Lesion at rear of chicken

[Caro2]

Hi. I have never seen this before. There is a brown hole/lesion underneath the vent about 5cm diameter. The chook had the runs for 3days and was pecking at herself a little. She is eating and hasn't lost weight. It doesn't smell good. She is 12monts old. I have washed and disinfected the hole but I am worried it is gangrenous dermatitis. Has she pecked a hole in herself? Any thoughts and advice on treatment welcome

 

[aart]

Need good clear pics.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Agreed that a picture would be helpful. Wounds under the vent or a soiled vent area can attract pecking, flies, and maggot infestation. So keep the area clean, and use disinfectant (chlorhexidene, Vetericyn,) and apply some antibiotic ointment to the wound twice a day. If you have flies out now, be sure to look closely for maggots or fly strike.

 

[Caro2]

I attached a picture. It shows on my post. I will attach again.

 

[Eggcessive]

That looks pretty deep. I would bring her inside where it is warm and soak her in a warm shallow bath of Epsom salts or soapy water. Look for any maggots in the water and get as mush as you can off. If you have Vetericyn wound spray, chlorhexidene, or Betadine, and apply some. Dry her well, then apply some plain antibiotic ointment on the wound. Try to get her drinking fluids and offer some mushy wet chicken feed and egg.

 

[Caro2]

That looks pretty deep. I would bring her inside where it is warm and soak her in a warm shallow bath of Epsom salts or soapy water. Look for any maggots in the water and get as mush as you can off. If you have Vetericyn wound spray, chlorhexidene, or Betadine, and apply some. Dry her well, then apply some plain antibiotic ointment on the wound. Try to get her drinking fluids and offer some mushy wet chicken feed and egg.

Thanks to all the people who responded. It was late last night and I only had hydrogen peroxide (3%) to apply after washing her. She was very chirpy this morning, red cone, eating and both she and the other chickens left the hole alone. I just rewashed her tonight. The hole was dry and didn't smell, the red edges have gone down. I washed with sterile saline solution after soap and water and applied an antibiotic called sodium fumigate. Thanks for the pointer on maggots, I live in Australia. I am surprised there weren't any in the wound. Cant believe it all happened in three days. I will keep washing and cleaning nightly until it is sealed.

 

[Eggcessive]

So glad that you didn’t see maggots. Peroxide can prevent healing if used repeatedly, so I would continue to disinfect it and Chlorhexidene or povidone iodine are very good. I am not familiar with your antibiotic. Good luck, and I hope that she heals soon. I would watch out when she is back with others, so that she doesn’t get picked on.

 

[Caro2]

Hi. I have never seen this before. There is a brown hole/lesion underneath the vent about 5cm diameter. The chook had the runs for 3days and was pecking at herself a little. She is eating and hasn't lost weight. It doesn't smell good. She is 12monts old. I have washed and disinfected the hole but I am worried it is gangrenous dermatitis. Has she pecked a hole in herself? Any thoughts and advice on treatment welcome

Hi. I am replying to myself. I wanted to follow up on what happened to my chook because I learnt so much. I wish I had taken photos. After four days of no healing and having a dark brown thick dry layer on the wound I decided to read some papers in a nurse wound healing course. I found pictures of people with wounds that matched my chooks. The picture I posted was moist Necrotic tissue which can cause a physical impediment to healing. When I treated and cleaned the tissue it dried and formed a seal called an Eschar. It had to be removed to allow new tissue to form and cover the wound bed. After another week I got the courage to remove the Eschar using sterilised surgical scissors (at night chook upside down, no stress for the bird, lots for me) I cut around the edge of the hole (one of the recommended methods). The training manual said no antiseptic washes just sterilised water cleaning and antibiotic cream. Three days after the removal the hole was closed over. End of week the wound was gone. The infection had started creeping under the healthy skin but went in a couple of days once the Eschar had been removed. There are lots of sites showing the difference between a scab and an Eschar. They are very different, dont cut away a scab!. Anyway, I hope this may help someone.

 

[WalkAwhilefarm]

Did you figure out the cause? I have a Tom turkey that this type of spots have shown up on him. They’re on one wing and on both sides of tail bone. I have no clue what’s caused this. He‘s eating and fat and healthy other then these lesion.