Fowl Cholera or just bad bullying?

[uisceros]

Hi all,

I have a girl who was going through a bad molt awhile ago, and noticed her pin feathers were being picked out. I tried to bring her inside but she freaked out so I left her with the flock hoping things would settle.

Apparently they did not. I checked her today and she has a huge swelling around her right ear. It’s hard and moveable. She also has bruises and swelling on her skin (with a bit of weeping).

I’m pretty sure it’s not fowl cholera since the swelling isn’t in her wattle (and only on one side), and she has a heathy appetite, but can someone reassure me please?! I don’t want my other birds to get sick.

Right now she’s separated in my basement. She’s around other birds (I have 2 month old babies down there), so she can hear them at least. When she gets better I’ll introduce them. I also gave her an antibiotic (contains Enrofloxacin and Doxycycline). Anything else I should do?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you check her ear canal to see if there is any drainage or gunk in it? I am not a vet, but it could be a tumor or just swelling from trauma. It is good that you separated her from the bullying, but if you could place her in a covered wire dog crate with food and water inside the coop with the others, to maintain her presence in the flock, then I would. Being out of the flock will make it hard to reintegrate her.

What is the makeup of your flock? How many, are there roosters, and how much room do they have? Are there more than one food/water location, what are you feeding, and do they get outside to free range some? Have you ever seen anything that looked like tumors or Mareks disease? It can be common for chickens to be picked on during a molt when they feel bad. Was she low in the pecking order, or having any behavior that attracted pecking?

I would feed her special, some wet Hugh protein flock raiser chicken feed, and some soft cooked egg or rinsed tuna for treats. If one particular bird or rooster has been picking on her, I would separate them or get rid of them. Some use pinless peeper on the bully to make it hard for them to take aim again other birds.

 

[uisceros]

Can you check her ear canal to see if there is any drainage or gunk in it? I am not a vet, but it could be a tumor or just swelling from trauma. It is good that you separated her from the bullying, but if you could place her in a covered wire dog crate with food and water inside the coop with the others, to maintain her presence in the flock, then I would. Being out of the flock will make it hard to reintegrate her.

What is the makeup of your flock? How many, are there roosters, and how much room do they have? Are there more than one food/water location, what are you feeding, and do they get outside to free range some? Have you ever seen anything that looked like tumors or Mareks disease? It can be common for chickens to be picked on during a molt when they feel bad. Was she low in the pecking order, or having any behavior that attracted pecking?

I would feed her special, some wet Hugh protein flock raiser chicken feed, and some soft cooked egg or rinsed tuna for treats. If one particular bird or rooster has been picking on her, I would separate them or get rid of them. Some use pinless peeper on the bully to make it hard for them to take aim again other birds.

She’s very much not a human-friendly chicken, so I tried but was unable to see in her ear canal. I’ll look again later. The good news is that just overnight the lump she has near her ear has gone down dramatically. It’s about half the size it was last night.

I actually do have a huge dog pen I use to integrate new birds. I’ll wait until I’m sure she’s okay and put her in that. It’s really cold here right now, so I’m hoping she can heal a bit before I put her back.

I have a 250 sq foot enclosed run. There are 20 girls and 3 roosters (I know the ratio isn’t great, but the last roo was a surprise - he’s a d’uccle silkie mix so teeny tiny, and doesn’t really try to go for the big girls). I will expand their run soon since I have the four babies to add in. They don’t free range due to a high level of predator activity. They eat Kalmbach feed (henhouse reserve, and either 16% all flock or 20% flock grower).

I do have Mareks in my flock - I lost a girl a year ago due to it (she was vaccinated), so I'm hyper aware of any symptoms. I don’t think that’s what’s happening here though.

She’s definitely either the lowest or close to the lowest in the pecking order (which was always odd to me since she’s a Jersey Giant, and theoretically the biggest). She’s also one of the roosters favorites.

I will wait until she’s feeling a little better, and put her back with the flock to see if I can find out who the bully is. I do have some pinless peepers (bought a few years ago when I was having feather pecking issues), so if I need to I can use them.

Thanks!!

 

[uisceros]

Even better, today the lump near her ear is basically gone. I’m hoping it was just some swelling from being pecked. I still have her separated in my basement until her skin bruising fades. Poor Judy! She’s had a hell of a month.