Hens ear looks like Cheerio

[chikinmama]

My Henny's ear started turning white recently and since shes broody its been hard to investigate her. But today while she was out I checked on her to the best of my ability and her ear now looks like a Cheerio with the a hole in the center and everything. Shes a mixed breed, mostly black feathers, iridescent hilites, a small comb, average weight, and mature in age. Not really sure how old she is, we got her as a full grown hen. Anyway if anyone knows what this is, it would be appreciated. Thanks. I will try to get a pic but who knows, shes moody. ( I did ready the sticky and followed the links but I didnt find any help.)

 

[chikinmama]

this is what she normally looks like

 

[FireTigeris]

What color are her earlobes normally?

Looks like an infection, I would treat it by carefully wiping the area with warm soppy water.

Then look again- looks likes pus -does it smell bad?

 

[oldchickenlady]

Oooh that doesn't look good! Have you tried to clean it up any? I would wrap her in a towel and get someone to hold her while getting that area cleaned up then try some antibiotic cream on it. I would probably use hydrogen peroxide to clean it or even a warm soapy washrag. Rinse it well if you use the soap. A Q-tip may be a good way to clean it also. Does it have pus on it? Does that side of her head feel hotter than the other side? Is she shaking her head? If so it could be a bacterial infection. If not it could be a fungus/yeast type infection. If it is a yeast type infection then antibiotic cream wont help. You will have to get some sort of fungus cream or treatment. You can find fungus treatments in the horse supply area at Tractor Supply or your local feed store.

 

[lotzahenz]

Found your pics here. It looks crusty, is it? If so, it must be cleaned. you will need to get out the old tissue and make sure to clean it until you see fresh tissue. i agree with using a peroxide type product. It will not burn or sting. Make sure not to get her too wet if it is cold where you are. Look closely for a foreign body in her ear. If this is a fungus or growth, it might need to be removed, but I have no idea if that is something you can do yourself. You may want to have some "blood stop" on hand if you do any cutting.

I have had this type of growth (looks like) in my rabbits ears, it was ear mites, and I treated it by scrapping all that out and getting the area clean and fresh, then applying mite medicine to it daily. This was a crusty discharge that had hardened and actually came out of her ear. I hope this helps. HenZ

 

[chikinmama]

Thx for your replies. Yes it is crusty. It looks just like a cheerio- the color and texture and shape. Ill go get her and try to clean it. Im sure it will be fun since shes broody as can be. Ill let you know what happens next and take new pics as well. By the way, can anyone identify what breed/breeds she might be?

 

[Bleenie]

I just recently had to deal with a Staph infection in 2 of my Muscovies ears. the drakes ear looked like this at one point when it was really draining. There was a LOT of chunky stuff inside the ear(canal) that i had to remove and I also had to do Baytril treatment for about 5 days to get rid of the infection. he's all better now though. I talked to the vet & we thought it was a yeast infection to begin with and used Mometamax but there was no improvement so i did research and finally discovered info about Staph ear infections and using Baytril to treat them.

I hope you can get this cleared up without having to take her to the vet. if the peroxide cleaning doesnt work, you can buy anti-fungal cremes at most stores.


(if she is standard sized, she might be a Black Sex Link?)

 

[jennh]

Yes, it DOES look like staph. You need to get all the junk out, and treat with antibiotics.
Staph CAN be notoriously difficult to treat

Jen

 

[chikinmama]

I peroxided her ear and it foamed up like crazy. Cleaned it out best I could but its really swollen. And yes, it smells, like when you take out jewelry and your skin stinks. I also noticed tiny little white bugs, maybe mites? But the bugs werent on the infected side, guess that doesnt matter tho. She seemed to like it when I rubbed her ears around. I put neosporin on it for now. What next?

the other side.

 

[FireTigeris]

keep up cleaning it but you cant expect a would to close with peroxide (it (kinda) eats any cells which are in division, including healthy dividing cells to close a wound.)

you don't want this to close with infection on the inside, after the infection is gone switch to soapy water.

Keep up with the neosporine (<-spelling)