With the spike in people keeping backyard chickens and some even upgrading to fully blown chicken coops, we have noticed a spike in the number of questions that we have seen being asked from the chicken owning community.
With there being so many health problems for chickens, we have noticed a steady uptick in the number of questions about keeping your chicken healthy as well as treating some of the more popular health issues.
This naturally includes questions relating to using LA-200 for chickens and although LA-200 is a great product that can treat a number of common problems in chickens, we usually recommend that you get the assistance of a trained veterinarian or a more experienced chicken keeper the first time you use it.
This is due to there being a number of common problems relating to administering LA-200 to a chicken as well as correctly dosing it that makes it problematic for beginners.
As we see a few different questions relating to using LA-200 for chickens, we have decided to include them all in this article.
We have added our table of contents below to make it as easy as possible for our readers to get to the specific section of the article that they require though to save you as much time as possible.
What Does LA-200 Treat In Chickens?
LA-200 is most commonly used to manage chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in chickens but can also be used for pneumonia caused by Pasteurella multocida, bacterial enteritis (scours, colibacillosis) caused by Escherichia coli, and leptospirosis caused by Leptospira pomona.
There are also a number of other issues where LA-200 is used but clinical trials have not proven that it offers any benefit to yet.
The vast majority of people that we see asking questions about using LA-200 with chickens are wanting to use it to try and treat and manage chronic respiratory disease rather than any of the other potential problems.
Ideally though, we would also recommend that you book a quick video call with a vet to have them give you specific advice on your situation before you try to administer the LA-200 to your chicken.
There are also a number of alternatives to LA-200 that can sometimes be used to treat some issues in chickens too.
This is why we always recommend our readers get advice from a veterinarian to go over all of their available options prior to settling on LA-200 but most people just take advice for social media and never actually get any input from a professional vet.
What Is The Correct Dose Of LA-200 For Chickens?
The correct dose of LA-200 for chickens depends on the chicken’s size and weight with the common dose used by backyard chicken keepers being .20 CC of LA-200 per pound of the chickens weight.
This is then injected directly into the chicken’s breast to a depth of around a quarter of an inch and then leaving the chicken for three days before considering the next dose of the treatment.
Please keep in mind that this is just a common dosing system used for treating chickens by backyard chicken keepers and is not always the optimal dose for your chicken depending on its specific situation and circumstances.
You should always seek assistance from a veterinarian relating to the correct dosage and administration of LA-200 to your chickens before trying to administer the medication yourself.
We have seen a number of people attempt to use LA-200 with their chickens orally but the LA-200 oral medications are not designed for use with chickens and are usually for cattle and other livestock.
To our knowledge, at the time of writing, there are no oral LA-200 treatments on the market that have been proven to work with chickens so the injectable dosing is the only option.
Should You Use LA-200 For Chickens?
If LA-200 is dosed and administered by a veterinarian then it can be an excellent treatment for a number of potential problems that are commonly found in chickens.
If you are a backyard chicken keeper then we would not recommend that you use it without professional assistance from a vet though.
Although dosing LA-200 correctly for chickens can be problematic, actually administering the medication tends to be the area where most people have issues.
LA-200 has to be injected directly into your chicken’s breast to a depth of around a quarter of an inch with many of your chickens essential organs being just behind the breast presenting a hazard in the application of the medication for anyone not experienced with injecting chickens.
Accidentally pushing the needle in too deep when administering the LA-200 to your chicken poses a risk of causing internal bleeding and damaging an organ.
Some chickens can be unpredictable when being injected too and although many will simply stay still, some will react to the needle and move around increasing the hazard further.
Does LA-200 Work For Chickens Orally?
There are currently no oral LA-200 medications available for use with chickens. Although some chicken owners have tried to administer LA-200 to their chickens orally, all current reports suggest it offers no benefit unless it is injected into the chicken’s breast correctly.
We understand why so many people are trying to look for an oral solution of LA-200 for their chickens due to the injection process being full of potential hazards.
If an oral LA-200 option does become available for use with chickens in the future then we feel that it will be a huge step forward for backyard chicken breeders as it will allow you to treat your chicken for some relatively common health issues at home with ease.
As we mentioned above, the current oral LA-200 medications on the market are not designed for use with chickens and have been created for much larger livestock.
Due to this, the dosage is considerably larger than what you should be using for a chicken and the actual capsule will probably present a very real choking hazard for your chicken too.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over using LA-200 for chickens to an end. We hope that we have been able to help our readers but as we have stressed time and time again throughout the article above, we would not recommend that you try to use LA-200 for your chickens without taking advice from a vet first.
