Super Booster

bodabing · Post by **bodabing** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 11:48 pm

Does anyone put super booster in waterfowl drinking water? I like using super booster in my chicken waterers but am reluctant to use the super booster water in any pens with both chickens and water fowl. I have been concerned the small amount of penicillin in the Superbooster might be harmful to the ducks. Any one that has been doing this?

Post by **Killerbunny** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:01 am

I only use the vits plus eletrolytes in my waterers but I'm allergic to pen so don't want to handle it or have it in my birds.

Post by **thegawd** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:13 am

Lizzie is allegic to it to n I didnt even think about that. THANKS KB!

Shnookie · Post by **Shnookie** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:13 am

I put Electolytes Plus in my chicken drinking water all the time. It has vitamins and electrolytes with no antibiotics.

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:29 am

In the summer last year I 'obtained' ducklings (Muscovys) that couldn't even stand and clearly were deficient in everything especially Niacin.
They got the electrolyte mixture and extra niacin for 3 days and within hours they showed improvement and in 24 hours were waddling around.
No meds for ducklings, which is why you also feed non-medicated feed

windwalkingwolf · Post by **windwalkingwolf** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:11 pm

Super booster has a sulfa antibiotic as well. I've never used it in water that my ducks have access to, because they drink SO much and I have no idea how it would affect them, and only use it in the land fowl if there's a problem like high stress... Predator attack, introducing new birds, or minor illness. It's too expensive to use all the time, and may contribute to antibiotic resistant bacteria imho

kortispoultry · Post by **kortispoultry** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 8:01 pm

windwalkingwolf wrote:QR_BBPOST Super booster has a sulfa antibiotic as well. I've never used it in water that my ducks have access to, because they drink SO much and I have no idea how it would affect them, and only use it in the land fowl if there's a problem like high stress... Predator attack, introducing new birds, or minor illness. It's too expensive to use all the time, and may contribute to antibiotic resistant bacteria imho

I totally agree with you Jan!!!

bodabing · Post by **bodabing** » Fri Feb 17, 2017 12:08 am

Thanks everyone , I see everyone has the same concerns I do. So vitamin supplements and VetRx sound like better options.

windwalkingwolf · Post by **windwalkingwolf** » Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:59 am

It really depends. For example, if there's some respiratory thing going around in your chickens, it should be treated aggressively and immediately to limit internal damage that can cause a myriad of future problems including reoccurrance of symptoms and disease shedding. Super Booster will work for this situation, but you have to go off-label and mix it strong. A better option in that case would be injected Tylosin... It's animals only, so little risk of encouraging resistant bacteria in people, and it's used infrequently enough in animals that animal germs aren't resistant yet. Unlike with tetracycline, which is fast becoming useless.
I'm a firm believer that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" , and for me this means don't give drugs to healthy birds, and also, if a bird is sick but worth saving IMO, give targeted treatment and not a general panacea. Super Booster can be REALLY awesome stuff... it can stave off all sorts of things when noticed early, like a pullet that had a feather from her head poof caught in her eye and had a cloudy spot/beginning of infection, and if you have a bunch hatch with too high humidity, superbooster in the water saves a LOT of chicks by staving off omphalitis, increasing feed absorption and helping expel excess water. But for something like Coccidia, or a worm load, SB is pretty useless and may possibly even contribute to gut damage.
Theoretically, it makes the intestines "leaky", and can improve nutrient absorption, which can be a very good thing for a stressed bird. But long term use maybe not so much, as a chicken with a perpetual leaky gut will have a drastically reduced lifespan. Liver failure happens from the constant bombardment of nutrients and toxins that is happening faster than normal. Super Booster is great for seeing birds through a glitch, a hump, I SWEAR by the stuff. But IMHO, there aren't any situations that call for it's regular and/or constant use. The cons outweigh the pros in birds I expect to live and produce up to 12 years or older.
P.S., Vet RX is essentially Vicks VapoRub with rosemary oil. It won't cure anything that's already taken hold, but it's good at providing short term relief. I recommend you make your own, it's cheaper and you can tweak the herb oils to better suit what you're using it for.