gunky ears

[Mykee]

My rooster has yellow gunk caked in and around his ears and he shakes his head frequently. He has had this for a ling time, but it seems to recently have gotten worse. Could this be lice? I can post pictures in a day or two if needed.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

Sure sounds like some kind of bug. Do you have any pyrethrin or ivermectin to try.

 

[terryg]

Chickens do get ear infections, which can be treated with antibiotics.

 

[Mykee]

I don't think it would be an infection, because he has had it for at least a year. About the ivermectin, would the horse paste work, and how much should I give?

 

[dawg53]

I don't think it would be an infection, because he has had it for at least a year. About the ivermectin, would the horse paste work, and how much should I give?

There could be 2 reasons your roo has yellow gunk in his ears. Ear mites or a respiratory infection. Gather up the following items you will need to clean and clear his ears: Eyedropper, neosporin, q-tips, tweezers, paper towels, a cup of warm water and hydrogen peroxide.
Tie your roo's legs together (not too tight,) then wrap an old towel around him snuggly. This will prevent him from squirming and flapping his wings when you lay him down on his sides.
It doesnt matter which ear you start on, he should be laying on one side. Take a q-tip and dip it in the water and clean the outside of his ear first, use as many q-tips as needed. The warm water softens the gunk and makes it easier to remove. Use a paper towel to clean around the area if necessary. There will be feathers covering his ear and it might be tough to see in the ear canal. You have to remove a little bit of the cotton from the tip of the q-tip to make it fit in the ear canal. Insert the q-tip slowly and gently into the canal and try to extract gunk...DONT go deep into the canal. Gently use tweezers to remove hardened gunk.
Grab your eyedropper and suck up some hydrogen peroxide, fill the ear canal with it. It will bubble up and loosen gunk free, this is normal.
Wait about a minute. Then remove abit of cotton from the tip of the q-tip (like before) and slowly and gently clean out the canal of gunk and the hydrogen peroxide, use as many q-tips as needed. Again, DONT go deep into the canal. After you're done, the ear will be clean.
Next, grab the neosporin and stick the tip gently into the canal and fill it up to the top til it comes out the ear. Do it slowly, you dont want the ointment spreading everywhere outside the ear. Now you are done with that ear. Flip your roo over and repeat this procedure for the other ear. Once your completed, remove the towel and untie his his legs and let him go about his business. He might shake his head some because he's not used to having his ears packed with ointment. But he'll be ok.
If there are mites, you should see tiny black or red specks on your q-tips or even see them in the ear itself. The neosporin will smother them if they're deep in the canal. You will have to repeat this procedure in 10 days if in fact it's mites.
If you didnt see mites, it could be a respiratory issue even though there wernt any other symptoms. Undue stress could set off other symptoms such as wheezing, runny nostrils, gurgling, swollen eyes etc...in which case you could seperate him and treat him with tylan.
You would also most likely have to repeat cleaning his ears out again a few months later, repeating the procedure I mentioned, IF it's a respiratory problem.
Keep in mind that ivermectin is a wormer, its secondary benefit is a miteacide. It would be ineffective if it's a respiratory issue you're dealing with in your roo.

 

[terryg]

Dawg53 - thanks for that info about how you've cleaned out crusted ear canals. Luckily, I've never had that problem to deal with, but even after 15 years with chickens, there will be surprises down the road... great knowledge to have in my pocket!

 

[Mykee]

Thanks a lot for the instructions! Is peroxide safe to put in their ears? The respiratory problem brings up another issue. For longer than he has had the ear gunk, his breathing has been very harsh and gurgley. The poultry inspector said he was underweight and had parasites, which makes sense. I don't think it is a respiratory infection because most of the ones I looked up seem to incubate for a few months, and then the bird dies. My rooster has been like this for over a year. He also has gunk in his nostrils. Opinions?

 

[dawg53]

Thanks a lot for the instructions! Is peroxide safe to put in their ears? The respiratory problem brings up another issue. For longer than he has had the ear gunk, his breathing has been very harsh and gurgley. The poultry inspector said he was underweight and had parasites, which makes sense. I don't think it is a respiratory infection because most of the ones I looked up seem to incubate for a few months, and then the bird dies. My rooster has been like this for over a year. He also has gunk in his nostrils. Opinions?

I wouldnt have recommended peroxide in the ears if it wasnt safe.
Breathing harshly and gurgly is a sign of respiratory disease, as evidenced by gunk in his nostrils. Or the gunk could be feed dust collected over time. Not all birds die from respiratory diseases, they can and do become carriers. Birds with weak immune systems are susceptable to dying and even then, there may be more things going on besides the disease itself. Underweight could be caused by worms, I hope you wormed him and any other birds you have.

 

[Lilyput]

Dawg53, your instructions were so helpful; Just used them on a 16 week Brahma I have. I know I didn't completely get her one ear cleaned out. I thought she had had enough and would check her tomorrow and get some more gunk out. If I get it cleaner tomorrow, when do I redo treatment. I lost another bird to a respiratory problem about a week ago. All my birds were put on Tylan for a week. All the remaining birds are acting very healthy including the Brahma. The Brahma has no other symptoms just the crappy ear. (no cough, eating good, etc.) I hate to start another round of antibiotics. I guess I'll wait and see if your method clears up the ear infection without the antibiotics. Any comments are very welcome. Thanks, Joan

 

[crazyfeathers]

Great post I as well will remember this excellent bit of information, hope I don't ever have to use it but just in case... Thanks