Help: Chick with Enlarged Oil Gland

[Bleenie]

Both of my Buff Brahma girls were being pecked on in the brooder so they had some TLC for a while. One of them got it much worse than the other and she almost had a small hole in her back, right above her oil gland. I made her a small fleece apron to keep her protected while she healed and now that she's almost all healed up it looks better but all around the gland looks enlarged/swollen... I have squeezed it a couple times, thinking maybe it was 'backed up' or plugged from scabbing and some oil came out but its also coming from the area at the base of the 'pokey' part of the gland, where she was pecked at.

Can anyone help me out here? she cries so bad when i try to work the excess oil out but i can't think of what else to do.
(shes about 6wks old)

 

[krcote]

OUCH! I've never seen one look quite like that. Try a warm compress instead of squeazing? I think that would be more comfortable?

 

[Bleenie]

I did a warm compress for a few minutes and more stuff came out but it was not just oil, it's pinkish & kinda opaque. I am a little worried about possible infection but the area is not red or irritated-looking at all besides being enlarged of course. It went down quite a bit after the compress & squeezing a last time.

anyone else out there ever seen anything like this before?

 

[krcote]

Pinkish and opaque = infection, as in abscess. Look around a little on here about safe oral antibiotics that treat skin for chickens and see what you can find. Topical won't touch an abscess

Good luck!