Help please...hen with swollen earlobe...

[Hippiefrog]

One of my Isa Brown hens,suddenly has a swollen earlobe. It appeared overnight and is soft to touch but doesn't feel warm. I'm not sure what could cause this..she is otherwise healthy and us eating, drinking and acting fine. Any ideas?

 

[azygous]

It's possibly the beginning of a round of Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a common respiratory disease. If you get right on it, you can halt it before it gets ugly.

Get some Tylan 50 from your feed store if you live in the US. Or you can order Tylosin powder here. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

You can administer Tylan 50 orally at .5ml for an average size hen twice a day for five days. The Tylosin powder is mixed into drinking water.

 

[LaFleche]

Any possibility she got stung by some insect like a hornet, wasp or bee?

 

[dawg53]

Possibly got pecked hard or a rooster latched on to her earlobe while mating.

 

[Hippiefrog]

It's possibly the beginning of a round of Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a common respiratory disease. If you get right on it, you can halt it before it gets ugly.

Get some Tylan 50 from your feed store if you live in the US. Or you can order Tylosin powder here. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/

You can administer Tylan 50 orally at .5ml for an average size hen twice a day for five days. The Tylosin powder is mixed into drinking water.

Thank you...this is great info! I was able to get a better look into her ear and found a gray speck. Upon further investigation, I found that it was a tick. Any recommendations for treatment now that I've found and removed the tick(in tact)? Should I still treat for infection? I was unable to find Tylan, locally so will have to order some through the site you provided. But, we do have some Vetericyn spray and Microcyn spray I could put on it.

 

[Hippiefrog]

Any possibility she got stung by some insect like a hornet, wasp or bee?

Thank you for asking that! I went back and did a thorough inspection, inside of her ear and found a small tick. I'm shocked! It's been so cold. Hoping the swelling starts to go down soon.

 

[LaFleche]

Thank you for asking that! I went back and did a thorough inspection, inside of her ear and found a small tick. I'm shocked! It's been so cold. Hoping the swelling starts to go down soon.

The swelling should go down within a few days of removing the tick, if you sanitized thoroughly. You can even apply some antibiotic ointment.

 

[azygous]

Glad you discovered the cause. Use the disinfectant in the ear with a bit of antibiotic ointment. Ticks are capable of spreading bacteria.

That may be a poultry tick. You'd better do a thorough inspection of your coop. Read this for more information. It may cause you to lose sleep tonight. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/poultry-ticks.48763/

 

[Hippiefrog]

The swelling should go down within a few days of removing the tick, if you sanitized thoroughly. You can even apply some antibiotic ointment.

Perfect. Done and done. Thanks again! My poor little Sweetie Pie, ticks are nasty little things.

 

[Hippiefrog]

Glad you discovered the cause. Use the disinfectant in the ear with a bit of antibiotic ointment. Ticks are capable of spreading bacteria.

That may be a poultry tick. You'd better do a thorough inspection of your coop. Read this for more information. It may cause you to lose sleep tonight. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/poultry-ticks.48763/

Me too. It was hidden back behind the swollen part. That article is nightmare material, for sure! I checked all over the coop, under roosting bars, cracks and crevices but saw no traces of anything like what was listed in the article. I wish I had thought to put it in a jar and examine, before flushing it. I've checked the rest of the flock too, minus our rooster that I've never been able to catch. Lol The tick didn't look like the ones in that article but it had also been feeding so it was a small gray ball, a little smaller than the size of a pea. Thanks for the great info and nightmare material...lol I'll keep an eye out now that I know what to look for.