An anatomy question...ears

[fosterfarm]

Hi there,

We have a hen with an ear infection, and thanks to all of the handy information on this forum, we were able to search around and find out what sort of antibiotics would help. No thanks to any of the vets in our area, as they just laugh at the though of looking at a chicken! Terrible!

Anyway, we managed to get our hands on some ear drops, but we don't know were the opening of the ear is! Can someone tell us if the opening is on the top, bottom, or in the middle, or even at the back or front??? She has feathers over the one ear, and the infected one has a small bump on the middle that bleeds when she scratches at it. Its hard to tell where the ear hole is.

Any anatomy help is appreciated!

 

[Funky Feathers]

Ahh, you have come to the right person. Former Vet Tech here. Chickens' ears are fascinating. You know where the earlobe is, right? That fleshy white or blue or iridescent circular piece of skin? look above that, there is a tuft of fur. Move the fur out of the way and there is the hole! The hole is naturally covered with the fur, much like our nose hair protects our nose. The hole may be covered with a scab-pick it off. Then you can fit the end of a tuberculin (1cc) syringe in it (no needle) to pick out the crud/pus. Then mix warm water & peroxide and flush the hole out good (quick, hard pressure). Then wipe dry, and repeat twice daily. Oral or injectable antibiotics may be needed as well. Good luck.

 

[fosterfarm]

Oh thank you so much! We have been trying to treat her ear for some time, and we can't find any injectable antibiotics. We have water soluble pennicillin and otomax ear drops (given to us by a friend, she had it for her dog). Our girl has been staying with us, she's actually become a great house pet! LOL and we have brought her back from almost death twice. She now runs around and eats happily, but her one ear is still a problem. There is a lump in the middle of the ear (probably coming out of the ear hole you so nicely described) that bleeds sometimes when she scratches it. We are afraid to pick it off, although it used to be huge and came off by her scratching, and some help from us. Any advice you have for us so that we can safely do what you suggested without harming her, would be much appreciated.

Thanks again!

P.S. Too bad I hadn't found you earlier. She would have been much easier to treat when she was weak. Now when we try to get at her ears she protests quite well and shakes her head out of grasp. Its pretty funny. She has quite a personality. She even begs for food!

 

[Funky Feathers]

Hmmm, sounds interesting. PM me for my phone number, I'd love to talk about it.

 

[dacjohns]

fur?

 

[Funky Feathers]

Quote:
Yeah, it's a tuft of feathers (tiny) that looks like fur. I'll try to get a close-up pic and circle the area.