AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hi,

I have had a chook with the sneezes & so I took her to the vet & he prescribed Baytril. I asked how long after treatment would it be safe to eat her eggs. He advised 30 days should be safe but did not seem real sure, so I started investingating it on the net, only to find out to my horror that if a hen has had Baytril then you can never consume any eggs produced by the animal as it will always have some toxicity carry through to the egg.

I have also found that it is only suppose to be used for dogs & cats & not poultry (or their eggs) used for human consumption.

Does anyone have anything they can add to this finding, as I have only given my girl 2 doses so far, but now am really worried whether to continue treatment. Especially if this stuff is not suppose to be used in poultry producing eggs for human consumption as this is the main reason I bought this chook.

Cheers
Chicka-Dee

Do not use in poultry producing eggs for human consumption.
http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Bayer_p ... 23509.html

Yes, but it also says withhold from layer replacement birds within 14 days of laying, it doesn't say never use those eggs again, which leads me to conclude it has a 14 day withholding period.

Thanks David K & WW,

That NOAH site is UK based, do we have anything in Oz?

Who is our authority on animal drug administration here in Oz?

What is a replacement layer?, as my girl hasnt laid her first egg yet.

Also, is my girl now ruined because of giving her Baytril? So far I have only given her two 1ml doses.

So mad I could spit! The vet didn't give me any warnings or fact sheets about this drugs at all.

Any help with this is very appreciated as I am just at a loss with this circumstance.

Chicka-Dee

A replacement layer is just that, a new bird brought in to replace one of the older ones in the flock. She is brought in just as she is about to commence laying to make full use of her best year of laying.

I'm trying to indicate that I don't think she is ruined, what the literature on that website seems to indicate to me is there is a 2 week withholding period.

Boy what a topic!!

Chicka-dee you have touched on an area that causes much grief & confusion to all.

Technically, there are very few drugs that can be used on egg-laying hens. As has been pointed out the issue has everything to do with the potential for drug residues to appear in the food chain, particulalry for the export market and also about the potential for those residues to affect human health eg if you treat a chicken with penicillin and a penicillin-allergic person eats this chicken or its eggs and the person has an anaphylactic reaction = bad news!!.

The legislation does not really cater for the backyarder who just needs to treat their chooks. In the commercial setting birds are either vaccinated, bred for resistance or culled. They are kept in more controlled environments where they are less likely to contract the diseases that backyard birds become exposed to and are farmed in an "all in-all out" fashion. ie no new birds are introduced into the flock.

The legislation also varies between states, just to make things more difficult.

In NSW, a vet can prescribe any drug to treat a backyard chicken so long as they provide a withholding period ( Ie a period during which eggs or meat can't be eaten) which complies with the legislation. In reality no government official will tell you what this withholding period is for drugs that aren't registered for chickens. Therefore, the vet has to "stick their neck out" and suggest an arbitrary withholding period.
In reality, residues of drugs to treat animals are generally below any level likely to cause adverse effects in humans.

I think your vet is playing on the safe side & suggesting a period of 4 weeks. If Baytril is the best drug for your hens then just use it as instructed aand make sure you don't eat their eggs for 4 weeks from the END of the treatment period. The rest is quasi-legal gobbledigook!

Sorry but I am just following Bayer and there recommendation ie.. Do not use in poultry producing eggs for human consumption.

No need to be sorry David- technically you are correct.

I am just trying to suggest a practical solution to the problem.

Nearly all antibiotics used in dogs & cats, even large animals, specifically state that they are not to be used in food producing animals or are not suitable for egg laying hens. This narrows the spectrum of antibiotics available for use drastically.

Hi

I was just looking for more information and found this on: https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia ... -for-birds

"Side effects

Dangers for Eggs & Meat

Withdrawal time for eggs and meat from chickens given medicine orally is just 5 days after stopping Baytril.

However, there are other very serious concerns that have caused Baytril to be banned in the US from use in poultry used for eggs or meat.
When exposed to Baytril, a bacteria that cause food poisoning may become resistant to the primary medicine used for treating infected people. If this bacteria is in a chicken and is not killed during cooking of eggs or meat from a chicken that EVER took Baytril, a person may become sick with food poisoning that is very difficult to cure.

Poultry: Pet supply and vet medicine stores & online retailers sell Baytril. However, it is illegal in the US to sell Baytril for "egg or meat-producing birds", because of possible risks to people. You need a prescription from a bird's veterinarian, who would discuss with you that eggs or meat from the bird cannot be eaten AT ANY TIME afterward. "

I am not trying to cause Grief or Confusion, but do believe people that go onto these forums (members or not) should be able to read what others have found (about any topic), so they can choose for themselves how they wish to proceed for themselves. After all, that is the main purpose of a forum, isn't it?

If taking Baytril off the list of drugs that vets can use to prescribe to Poultry, narrows the spectrum, then so be it. I'm comfortable with that.

I do not think my vet should have prescribed this drug for my chook & the fact that he did without giving me any fact sheet/pamphlet/advice, was down right irresponsible & if other vets out there are doing the same then maybe the APVMA should be notified.

For those who read this, the choice of whether you use Baytril is totally up to you. I know what my choice will be.

Cheers
Chicka-Dee

Before I got my chooks, I did a lot of reading and research; I asked a lot of older generational people who have kept chooks all their lives if keeping chooks was easy; they told me just how simple and easy having a couple of chooks scratch around your backyard was...

Has life changed and become so complicated since the olden days, keeping chooks is a very complex and complicated there are so many factors to take into consideration and so many things that can go wrong. What did that older generation do before the internet?