Maria Needs Banana Medicine

Upon noticing Maria limping this morning, I discovered that she has a case of bumblefoot.  This is a staph infection in the pad of her left foot. It does not matter how well you take care of your animals, sometimes this happens.  I caught it early but Maria's foot is swollen and she needed to be isolated from her avian family and treated.

I treated bumblefoot successfully in Beemster the rooster a few years ago (after the vet told me that I wouldn't be able to help him), but I know that if Maria is going to live through this she will need to be treated with both topical and oral antibiotics. Polysporin will work fine as the topical ointment but the oral medication is the problem.  In fact, the near impossibility of getting my hands on oral medication for a sick hen is by far the most aggravating and disheartening thing about owning poultry.  My request to our vet this morning was denied (they still don't "do" birds) and antibiotics are not sold at all in the farm store.  Physicians or pharmacists for humans won't give me medication to treat a non-human, so, I ended up using leftover human medication I had on hand - in a tiny dose (again).  The only other option is to leave Maria to die from a completely curable infection, which is really no option at all.  Days like this are hard and frustrating.

All this to say, please never throw out any leftover antibiotics in any form without offering them to me first. I would be grateful for your leftover "banana medicine" as it could very likely save the life for one of my lovely feathered ladies in the future. I sure bet Maria is grateful I had something on hand today to try to help her feel better.