Crusty crusty chicken nostril help!

[stray chickens]

I am VERY new to chickens... I have a chicken that had a huge (like 2 MM by 1 MM) mass of crusty stuff in her left nostril. (I had a stray cat that had kittens so I didn't look her over really well the last few days... just made sure she had clean water and food as she's been recooperating from lethargy and what I now think is bumblefoot from looking in this forum... in my "hospital ward" in the garage.) I saw the mass sticking out of her nostril and put a towel over her eyes and removed it. Now her nostril is HUGE! It didn't seem to hurt and she just looked at me but it was massive and a little yellow drainage from the end sicking in her nose. I looked at the other side and there is a smaller one there too but she wouldn't let me near that one. I put some water down and she drank but I don't know what to do. I rescued these chickens when a neighbor moved off and left a hen with a bunch of chicks in a hen box nailed to the side of his house. So I really know nothing about them. Another one of her house mates is suffering from lethargy too... but seems to be able to stand now and will peck at food. Her nostrils seem a little blocked but I don't know how to clean them. Can someone help me?

 

[AndreaS]

Hi!

I am nowhere close to being an expert, but i can guide you a little and hopefully someone else will chime in. I know how frustrating it is to post an emergency and not get an answer. Does your chicken have any signs of a respiratory illness? Do you see any small bubbles in her eyes? is her face swollen? hold her chest to your ear....do you hear any crackling? You may have to wait until she is going to sleep to be able to notice these symptoms. Also, have you seen any sneezing? These are often indications of respiratory issues in chickens...my understanding is that sometimes they can builld immunity and fight them off, and sometimes they need an antibiotic. Either way, they will always be carriers for whatever the issue is, even if they fight it off. Some people choose to cull any bird that has a respiratory issue. Because my flock is a pet one, and i am not selling eggs/breeding or showing, i would personally prefer to try and help them fight it off.

As for cleaning the nostril. There is a product that is called VetRX that i have used with much success when one of my girls had a respiratory issue. It is a natural blend of oils, much like Vicks Vapor Rub for people. You can buy it at pet stores and at feed stores sometimes. They make one just for poultry, but any VetRX will work. You heat the bottle in a cup of hot water until the oil is warm, and then mix a fewdrops of warm oil with a little of the warm water. Let it cool until it is confortable, and, using a new q-tip for each nostril, and for each bird, swab the nostril. You can also but a few drops under their wings where they lay their heads to sleep. The vapors will help them breathe.

I saved a link for a great thread on here and I will share it with you. ThreeHorses shared her approach for treating respiratory issues, and it worked great for me.

One of my chickens was sneezing, had some nasal crusting/discharge and bubbles in her eye. I decided to try and treat my whole flock with things to boost their immune systems prior to treating with antibiotics. Every morning i gave my girls a scrambled egg (protein, and they LOVE it) with a small amount of cod liver oil (Vit A-good for respiratory issues) and probios probiotic powder mixed in (you can get this at a feed store). In their water durning the day they got 1 teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar per gallon of water (Must be non-pasturized, you need the bacteria in it). At night, I would warm the VetRX and use it under all of their wings, and wipe the affected chickens nostrils. I also would give them all 2 drops of poly-vi-sol baby vitamins WITHOUT IRON dribbled along their beaks before bed, they hate the taste of the stuff, so you really have to hold them. I drizzle it along the beak so they get it when they open their beak, i am too scared to try and drop it down their throats because they can aspirate.

My plan was to try this for a week, and then do antibiotics on the sick one if they did not get better. Within three days i saw a huge difference in the sick bird, and after a week i weaned them slowley from all of the vitamins/supplements. Now, i give them the egg/cod liver oil/probios concoction once of twice a week just as a boost.

As for antibiotics, i had purchased duramycin-10 to mix in their water if the whole flock needed it, and Tylan-50 injectable and ,22 gauge needles if i only needed to treat the sick one. I actually never used any of these items, as i prefer not to use antibiotics if i don't have to. So far, so good!

Even if it is not a respiratory issue, this treatment will boost their immune systems all around, and could not hurt. If the birds were deserted, they may have been malnourished as well. I would make sure they have a very high quality feed and wholesome treats like the scrambled egg and a little yogurt.

I hope this helps and i wish you luck! It was very good of you to rescue your neighbors birds!

Here is the link where i got my information. Very, very good advice!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2788452

Andrea

 

[stray chickens]

Thanks so much. It kinda freaked me out when I saw it... didn't know if this is a growth or what! I will try that and see. Many helpful hints. These are just pets. But I want to take care of them!

 

[AndreaS]

Quote:
No problem. I really would go ahead and treat all of them with the egg/cod liver oil/probios mixture, and give them all organic apple cider vinegar in their water and drops of poly-vi-sol in the evening. If they have been lethargic, the extra nutrition is bound to help. Let me know how it goes! if the ones with crusty nostrils have any other symptoms you may have to go ahead and do an antibiotic, but let us know first. I have a link for a great step by step article saved on how to give injections to chickens. From what i have read on here, the Tylan-50 injectable is more effective than the duramycin, since you can't be sure they are drinking enough of it.

If you have to pull off any more crust, i would be sure to soak it with something warm first so you don't tear any skin/membrane...

You didn't happen to get pictures of the mass, did you?

Have you noticed any other symptoms?

 

[chickentaster]

go to the ****n vet

 

[nomoneycanrepla]

go to the ****n vet

 

[nomoneycanrepla]

May u never have a child or someone u care about sick and in need of answers. Just a hunch, u don't wear a mask either do u?

 

[Valeriek712]

go to the ****n vet

No need to be rude !!! Seriously , in some towns there aren’t any avian vets… you should be ashamed to talk like that !!!!

 

[Karenfluff]

May u never have a child or someone u care about sick and in need of answers. Just a hunch, u don't wear a mask either do u?

Hahahaha it’s a chicken for goodness sake. Take it down lady. Half of the avian vets don’t know what the heck is wrong with the chickens anyhow (because birds are amazing at hiding symptoms) and the person spends hundreds of dollars to be told it’s marecks when it’s not. And apparently YOURE not very educated because masks don’t work. Get over yourself Karen