Ear/Sinus Infection?

[jwcarlson]

Forgot to mention the ear canker. Sorry for that, yes, I actually read that article when originally looking into what might be wrong with her. I wish it were easier to see down into her ears. I'm starting to think that I should be doing peroxide on her ears daily. Or maybe the ointment I'm putting on her ears every day is what's causing the "crust"? I just don't want them to plug off again like they were when I first found she was sick. She had marble sized hard chunks in each ear. Right now they seem open except crustiness at the openings.

Maybe I'll skip all ointments tonight and for a couple days and see what happens. I could easily be doing more harm than good at this point. I haven't noticed wheezing the last couple of days, but I'm also not towel wrapping her anymore as I'm not feeding her anything. Which is when I'd normally hear it.

 

[jwcarlson]

An update...

I skipped ointments for half a day and she woke up with eyes crusted completely shut. So I kept up with the ointments and started putting a little peroxide in her ears twice a day. And finally I think it started making a difference. I skipped everything tonight as she was sleeping. So will see how it looks in the morning.
For a few days now she has also been on acidified copper sulfate water. I believe this is also helping. Poor girl is very much done being stuck in her dog pen. She really wants back with the flock. Trying to run out now when I open her pen. I let her out today in a bigger pen so she could scratch around. She seemed happy other than she still couldn't get back with her flock.

I know she still looks rough, but I believe her swelling is down a decent amount. The holes for her ears are drastically reduced. I have been more or less waiting to finally see enough that would push me to euthanize her. But now I think she's tipped the scales into the more likely to recover camp possibly. She still has that swollen caveman brow. She has, so far, not opened any fresh scratches on her head for a few days. Which is also a pretty big development as it seemed like she was getting after her face pretty bad for awhile.

Everytime I feel like she's made progress in the past, I have been wrong. Weather is getting really nice here considering the time of year. So that might be helping also. Fingers crossed!

 

[Ponypoor]

An update...

I skipped ointments for half a day and she woke up with eyes crusted completely shut. So I kept up with the ointments and started putting a little peroxide in her ears twice a day. And finally I think it started making a difference. I skipped everything tonight as she was sleeping. So will see how it looks in the morning.
For a few days now she has also been on acidified copper sulfate water. I believe this is also helping. Poor girl is very much done being stuck in her dog pen. She really wants back with the flock. Trying to run out now when I open her pen. I let her out today in a bigger pen so she could scratch around. She seemed happy other than she still couldn't get back with her flock.

I know she still looks rough, but I believe her swelling is down a decent amount. The holes for her ears are drastically reduced. I have been more or less waiting to finally see enough that would push me to euthanize her. But now I think she's tipped the scales into the more likely to recover camp possibly. She still has that swollen caveman brow. She has, so far, not opened any fresh scratches on her head for a few days. Which is also a pretty big development as it seemed like she was getting after her face pretty bad for awhile.

Everytime I feel like she's made progress in the past, I have been wrong. Weather is getting really nice here considering the time of year. So that might be helping also. Fingers crossed!

Well I sure hope she does turn around, she’s been through a lot and so have you.

 

[jwcarlson]

There is, unfortunately still "cheese" in her ears. But she doesn't have basically any of the caking she was having before (that was leaking out each night/day and leaving crust over her ears. There might still be a little, but it's like 5% of what it was, if that.

I am really at a loss with the cheese.

I'd never be able to get a picture of it, but it seems like it is coming up from below. I believe that I can see the part labeled "oval window". This is the right ear according to the website. I assume the round window is basically the ear lobe. The cheese being produced seems to be from the cochlea basically right inside the ear lobe and straight down. I am still doing a little hydrogen peroxide twice a day, so maybe it's helping push stuff up? What should I do with it? I have a tiny scoop tool that I'm getting the loose stuff out with, but I don't know if that's the right move. I will say that the peroxide isn't foaming/fizzing as much as it first did. The first time I put it into her ear it fizzed so much that it actually started bubbling out of her eye which I'm sure was a very unpleasant situation for her. I felt terrible.

It feels like part of the problem might just be that she doesn't have a normal drainage path down into her throat. Assuming their ear/sinus plumbing is remotely similar to ours. I know it's different, but I'm guessing there's a pathway down to the slit in the back of their throat.

Part of me wants to try to "flush" that path down to her mouth from her ear. Part of me wants to just toss her back in with the flock and see what happens.

To be clear, I'm just venting a bit, not expecting answers from anyone. I'm sure I'll just keep on peroxiding her and see what happens. Still have acidified copper sulfate in her water

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

What a sweet little fighter/survivor! She sure has a will to live. I'm rooting for her and check your updates. Hoping this spring you send a Pic of her with the flock free ranging in the sun!

 

[Ponypoor]

There is, unfortunately still "cheese" in her ears. But she doesn't have basically any of the caking she was having before (that was leaking out each night/day and leaving crust over her ears. There might still be a little, but it's like 5% of what it was, if that.

I am really at a loss with the cheese.

I'd never be able to get a picture of it, but it seems like it is coming up from below. I believe that I can see the part labeled "oval window". This is the right ear according to the website. I assume the round window is basically the ear lobe. The cheese being produced seems to be from the cochlea basically right inside the ear lobe and straight down. I am still doing a little hydrogen peroxide twice a day, so maybe it's helping push stuff up? What should I do with it? I have a tiny scoop tool that I'm getting the loose stuff out with, but I don't know if that's the right move. I will say that the peroxide isn't foaming/fizzing as much as it first did. The first time I put it into her ear it fizzed so much that it actually started bubbling out of her eye which I'm sure was a very unpleasant situation for her. I felt terrible.

It feels like part of the problem might just be that she doesn't have a normal drainage path down into her throat. Assuming their ear/sinus plumbing is remotely similar to ours. I know it's different, but I'm guessing there's a pathway down to the slit in the back of their throat.

Part of me wants to try to "flush" that path down to her mouth from her ear. Part of me wants to just toss her back in with the flock and see what happens.

To be clear, I'm just venting a bit, not expecting answers from anyone. I'm sure I'll just keep on peroxiding her and see what happens. Still have acidified copper sulfate in her water

I feel your frustration. I have been fighting crop stasis issues in a few of my chooks since last summer, lost 2 so far, and another of my hens is on the brink of passing. If she lives to morning I will be surprised. Is it Mareks? I guess I can send the next one that passes to the university here to be tested. But not much I can do if it is.

For your hen I would not flush or push anything down her ear, that’s just a recipe for all sorts of terrible things. If you suspect her life is suffering maybe best to euthanize her. But only you can make that decision. Tough to know what to do sometimes.