Innovative ways to get drugs down a fussy one?

Annagain

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I know it's been done before but we're really struggling with M now. He's getting wise to every trick we come up with! Has anyone got any bright ideas? He's on his 2nd lot of antibiotics and I think he's as fed up as we are. He's also on Danilon and he's never been keen on that so we're doing that separately so it doesn't put him off the antibiotic which is the most important thing to get down him.

So far we've tried:
Mashed banana
Grated apple
Mashed banana & grated apple (with and without cool mix)
Grated carrot
Cabbage leaves filled with fast fibre (like a Chinese lettuce roll - he's weird and would normally choose cabbage over anything else!)
Syrup sandwiches
Honey sandwiches
Marmite sandwiches
Cool mix and molasses (most successful but he's now wise to it)

Everything has worked to a degree, but he'll switch off to them after two or three attempts. The only thing that's working now is mixing everything with a small amount of molasses and a tiny handful of mix then continuously sprinkling fresh mix over the top, but it takes forever (an hour this morning!) and frankly, he could really do without the extra calories. He doesn't get fed at all in the summer usually. He's not supposed to have any sugar either as it gives him a terrible, itchy, scabby, rash but it's the lesser of two evils.

He's taking the Danilon ok as long as we feed it completely dry with cool mix and again, we have to keep adding more cool mix. He's trying to pick the mix out and leave the Danilon but if he does it for long enough it all goes.

Syringing it down him really isn't an attractive option. He's 17hh and usually a gentle giant, but worming is the one thing that turns him into a monster. He's incredibly suspicious of anything from the hand now.

We still have the best part of a week to go and it's driving me nuts! Injections are looking more likely I think as we really need to nail this infection.
 

peanut

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I know you've tried grated apple, but have you tried coring out the centre (also pears) and putting it in the middle?
 

milliepops

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I know you've tried grated apple, but have you tried coring out the centre (also pears) and putting it in the middle?

That's the only way I can get bute down my fusspot without syringing. Also coring out the centre of carrots (stick the core back in afterwards to plug the hole). i could get a sachet down with about 2 or 3 carrots :eek:
I have to syringe ABs, no other option as there's just too much powder. She's usually a hoover for food but is so suspicious. Lucky for me, the other one will eat anything.
 

Annagain

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I know you've tried grated apple, but have you tried coring out the centre (also pears) and putting it in the middle?

That's the only way I can get bute down my fusspot without syringing. Also coring out the centre of carrots (stick the core back in afterwards to plug the hole). i could get a sachet down with about 2 or 3 carrots :eek:
I have to syringe ABs, no other option as there's just too much powder. She's usually a hoover for food but is so suspicious. Lucky for me, the other one will eat anything.

No. This is going to sound really daft. I considered it but thought there's too much powder to get in there. It never occurred to me to do it in 3 or 4 goes. D'oh!

Yeah my other one will eat anything - he untied himself on Saturday and was tucking into his brother's Danilon quite happily while M looked on - normally M won't let him anywhere near his food!
 

Dusty M Yeti

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Baby food fruit/veg - particularly Ella's kitchen apple puree or carrot puree sachets. I can't syringe or feed powder to one of mine, but she'll eat anything out of the bowl once its mixed with the baby food :D
 

Rowreach

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Have you tried mixing the molasses with hot water and then stirring it into the cool mix? Then it's not so sticky but the powder holds to the mix and they can't pick out the rest and avoid it, and you won't be putting so many extra calories in either.
 

Annagain

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Have you tried mixing the molasses with hot water and then stirring it into the cool mix? Then it's not so sticky but the powder holds to the mix and they can't pick out the rest and avoid it, and you won't be putting so many extra calories in either.

Another one to try. Thanks!
 

Damnation

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I just inject. My mare can smell it at 50 paces and no matter what I do she throws her feed everywhere to find the "stuff".

At least with injections she may jig about a bit but I know she has all of the antibiotics in her system!
 

I.M.N.

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Cheap apple juice in the feed, about 1/3 to 1/2 a carton, got our very fussy one to eat antibiotics and danillon we'd tried everything before that. It had to be cheap though, better quality didn't work.
 

C1airey

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I feel your pain - we recently had a course of ABs and the only way I could get them in him was to stir them into a spoonful of treacle and syringe it in. I tried all sorts of goodies in the feed bowl, but to no avail. The ABs are really bitter-tasting (I tried a dab), so you need a very strong flavour to hide them.

Three weeks on and he is still suspicious of the feed bucket :(
 

Annagain

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Cheap apple juice in the feed, about 1/3 to 1/2 a carton, got our very fussy one to eat antibiotics and danillon we'd tried everything before that. It had to be cheap though, better quality didn't work.

I forgot to mention that one, already tried it. Worked once, but not the 2nd time!
 

Annagain

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I feel your pain - we recently had a course of ABs and the only way I could get them in him was to stir them into a spoonful of treacle and syringe it in. I tried all sorts of goodies in the feed bowl, but to no avail. The ABs are really bitter-tasting (I tried a dab), so you need a very strong flavour to hide them.

Three weeks on and he is still suspicious of the feed bucket :(

I did that too, I don't blame him for not wanting them to be honest!
 

conniegirl

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Mine will not eat any medication, believe me I've tried everything suggested on this post so far.

The only way I have managed to get drugs down him is by mixing them in with strawberry smooth yoghurt (absolutly no chunks in them) and syrynging them down his throat like a wormer.
It realy does work and by the end of his course of drugs he actualy started getting excited about the syringe coming out! for mine syringing apple juice just resulted in me being covered in apple juice! it needs to be thicker, but not so thick that the syringe is hard to squeeze. We only tried the strawberry one as it is the only thing i had in the fridge when a friend suggested yoghurt.
 
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mytwofriends

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Nothing helpful to add, OP, but I'm going to pinch some of these tips if you don't mind, as my arthritic oldie was doing brilliantly on turmeric for over a year and was as limber as a 12 year old. He suddenly decided it was the worst taste in the world and nothing has worked to persuade him to take it again. Syringing isn't an option!

Good luck, and I'll follow this thread to see which worked for you!
 

Illusion100

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Maybe try giving him a small handful of feed packed with garlic. His taste buds/sense of smell should then be overwhelmed/confused enough not to then smell/taste the meds in his 'proper' feed.

Then just prepare and present his feed as normal as you would every other day so he has no reason to be suspicious about it, even add a bit of garlic to that too if he's a slow eater or has a larger feed.

Sometimes they become are suspicious because subconciously your HR/breathing are slightly elevated (or other subtle changes they pick up on) so acting blase like you aren't trying to poison them can also be half the battle! :D

I did have one that would only eat meds if you smothered the feed in molasses and hand fed while telling him how amazing, wonderful and brave he was.... :rolleyes:
 

scotlass

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Mine will not eat any medication, believe me I've tried everything suggested on this post so far.

The only way I have managed to get drugs down him is by mixing them in with strawberry smooth yoghurt (absolutly no chunks in them) and syrynging them down his throat like a wormer.
It realy does work and by the end of his course of drugs he actualy started getting excited about the syringe coming out! for mine syringing apple juice just resulted in me being covered in apple juice! it needs to be thicker, but not so thick that the syringe is hard to squeeze. We only tried the strawberry one as it is the only thing i had in the fridge when a friend suggested yoghurt.

This ^
 

Summer pudding

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Chocolate spread sandwiches have been quite successful for me. Surprisingly he loves juicy satsumas, so they could be used as a disguise if your chap likes them. I found putting anything in my hand was regarded with suspician! GOOD LUCK.
 

Goldenstar

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Buy the antibiotic as a paste .
We have to do this for C he's a fussy eater and I won't do anything to upset his eating roultine so if he needs drugged he gets pastes .
 

soloequestrian

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I just had to get injectable antibiotics last time mine needed them - thankfully he barely notices the needle but you do have to be quite firm with it.
 

Procrastination

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This will sound odd and haven't tried it myself so no idea if it works but when I was having a similar issue somebody suggested custard powder to me! Mix the AB's with the powder and then add water to make a sort of custardy paste...could be a total flop but you never now, maybe try the paste without the ab's first to see if he likes it x
 
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