Safe painkiller for chooks

Chook lassie · **Joined:** Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:49 am **Posts:** 39

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. My first question is does any body know what is a safe pain killer for chooks? I heard that Metacam, usually used as an anti-inflamatory for dogs is good and also aspirin, but I have no idea what dosage to use for my Sussex and Barred rock, both girls have bumble foot. One is limping and I have soaked both of their feet in fairly hot water with epsom salts and then applied tincture of iodine each day, hoping this will help as I am trying to avoid surgery. Also, have one Brahma who I suspect is egg bound, have tried soaking her bottom and belly in warm water and have given her some Calcivet, liquid calcium, so far no joy even though she is trying to lay her egg. Don't want to overdo the calcium though. Would appreciate any help out there from chook lovers like me. Feeling quite sad for them

Thanks.

Chukar · **Posted:** Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:21 pm

butorphanol, a pain medication and cough suppressant, used to treat pain in avian patients http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/avianmeds.html not sure where you get it thought?

Chook lassie · **Joined:** Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:49 am **Posts:** 39

Thanks Chukar for the link. I'll surf the web for butorphanol and see if I can it in Oz. :razz:

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

You are extremely unlikely to get butorphanol because it is a "drug of addiction", which must be kept in a safe and can only be administered by vets by injection. It is a very strong "opioid" pain killer related to morphine, pethadine etc. It cannot be dispensed to owners for them to give. It is also only very short acting, only lasting 2-4 hours.

Metacam is both an antiinflammatory and pain killer but it is still only available by prescription.
If you already have some for your dog or cat then you can use that. There are different formulations for dogs and cats, so the dose depends on which one you use and the bird's weight. You have to make sure that the bird is well hydrated and has no stomach ulcers

Aspirin is freely available but for the average 2 kg chicken you only need 1/10 of a 200 mg tablet. You have to be careful that it doesn't cause stomach/intestinal ulcers/bleeding.

These are just some of the reasons why many antiinflammatories/pain relievers are only available from vets. Used properly they are very useful. Used incorrectly they can cause problems.

Chook lassie · **Joined:** Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:49 am **Posts:** 39

Gee, thanks for the info, Parvo. I guess I'll have to find a vet that has some knowledge on poultry ailments, most of the ones I have seen, don't. I think I'll use the Metacam, under a vet's supervision.

platoon · **Joined:** Sat Jan 07, 2012 1:09 pm **Posts:** 1

Cam you use human pain relief on birds such are aspirin?

wickedwings · **Posted:** Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:23 pm

They have been discussing using aspirin in the posts above.

Frankly I think you would be better off confining the birds with a bit of food and water so they can heal. My feeling is the pain killers would only mask the pain and allow the birds to get around further on their bumble feet, wouldn't that exacerbate the problem?

I seem to recall reading somewhere also (don't ask me where), that chooks have a much higher threshold of pain, which makes me think they are less likely to require pain relief.

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

parvo wrote:

You are extremely unlikely to get butorphanol because it is a "drug of addiction", which must be kept in a safe and can only be administered by vets by injection. It is a very strong "opioid" pain killer related to morphine, pethadine etc. It cannot be dispensed to owners for them to give. It is also only very short acting, only lasting 2-4 hours.

Metacam is both an antiinflammatory and pain killer but it is still only available by prescription.
If you already have some for your dog or cat then you can use that. There are different formulations for dogs and cats, so the dose depends on which one you use and the bird's weight. You have to make sure that the bird is well hydrated and has no stomach ulcers

Aspirin is freely available but for the average 2 kg chicken you only need 1/10 of a 200 mg tablet. You have to be careful that it doesn't cause stomach/intestinal ulcers/bleeding.

These are just some of the reasons why many antiinflammatories/pain relievers are only available from vets. Used properly they are very useful. Used incorrectly they can cause problems.

thanks for posting this parvo = much appreciated as the chook populace needs to be aware they can not give just any old thing to a bird
again = thanks :-D

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

My pleasure Soozorps.

Wickedwings, you are correct to a point. Pain relief alone will not solve the problem and could make it worse as you say. However, antiinflammatories may help to decrease the swelling and inflammation which may speed healing.

In reality, these measures alone rarely fix bumblefoot. Unless you correct the underlying problems such as correct substrate and diet, and any other lamenesses which cause the bird to walk unevenly and hence create more pressure on one foot, and address the wounds themselves which may need padding, antibiotics and possibly surgery then they rarely resolve just with medications.

It can be a complex condition to cure particularly in advanced cases.

As for chickens having a higher pain threshold, I think you will find that is up for debate. Just because many animals don't show signs of pain that we recognise, it doesn't mean that they don't feel it. The survival instinct in many prey species means that they can't afford the luxury of "showing pain". Any signs of weakness would attract the attention of flock mates and predators alike.
The current thinking within the scientific and veterinary community is that these animals do feel pain and appear to respond favourably to pain relief in what we would consider painful situations.

Sorry for the rambling, but it is a very interesting topic.

wickedwings · **Posted:** Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:27 pm

Ramble away parvo, i'm getting an education in the process, thanks. :-D

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Safe painkiller for chooks

Who is on the Forum