Chunky, smelly, yellow substance obstructing nostril

[five t guineas]

I have a nine year old silky hen who has been producing a terrible substance in her nostril for about a month. It is just on the left side. It is crusty and hard on the outside but chunky like cottage cheese on the inside. It is yellow and smells absolutely horrible! It also seems to be eating away at her nostril. I pick out what I can every morning and apply Neosporin. When I get a really big chunk it seems to tear the nostril and there is some bleeding. Regardless of how much I remove, there is more the next day. She does have slightly labored breathing, but seems normal other than that. She does share a coop with seven other chickens, and other than molting at a terrible time of year they are all fine. If anyone has any idea what this could be, please let me know.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like it could be canker. Could you post a picture? Have you looked inside at the roof of her beak? If it is canker, there may be yellow cheesy plaques inside the beak. Fish Zole (Flagyl, Metronadizole) is the treatment. For a silkie the dosage would probably be a lot less than the 250mg daily for 5 days that standard size chickens get. Here is some info and a link for fish zole: http://www.revivalanimal.com/Fish-and-Bird-Antibiotics.html


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.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I'm not sure what is wrong.

You should post here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

Best of luck!

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

I'm sorry to hear about your Silkie! I'm not quite sure what is wrong, either. Definitely post in the Emergencies section.

Good luck!

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

I'm sorry about your Silkie.

Hopefully, members in the Emergencies section of the forum can help.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

I agree with Eggcessive here. Sounds like Canker. I hope you can get her treated and healed soon.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Hope your chicken recovers.

 

[drumstick diva]

Hope your girl will get the attention she needs

 

[five t guineas]

I looked in little Francis' mouth this morning, and everything looked great. Sadly I lost a few chickens over the years to canker; just didn't know what it was. Now I know; thanks for that info. I did remove a chunk this morning, and will be taking it to the vet today to see if it is fungal or bacterial. Thanks for everyone's help. I will report whatever I find out, because a few other people on Backyard chickens have had the same problem. I just haven't been able to find out if and how they resolved it.

 

[sunflour]

Hope your chicken recovers.

Welcome.