Case of Canker? How Best to Treat? If not canker, then what?

[Chicken Keith]

Well, I see no improvement. The canker in the throat seems to have grown. I continue to administer an oral dose of Tylan 200 each night, of about 1mg.

The rodonizole arrived in the mail today so I put that in his drinking water tonight for the morning, and have discarded the iodine laden water from today. (Iodine=> pox, Rodonizole => canker) I've gone back and forth in my head, is this wet pox or is this canker? You all don't seem to think this is wet pox, and the black lesions on the comb seemed to be a dead ringer for pox to me. So treating this as if it's canker, the bird is just miserable. I even fed him today a Rickett's diet, made of raw oatmeal, boiled egg yolk, cod liver oil, sugar free yogurt grated apple and . He seems to have eaten a little of it today and I felt he finally got some food in his crop. Just a little. But his keel breastbone is sharp as a sword blade, poor thing. Despite his muscles atrophying due to severe malnutrition, he still has the strength to fly up on a roost 3 feet high at night. I don't really have the ability to care for him inside, and it doesn't get very cold at night, maybe 60F.

But he has had this problem for easily a month now, and still no sign of improvement. I hate for the animal to suffer and I am tempted to euthanize him, but I figure as long as he can roost at night, at least give him a chance to get well. I'm torn between him suffering in pain, and the fact he may be improving. We're just not our of the woods yet. But if we're on our way out of the woods I would feel horrible putting him down. Man this sucks. I've NEVER EVER had sick birds. In January, a Maran's breeder from North Georgia and I traded birds. Ever since I got one of his birds I've seen a respiratory disease among my peas and canker, now with this rooster. GRRRR.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry. If you euthanize him, I would try to get a diagnosis by having a necropsy done. Yes, it is tough when someone trades or sells you a bird who is a carrier of a contagious disease. Since I have been reading this forum and helping people with diseases, I don’t think I could ever buy birds from anyone. Here is a link for state poultry vets and labs where to get a necropsy, but the body has to be kept refigerated and cold, but not frozen:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[ChickNanny13]

Never an easy decision to make

 

[Banditschickens]

 

[Chicken Keith]

If you euthanize him, I would try to get a diagnosis by having a necropsy done.

In process of that now. The vet euthanized my boy on Thurs Apr 23, I had grown a little attached to him by trying to nurse him back to health. But he continued to worsen, emaciated, no longer had the muscle strength to fly on the roost at night. Here are pics, and I'm sorry they're SO GROSS, but here goes:

She removed the necrotic tissue which appeared to be a scab in the roof of the birds mouth.

According to the vet, the cock had a pus pocket starting in the roof of the mouth extending into the ear and into part of the brain. The pain this creature must have endured is beyond my imagination. I really had no idea what caused this, but the vet seemed to think it was an injury. She's still testing for a pox of some sort. Back around March 13th, I probed into the mouth with a metal rod with no sharp edges to try to remove the cheesy substance that I thought was canker. A little blood was drawn but I did not puncture his mouth roof, I know for a fact. I discovered this on or around March 10th, quarantined him March 11th. I had him euthanized April 24th. Finally here is the photo of the cavity in the roof of his mouth. What in Odin's name caused this???

 

[Eggcessive]

Is the vet going to give you a final report on what disease he had? Thanks for letting us know the preliminary results. He was very sick, and you did a kind thing to euthanize him.

 

[Chicken Keith]

Is the vet going to give you a final report on what disease he had?

I believe that is the case and I hope so. This all is just so bizarre and now that I think of it, what was actually a canker, appears to be a sore in the roof of his mouth that became infected and the sore oozed cheese that pushed down on his tongue muscle forcing it to extend forward into the front of his beak, almost sticking out of his beak. She did say he had mites in his tail area (near the oil gland) which explains the darkness there, and alluded to scaley leg. I do not think he caught any of these diseases from the new bird as he exhibits none of these symptoms. I'm going to stop by the lab tomorrow (took off work) and try to speak to the vet. Her name is Dr. Tami Kelly and is one of the premier veterinary scientists of poultry in Alabama. This state's largest agri business industry is poultry (meat chickens) so I'm betting she has some answers.

 

[micstrachan]

So sorry about your rooster and thank you for sharing the results.

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[Chicken Keith]

So sorry about your rooster and thank you for sharing the results.

Thank you. This ordeal has caused me to examine NPIP. With what happened to my rooster, MG is being suspected. I'm sure more to follow, but man I sure don't want MG, as it'll force me to destroy my entire flock.