hi folks -- one of my ladies has a hole in her beak which I just noticed the other day. I am 75% sure it's growing, and I'm worried. I'm attaching a picture. It is a fairly smooth hole and so it doesn't really look like a single trauma to me; rather, it looks like a hole that is growing larger. It could be rubbing, but I don't know what she could be rubbing against (although there are of course plenty of possibilities).
I put some Rooster Booster wound spray (which is mostly tea tree oil) on it today, and she didn't really like that, but she didn't seem in pain. I haven't tried Blu-Kote or other antifungals/antiseptics.
In the attached photo you can clearly see the outer layer of beak, the inner layer, and then towards the head, a yellowish patch that looks like it's growing underneath. I don't know whether that is a normal layer of growth (perhaps a flesh layer under the beak) or maybe some kind of fungus or other growth. I haven't tried to check it out any more than just looking at it.
Any thoughts? Have you seen this before? She seems otherwise fit as a fiddle, and happy, and is by far the most reliable of my hens in terms of eggs.
One more piece of data: A couple weeks ago she was very lackadaisical, and looked really unwell; I gave her Corid (amprolium) in the water for a few days, because I'd had another case of the same last year that cleared up quickly with Corid. She seemed back to normal the next day, so I haven't worried about it since.
thanks!
I put some Rooster Booster wound spray (which is mostly tea tree oil) on it today, and she didn't really like that, but she didn't seem in pain. I haven't tried Blu-Kote or other antifungals/antiseptics.
In the attached photo you can clearly see the outer layer of beak, the inner layer, and then towards the head, a yellowish patch that looks like it's growing underneath. I don't know whether that is a normal layer of growth (perhaps a flesh layer under the beak) or maybe some kind of fungus or other growth. I haven't tried to check it out any more than just looking at it.
Any thoughts? Have you seen this before? She seems otherwise fit as a fiddle, and happy, and is by far the most reliable of my hens in terms of eggs.
One more piece of data: A couple weeks ago she was very lackadaisical, and looked really unwell; I gave her Corid (amprolium) in the water for a few days, because I'd had another case of the same last year that cleared up quickly with Corid. She seemed back to normal the next day, so I haven't worried about it since.
thanks!
