I have a senior orpington hen, Bella. She will turn 11 next month but she's still very active (even laid a couple eggs last year). She got a big yellow gunk in her mouth for the first time mid-March. We noticed because her eye was closed on the side where the gunk was in her mouth. I thought it was wet fowl pox or canker. We took her to our local vet (who also specializes in farm animals). He removed the yellow gunk from her mouth. However, he was pretty rough with her and she clearly got into shock and became so lethargic we thought she wouldn't make it. We put her in our garage because it was still freezing outside at night and we didn't want her to spend much needed energy on staying warm. She was nearly limp and unresponsive for a couple days but she slowly started eating and drinking again with our help. After about a week she was back to her normal self.
We thought that would be the end of the problem, but the yellow gunk returned within a month. It was so big now she couldn't eat or drink anymore. She tried really hard, but all the food and water just fell out of her mouth. She had gotten quite thin already. I really didn't like the way our previous vet handled her, so I looked for an avian vet. We took her there, she handled her so much better and quickly removed the gunk within 10 seconds (the other vet took over 5 minutes). She gave her antibiotics directly onto the wound that was now in her mouth. She immediately got better and handled this vet visit way better. She ate and drank again right when we got home and was back to her normal self.
Fast forward 3 weeks later and it had returned once again. She could still eat and drink and was very active. Back to the avian vet. However this time she wasn't weakened like before and she struggled a bit when the vet tried to remove the gunk. She was again quite in shock and let her head fall limp in her crate after the vet was done. She got better a bit better after 15 minutes and after an hour she was able to stand again. She was back to normal the next day. That was only a few days ago, but I'm afraid it's gonna come back again. I don't want her to have to go through this every month.
She currently has a normal weight, she's still actively walking around all day, eating and drinking as usual (of course she's a bit slower due to her age). Her poops are normal. She is our only chicken because we won't be getting any new ones once she passes away. She lives with our flock of pigeons and they get along very well. None of my pigeons are showing any symptoms.
Is there anything I can do to prevent her from getting this yellow gunk (which I think is canker) in her mouth again every few weeks? I'm not sure how many more times she can handle a vet visit due to her age. She is otherwise doing very well for her age and I don't want to lose her over something like this. She's like a feathery family dog to us, she loves hanging out whenever we're outside and often waits for us at the door. She's so vocal and just a big sweetheart, she loves laying in my lap, making happy purring chicken noises as I pet her.
I attached a picture of the gunk the vet took out the second time.
We thought that would be the end of the problem, but the yellow gunk returned within a month. It was so big now she couldn't eat or drink anymore. She tried really hard, but all the food and water just fell out of her mouth. She had gotten quite thin already. I really didn't like the way our previous vet handled her, so I looked for an avian vet. We took her there, she handled her so much better and quickly removed the gunk within 10 seconds (the other vet took over 5 minutes). She gave her antibiotics directly onto the wound that was now in her mouth. She immediately got better and handled this vet visit way better. She ate and drank again right when we got home and was back to her normal self.
Fast forward 3 weeks later and it had returned once again. She could still eat and drink and was very active. Back to the avian vet. However this time she wasn't weakened like before and she struggled a bit when the vet tried to remove the gunk. She was again quite in shock and let her head fall limp in her crate after the vet was done. She got better a bit better after 15 minutes and after an hour she was able to stand again. She was back to normal the next day. That was only a few days ago, but I'm afraid it's gonna come back again. I don't want her to have to go through this every month.
She currently has a normal weight, she's still actively walking around all day, eating and drinking as usual (of course she's a bit slower due to her age). Her poops are normal. She is our only chicken because we won't be getting any new ones once she passes away. She lives with our flock of pigeons and they get along very well. None of my pigeons are showing any symptoms.
Is there anything I can do to prevent her from getting this yellow gunk (which I think is canker) in her mouth again every few weeks? I'm not sure how many more times she can handle a vet visit due to her age. She is otherwise doing very well for her age and I don't want to lose her over something like this. She's like a feathery family dog to us, she loves hanging out whenever we're outside and often waits for us at the door. She's so vocal and just a big sweetheart, she loves laying in my lap, making happy purring chicken noises as I pet her.
I attached a picture of the gunk the vet took out the second time.
