Chicken might have swallowed a coin!!!

[CityHenMama1313]

So, for the last 2 days I noticed she wasn't eating along with her other free range chicken friends. She was just sitting under the tree all by herself. So this morning we decided to pick her up and look to see if she possibly had anything stuck in her throat. She kept gagging so we felt along her neck and it feels like there's a coin in there. What do I do? I gave her some olive oil, but it didn't seem to help. The avian doctor wants to charge me $350 just for a visit and if there's a surgical procedure it will be $2,000. I don't have the means. Any suggestions? Or advice? Please.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens will swallow any items left around such as metal, glass, and other items, especially if they are shiny. The coin may get stuck in the gizzard if it passes through the crop. Some people will attempt crop surgery at home if there is an impaction, but it isn't recommended. There are some threads on here if you do a search at the top of the page for "crop surgery."

 

[CityHenMama1313]

Chickens will swallow any items left around such as metal,  glass, and other items, especially if they are shiny. The coin may get stuck in the gizzard if it passes through the crop. Some people will attempt crop surgery at home if there is an impaction, but it isn't recommended. There are some threads on here if you do a search at the top of the page for "crop surgery."

So, we plucked some of her feather around her neck, and we also looked inside her mouth and it looks like some type of growth. So I'm not sure what it is anymore. What antibiotic would you recommend to give to a chicken?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you see a tumor on the outside? What did you see inside her mouth? There are different diseases such as canker, wet fowl pox, and others that can cause abnormal tissue inside the beak and throat. Mareks disease and avian leukosis can cause tumors inside the crop and anywhere else inside or outside the body. There are medications for canker, but I can't recommend an antibiotic not knowing what is going on. Is a regular vet possible just to find out what it looks like?

 

[CityHenMama1313]

Can you see a tumor on the outside? What did you see inside her mouth? There are different diseases such as canker, wet fowl pox, and others that can cause abnormal tissue inside the beak and throat. Mareks disease and avian leukosis can cause tumors inside the crop and anywhere else inside or outside the body.  There are medications for canker, but I can't recommend an antibiotic not knowing what is going on. Is a regular  vet possible just to find out what it looks like?

No, no growth on the outside only the inside. She has a growth with white dots around it. I'm not able to take a picture since she moves quite a lot.
It's only in her right side, it's the size of a grape. She seems to be breathing fine and is active but after a while she will stopped and start kicking and scratching her neck.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oral Canker

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Oral Canker is a condition which can be found in a wide variety of birds and most commonly in pigeons.
Causes

It is caused by a motile protozoal parasite called Trichomonas gallinae.
This parasite can cause caseous lesions of the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus and in certain circumstances, further down the digestive tract. These lesions can become extremely extensive.
This causes the birds to stop eating and drinking, in severe cases the extensive nature of the lesions combined with not eating and drinking leads the chickens to die.
Diagnosis

Diagnosis is often based upon clinical signs but wet smears can be examined under the microscope to confirm clinical suspicions. Speak to your vet.

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Treatment

The treatment traditionally involved the use of a drug called Dimetridazole, however, this drug is no longer available or licensed for use in the UK.
The affected chicken in these photos was treated with Metronidazole, this is a UK licensed medication but is not used in poultry therefore it had to be prescribed under the rules of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate cascade. This also means that any eggs the chicken may lay during treatment and for a specified period after treatment would need to be discarded. Her eggs must never be sold for human consumption. The owner of the hen was extremely pleased with the outcome and has supplied us with plenty of photos to monitor the hen’s progress.

Metronidazole is sold as FishZole online, is available by prescription as Flagyl from a vet. Dosage is 250 mg orally for 5 days in a row. If the the lesion is a tumor, then I doubt if there is much you can do without a vet. Most people cannot spend a lot of money on surgery for a chicken.

 

[CityHenMama1313]

Eggcessive,
Thank you. I'll see if I can get some of that antibiotic for my hen. I appreaciate all of your help and providing me with such an article.
Does the canker release an unpleasant odor?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes others have described a bad odor with canker. A vet might be of help in identifying canker, and distinguish from a cyst or abscess.