MEDICAL MANAGEMENT
ANTIBIOTICS
There are no antibiotics that are available today that have been tested sufficiently on ostrich. As a result, the use of specific antibiotics should be the decision of your Veterinarian and should be based on a complete understanding of the problem, bacterial isolation attempts and antibiotic sensitivity testing. The following are a listing of some commonly used antibiotics that have been reported to be effective in some instances.
Amoxicillin (Smith Kline Beecham) 5mg/lb
Amikacin Sulfate (Aveco) 5 mg/lb
Batryl (Miles, Inc) 1.13mg/lb
Gentamicin (Schering-Plough) 2 mg/lb
Sulfadimethoxine (Burns Vet Supply) 12.5 to 25 mg/lb
Tetracycline 7.5 mg/lb
Tribrissen (Cooper Animal Health Inc) 2ml/kg
Trimethoprim/
Sulfadiazine 48% (Pittman Moore) 20 mg/lb
ANTHELMINTICS
A complete parasite evaluation should be performed on all birds on a routine basis. Anthelminthic treatment should only be conducted when specific parasites are identified and not used on a prophylactic basis. Complete examination for ectoparasites should include visual and microscopic evaluation for lice, mites, and ticks while both simple smears and concentration procedures (flotation) should be performed on feces for intestinal helminths.
As was the case with antibiotics, there are no anthelminthics that are approved for ostrich. Several have been evaluated in trials and shown to be effective.
These include ;
Fenbebdazole (Panacur 2.5%, Hoechst) 15 mg/kg . Efficacy against nematodes and perhaps cestodes.
Ivermectin (Ivomec, MSD/Agvet) 200 mglkg . Efficacy against nematodes and some ectoparasites.
Carbaryl dust (5%) (Security %% Garden Dust, Security Products Co,) Efficacy against lice.