.
Bloodstopper, find it at Cutler Supply (we call it chicken seasoning, LOL) for an actively-bleeding wound.
Insecticide:
Scalex Mite & Lice Spray, find it at Cutler Supply. Good to have on
hand if you have people in & out who have birds elsewhere, bring in
birds from livestock sales or auctions, or do work with rescue birds.
If you need it in a hurry, your local pet supply store or veterinarian
may have it in stock. (Our Vet carries it.)
Antibiotics:
Penicillin, find it at Cutler Supply. Especially good for Bumble Foot and for turkeys. Fairly long shelf life.
Sulmet, find it at Cutler Supply. Good sulfa med for coccidiosis, fowl
cholera, infectious coryza, pullorium. Easy to mix. Long shelf life.
Terramycin, available at local feed store, TSC, or like store.
Inexpensive, available locally almost anywhere, directions are somewhat
difficult to understand and it is difficult to mix. Is not as affective
as some other meds.
Terramycin eye ointment, find it at Cutler Supply. Gentamyacin is good,
your local veterinarian can prescribe/sell some to you. If given the
choice, drops are easier to administer than ointment.
Dewormers:
Diatomaceous Earth - does a lot more than just deworming, helps control
mites & other common insect pests. DO NOT buy it with cayenne added
if you want to use it on the bird....ouch.
http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth.html is a great source for
DE.
Ivomec Powder or injectable, Cutler Supply.
Worm-off, find it at Cutler Supply.
Tramisol, find it at Cutler Supply. May be difficult to mix for poultry.
Odor elimination:
Professional's Choice Urine Digester, we buy it straight from the source at
for the best price. niloder.com has the best we've found here!
Suggested reading:
Chicken Health Handbook or Grower's Reference on Gamebird Health (find both at Cutler Supply)
Hope that helps! This isn't all-inclusive, but a good sampling of supplies to have on hand.
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