Brahma with cheesy lesions in mouth (already been to the vet!)! Seeking help from someone with experience!

[Gatorgal98]

Hi! This is my first post. I've done lots of research and people don't follow up with their results so I don't know what helped.
Anyway. 5 year old Brahma hen with cheesy, fishy lesions in mouth. Half of face swollen, eye mostly shut. She has been struggling with this for almost 3 weeks. Been to the vet, she didn't know what it was, looked under a microscope and only saw bacteria. No protozoa so she ruled out canker. I mentioned wet pox, but she said she didn't think so because there were no other lesions on her face or comb (that's what I think it is). She already finished 2 weeks of antibiotics and didn't help. Scraping it off helped with smell, but it's growing back and stinking again. Here are pics of her face, and also the cheesy stuff that was scraped off. I'm going to list symptoms below...
-Swollen face and eye
-Trouble eating and drinking. looks like she is "pretending" to eat, not really trying that hard. Pecks at her water.
-shaking head
-drooling
-acting pretty normal otherwise
-have her inside and comfy
-giving her wet food which helps a little
-vet scraped off the cheesy stuff which helped, now it's growing back and stinking again. Neck feathers wet.
-eyes, ears look clear, no respiratory issues
-she was outside for the day and when we brought her back in it was bloody. Maybe she scratched it, or the others bullied her..

Please Let me know if you have had this exact thing, and what helped, and what the outcome was!!
Thank you!!

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like canker, a protozoan infection, carried by pigeons. It smells bad and is yellow and cheesy. I don’t know why the vet could not diagnose it. It might indeed be something else, such as oral cancer, but I would treat for possible canker. Wet pox doesn’t have a bad odor. Metronidazole is treatment for canker, but ronidazole may alao be used. Some use acidified copper sulfate in the water 1/4 tsp per gallon of water for 5-7 days to treat it. It can also be given for 3 days a month at the same dosage, to prevent the others from getting it. Here is where to find medications:
https://jedds.com/products/metronid...zqYUdKIvpxlPO1i2yLFDmkQB8rFsij5HJalj69ofwWXJT

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/acidified_copper_sulfate.html

Waterers and feeders should be disinfected and rinsed. The chicken needs to be isolated away from others so they don’t get it.

Canker may affect the tongue and inside of the beak, the esophagus, and crop causing inability to eat or digest food. It also may suffocate a chicken if the canker blocks off the airway. You can get metronidazole from pigeon supply companies online.

 

[Gatorgal98]

It sounds like canker, a protozoan infection, carried by pigeons. It smells bad and is yellow and cheesy. I don’t know why the vet could not diagnose it. It might indeed be something else, such as oral cancer, but I would treat for possible canker. Wet pox doesn’t have a bad odor. Metronidazole is treatment for canker, but ronidazole may alao be used. Some use acidified copper sulfate in the water 1/4 tsp per gallon of water for 5-7 days to treat it. It can also be given for 3 days a month at the same dosage, to prevent the others from getting it. Here is where to find medications:
https://jedds.com/products/metronid...zqYUdKIvpxlPO1i2yLFDmkQB8rFsij5HJalj69ofwWXJT

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/acidified_copper_sulfate.html

Waterers and feeders should be disinfected and rinsed. The chicken needs to be isolated away from others so they don’t get it.

Canker may affect the tongue and inside of the beak, the esophagus, and crop causing inability to eat or digest food. It also may suffocate a chicken if the canker blocks off the airway. You can get metronidazole from pigeon supply companies online.

Thank you! She said she didn't see protozoa under the microscope, only bacteria!?

 

[dawg53]

Thank you! She said she didn't see protozoa under the microscope, only bacteria!?

It would be best to use Acidified Copper Sulfate since it has antibacterial properties. You have nothing to lose, only your sick Brahma.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6717487/

Here's how to use it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/canker-or-fowlpox.1648534/#post-28263234

 

[Gatorgal98]

It would be best to use Acidified Copper Sulfate since it has antibacterial properties. You have nothing to lose, only your sick Brahma.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6717487/

Here's how to use it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/canker-or-fowlpox.1648534/#post-28263234

Thank you, I have it ordered and will take 3 days. I pray she'll hang on!

 

[SnackMeat]

While I do not have direct experience using this on chickens, I do with dogs and humans. I would (while waiting for medicine) make a paste from tumeric powder and include it in their food and water. If there are lesions away from the nostrils, I would probably do coconut oil and tumeric. But around the nostrils (still leave a little bit of distance) probably just water and tumeric.