Canker help needed please! My beloved rooster needs help!

[CCinVT]

Dear chicken friends, My beloved rooster seems to have a canker. Last summer I was being put through my chicken paces... Mites,worms, bumblefoot... I also hatched too many roosters. It being my first time, and they were so cute I didn't think I had the heart to cull them, and my three boys were happy together...in conclusion I have been trying a rooster flock, and it has good days, and bad days...mostly bad days. Being pro-active this spring I did a poop test, and found worms. I've been worming everybody (hens and roosters) with safegaurd. Today I noticed on my rooster (a no name boy) had what looked like crust on the inside ridge of his beak. When I opened his mouth another small spot. I found it on two at first, and went to get fencing and section them off from the rest. Ive been going back and forth about culling so I thought maybe just these two...looked up canker on here, and then went back outside and started catching roosters. Separating the two I had seen first, then with DH (who has better eyes then me in tow)... Well better check the others so one by one I see they each have signs inside edges of their beaks...now I have 4 no names sectioned off, and So in conclusion I'm down to my original 3 (and on boy who has been on injury vacation in my bathroom) that I want to keep, and will cull the rest... My dear Abraham has what looks like the worst spot to me, 2 other keepers have no signs. It is further back on the roof his mouth, and is raised. Opposed to the others that just look like crust/not right spots. He otherwise seems fine. Is eatting and drinking, and I would not have noticed if I hadn't been checking everyone. So here is where I need feedback! I am thinking... Stop worm treatment, and wait the withdrawl period of all roos I have been hesitating to cull, and do the deed...for the keepers I have thyme extract on hand, and iodine... I have read thyme will work as well as metronidazole, but can't find oral dosing. I have also read that the copper sulfate can work as a treatment if given for 7 days instead of 4.... So my plan is to clean his spot with iodine, and using a qtip apply the thyme oil to the spot. Put oil and acv in his water and order the sulfate. Begin the sulfate treatment asap (I have to order it off Amazon), and also treat my hens, and 3 other keeper rooster as well just in case? They are due for their follow up safegaurd dose in 6 days. And I have probiotics on order (Big ole bird poultry probiotice) which they seem to love and has really helped since last summer, and I bought yogurt today. Compared to pictures I've found online I think I may be catching it Kindda early....I will try to get a picture tonight...has anyone treated canker successfully with the sulfate method or used thyme?
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker
https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/how-to-treat-canker-in-poultry.html
https://www.meyerhatchery.com/productinfo.a5w?prodID=ACS

 

[sourland]

Stress can be a factor in canker outbreaks - such as may be incurred in all rooster flocks, over crowding, extreme temperatures. Some have good results with copper sulfate, but I have always used metronidazole.

 

[Kiki]

O girl I've been wondering how you have been.
I am sorry your are stuck dealing with this nastiness.

You are going to want to use known working medicine and not rely on any herbal treatment for this.
http://www.allivet.com/p-2393-fish-zole-metronidazole.aspx

 

[featherhead007]

Grrrrr, I'm biting my beak right now! no opportunities for puns or insults lately!

 

[casportpony]

If it is canker I'm thinking it is probably better to start treatment asap and not wait a few day.
I believe you will need to treat each bird with one pill each day for 5 straight days.
Let me call the expert over real quick.

Canker treatment one 250mg Metronidazole pill per day for 5 days straight?
@casportpony

I guess I should start by saying that metronidazole and the other drugs like it are banned or use in food animals, so that is something to consider.

Many people do give a whole 250 mg tablet to full sized fowl, but I give it based on weight, and the amount I use is usually no more than 23 mg per pound of body weight. For canker or histomoniasis I give it once a day for five days, but for enteritis I give it twice a day for at least two weeks.

Does that help?

 

[CCinVT]

I like the way your husband thinks about them being your responsibility.


Can he not do the deed for you?


I am glad to hear the treatment you have been doing has worked for you!
Good job!

I would hold on to the fish zole in case you need it in the future.

He thinks he could do it, but has never killed anything for any reason. When were were talking it through we agreed I might just be the better option. He got nauseous when he was holding popcorn, and I cut out her bumblefoot!
I have handled them a great deal, and they are all friendly... I know I can hold them in my lap, and they will relax. I have sharp knives. He will be there with me. It will be hard, but a lesson worth learning. Since I raised them... I am the one who handles them... I am the one who can give them a death with dignity that I can feel good enough about. I don't think I could handle worrying about how they were treated if I just passed them or the hard parts off on some one else.

The fish Zola bottle says its good for 3 years. I'm hoping the reduction in flock with help everyone's (hens included) stress level, and I can refocus on getting a healthy flock back!

 

[CCinVT]

So just to follow up on this thread, and summarize how it concluded... With frequent water changes, dividing the roosters into smaller flocks. The thyme, iodine treatment seemed to resolve our canker issues. None of my remaining boys have had any signs of anything left or reoccurrence. The boys who had been separated also had theirs clear up without having to use the fishzole.

As far as culling them on our own it did not go well. In short I freaked when it didn't go as swiftly or calmly as I had hoped. When I freaked so did the rooster. Handed him over to DH who finished the task but not without difficulty. It was tramatic, and there was blood everywhere. We said we were sorry, and buried him in the back yard. I felt bad because he trusted me, and relaxed into my arms before we did the dead We are more devout vegetarians then ever before! That being said I think everyone should try to kill their own food. It was educational. Therefore I was left with 7 extra roosters. My husband & I both did not want to do that again. We found out that our local Avian rehabilitation center (Vermont institute of natural science) accepted rooster donations. They have veterinary quality resources and are able to use CO2, and do it quickly, and humanely. The roosters are then used to rehabilitate raptors. It is located close to us, and so my husband brought them there. It was a good option for people like us, and I can rest a little easier knowing they went to help other birds who need it. I can't expect a raptor to become vegetarian! I do support rehabilitating animals. So that was what we did. We are down to 4 roosters, and are integrating the one who has one eye with my old boy Abe to see how they do.
I don't like killing things, but nature would have had them kill each other if I hadn't done something. Maybe someday I will have a better set up, but for now we have a resource for when we are gifted with too many roosters. I will be able to make the decision sooner, and might not be so attached next time. Always another lesson to learn with these chickens! Now I gotta go make a post about chicken poop!!

 

[featherhead007]

And I'm out of ice cream!

 

[CCinVT]

O girl I've been wondering how you have been.
I am sorry your are stuck dealing with this nastiness.

You are going to want to use known working medicine and not rely on any herbal treatment for this.
http://www.allivet.com/p-2393-fish-zole-metronidazole.aspx

I thought I was doing Great! haha! I was on top of getting the poop tests done, and No mites, bumblefoot sucess, and the probiotics, and oyster shells my eggs were getting better the girls were getting nice feathers back! I have been going back and forth all day about the fish zole because i am worried i've been over treating them with medicine, and wiping out their systems with the safe gaurd... I was worried about creating super bugs/resistant strains.

Stress can be a factor in canker outbreaks - such as may be incurred in all rooster flocks, over crowding, extreme temperatures. Some have good results with copper sulfate, but I have always used metronidazole.

This rooster is definitely my prized boy, and I am thinking stress played a roll. I've never killed anything that was injured or ill so I was struggling. With Spring in the air, and the girls free ranging the roosters have been going nuts. Our property isn't big enough to put them someplace where they can't see the ladies. my 3 original boys did better by themselves.

@KikisGirls, and @sourland will the netronidazole for sure work compared to the copper sulfate is a maybe?? what about egg with drawl, and my worming. the boys have one more dose of safegaurd, and then my wait period, and one more dose... i'm going off of what I did last summer. And am I correct that I should treat the hens as well just in case?? I will try to check their mouths too, but didn't want to do it after handling the boys. They have been free ranging since spring has arrive though, an the boys have been trying to mate each other. I just want to get everyone healthy, an managed and then I will go back to all natural everything. I have to wait to cull the boys 10 days cause i wormed them right?? one bottle of the fish zole will be enough to treat my whole flock or just the few boys?

 

[Kiki]

There are some worms that do have to be treated for for multiple days in a row. They will be fine. Just treat one more time in ten days.