Ear Canal Infection Help?

[Breac]

I've certainly got an odd ailment on my hands, and I hope some more experienced BYC members could help enlighten me on this one.

Little Back story:

I currently have a 5-year-old Barred Rock rooster, Oreo. Oreo's been suffering from not only a pesky and hard-to-get-of case of lice, but he's been stumbling for years now as well, which I had attributed to Arthritis (More on that part later). Today, after finally becoming fed up with his massive infestation that wasn't really being affected by Pyrethrin, I finally broke out the 'Big Guns' and got some kitten size flea/tick ointment and put a tube on him. As I was holding him after applying the medicine, I noticed a bunch of the buggies trying to flee past his thick clump of ear-feathers (I don't know the proper term). I pulled back the ear-feathers in the hope of getting the bugs out of his ear canals when I noticed that the whole canal was plugged up with some yellowish gunk! Literally filled to the brim with yellow crusty gunk. I managed to gently pry the dry, outer plug out from the canal, but there was still a bunch of softer yellow gunk crammed in there. I checked the other canal and that one was plugged up too!

I managed to get the outer plugs out, which I assumed were hardened pus/infection balls (ugh!) but there was still a lot of junk in his canals. I'm super wary about just getting a tiny stick and trying to dig all the stuff out, but I really want to clean his ear canals out! I have a few specific questions I'm curious about, but any general knowledge of this topic would be a HUGE help!

1) What is the best way to clean his ear canals? Will a bit of mineral oil help?

2)Could his occasional stumbling be caused not by Arthritis, as I always assumed, but due to an inner ear infection messing with his balance?

3) If that's the case, could he be permanently cured?

4) Since I assume a one-time cleaning isn't enough, what the heck do I treat this with? What sort of dose?


A great big thanks to anyone who can help me figure out this very unusual situation!

 

[Breac]

Sorry to bump, but I could really use some advice on this one.

 

[kidcody]

When chickens have mites/lice they can enter the ear canal which thats what sound like what is going on. Chicken do have ear wax also. You did the right by trying to remove it, you need to remove as much as you can carefully. One of the sign of a ear infection is stumbling. Yes mineral oil can help but if the ears infected he needs to be put on antibiotics. You will need to clean out his ears daily until things start to clear up. I hope this helps.

 

[Breac]

Quote:
Thank you so much! Would you happen to know what sort of antibiotic he might need? I assume it would be one I'd have to administer directly into the canals (although I honestly have no real clue) rather than a simple oral antibiotic. Are there any easily obtainable brands/types I should look for?

 

[Breac]

Welp, Oreo's been separated from the rest and due to some time constraints, I couldn't get any medication today. I did gently flush out his ear canals with water using a small, specialized syringe. His canals are much cleaner and he seems fine for now, but I'll be getting the antibiotics anyway and keeping an eye on him.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
You dont need to give him antibiotics in this instance. The lice problem needs to be dealt with first. I recommend that you dust him with sevin dust thoroughly. You'll need to thoroughly dust his living quarters as well. Redust him and his living quarters again in 10 days to kill lice that have hatched since the intial dusting, effectively ending their lifecycle. For future reference on cleaning ears; remove debris from the ears using a Q-tip, you might have to pull off some of the cotton on the Q-tip for it to fit in the ear. Then use an eyedropper to put hydrogen peroxide in the ears, it'll bubble up, then clean with a Q-tip as best as you can. Then fill the ear with neosporin and leave it, do the same treatment to the other ear. This also works well if there is a respiratory problem but might require ear retreatment later down the road. That is when you'd use antibiotics for the respiratory issue. If it were mites in the ears, a few drops of vegetable oil can be used to suffocate them.